The majority of the potential jurors in former President Trump’s trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court have been dismissed due to stating that they could not be impartial, multiple sources reported on Monday.
BBC News reported that the jurors were dismissed only a few minutes into the trial, of which the former US president has denied falsifying business records to conceal hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, using his former attorney Michael Cohen to do so.
Trump has pleaded not guilty.
At least 50 jurors were rejected from the trial from the overall number of 96 of the potential jurors, according to Axios – which states that it makes it more difficult to form a proper jury in the trial, considering that the former US president has been a controversial figure in politics and media, the nature of the trial being a high-profile sex scandal, and in addition to the fact that Trump is running again as the Republican nominee for US president in a rematch against current president Biden.
Reports say that only 34 possible jurors remain and that 12 will be chosen to serve as the jury in the trial.
Those who are chosen
Those who had remained that could possibly be chosen as part of the jury in the Trump trial will fill out a questionnaire which will tackle their media consumption habits. Questions will also include if they’ve had family or friends volunteer for the Trump presidential campaign. The Axios report also stated that their social media will also be investigated by lawyers in order to detect any biases that could be utilized in the trial.
One juror who had left the court was quoted by media outlets saying that they “just couldn’t do it.”
Jurors will remain anonymous due to the mass public attention on the trial, BBC reported, which also noted that this trial is the only one of the four criminal cases Trump is facing that will go to court before the 2024 election in November. Trump would be the first convicted felon to be a party nominee should he be found guilty.
