Colombian-born Judge Juan Merchan, in addition to choosing seven jurors, also warned the tycoon that he will not tolerate intimidation in the trial.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump in Manhattan criminal court with his legal team before the start of jury selection in New York. Image internet.
The magistrate of the historic trial facing former President Donald Trump in New York selected on Tuesday (16.04.2024) seven of the twelve members of the jury that will seal the fate of the tycoon, whom he warned that he will not tolerate «intimidation» in the courtroom.
In a process that appears to be going faster than expected, the judge also selected six alternate jurors for the high-profile trial.
It is the first time in the country’s history that a former president has sat in the dock in a criminal proceeding.
Those chosen so far are professionals from different backgrounds who were subjected to a selection process in which they have been asked about their work, where they live, their family situation, if they take medications that can affect their concentration, what newspapers they read or what social networks they use or if they feel capable of judging a highly mediatized and politicized case fairly.
Both the prosecution and the defense can challenge 10 candidates each, from a selection previously made by Colombian-born judge Juan Merchan, who made it clear who is in charge in the courtroom.
«I will not allow any juror to be intimidated in this courtroom,» he said bluntly when a candidate was forced to explain herself for a video posted on Facebook that prompted a comment from the tycoon.
Hearings to finalize jury composition resume on Thursday, April 18. If all goes as it has so far in Manhattan Supreme Court, the opening arguments of the prosecution and defense are expected to be presented on Monday, April 22.
If Trump, the Republican nominee for the Nov. 5 election, is found guilty, which must be by a unanimous jury, he could be sentenced to four years in prison.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office accuses the Republican billionaire of 34 falsifications of accounting documents from the Trump Organization family business to camouflage the payment of $130,000 to former porn film actress Stormy Daniels.
The goal, according to the indictment, was to buy his silence about an old extramarital affair — which Trump has always denied — in the final stretch of the 2016 campaign he won over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Visibly upset and even bored, Trump, 77, lamented that he is going through a process he considers «rigged» while President Joe Biden continues his election campaign.
«He should be right now in Pennsylvania, in Florida, in many other states, in North Carolina, in Georgia, campaigning,» Trump told reporters as he arrived in court Tuesday, blaming the Democratic president for orchestrating a judicial crusade against him.
At the end of the intense day, Trump went to Harlem, the Hispanic neighborhood on Manhattan’s north side, to visit the victim of an assault. Greeted by his supporters shouting «four more years,» he accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of «doing nothing» against criminals and instead going after him.
Trump criticizes New York’s justice system
Trump believes that the New York justice system, a city with a Democratic soul, is conspiring against him, particularly the judge, whom he has repeatedly asked to step aside from the case.
The day before, he reproached him for forcing him to attend all hearings (four days a week), and for not allowing him to attend his son’s graduation ceremony or follow a hearing that affects him in the U.S. Supreme Court next week.
A guilty verdict would not be an obstacle for him to run for president, but in addition to preventing him from campaigning normally, it can certainly affect his chances of winning. But so far Trump has used his presence in court to amplify his election message.
«Polarization is only increasing. The attitude of undecided voters to all this is uncertain, but it may deter them,» Columbia University professor John C. Coffee told AFP.
This is one of the many fronts open to the New York tycoon, who amassed his fortune in the real estate sector.
The Republican is also accused of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and for his handling of classified documents that he took to his residence when he left the White House.
Trump’s trial on election interference charges was scheduled for March 4, 2024, but has been suspended pending the Supreme Court examining Trump’s claim that as a former president he has immunity from prosecution, which is scheduled for April 25.
His lawyers are trying hard to delay court cases until after the November election, because if he wins, the federal charges against him could be dropped.