Twelve jurors selected for Donald Trump's 'hush money' New York trial after several dismissals
A jury of 12 people has been seated for former President Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York, following a challenging selection process.
Lawyers for the defence and the prosecution still must select alternate jurors for the trial, the first ever in which a former US president is the defendant.
The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.
Earlier on Thursday local time, two jurors were dismissed from the trial days after being selected, leaving just five jurors on the panel.
Prosecutors said one juror had not disclosed prior brushes with the law.
Justice Juan Merchan excused the juror after bringing him in for further questioning, but did not state why he dismissed him.
He excused another after she told the court that family, friends and colleagues had contacted her after deducing through press accounts that she was on the jury.
"I don't believe at this point that I can be fair and unbiased, and let the outside influences not affect my decision-making in the courtroom," the juror said.
Justice Merchan, who is overseeing the case, told news outlets not to report where prospective jurors said they worked.
"We just lost what probably would have been a very good juror," Justice Merchan said.
The decisions highlighted the extraordinary pressures around the first criminal trial ever of a former US president.
Mr Trump is one of the most controversial figures in American politics, and roughly half of the 192 potential jurors screened so far in heavily Democratic Manhattan have been dismissed after saying they could not impartially assess his guilt or innocence.
Mr Trump is on trial on 34 felony counts brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly falsifying records to cover up hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election, who said she had had a sexual encounter with Mr Trump.
Mr Trump denies having had sex with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty in this case and in three other criminal cases against him in Washington, Georgia and Florida.
The New York trial could be the only one he faces before the election. A conviction would not bar Mr Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, from running for or taking office.
Mr Trump says, without providing evidence, that all four criminal cases are part of a broad-ranging effort by allies of Democratic President Joe Biden to hobble his candidacy.
Officials in some of those cases have reported receiving death threats and harassment after being criticised by Mr Trump.
Justice Merchan has taken steps to shield the 12 jurors and six alternates in the case from harassment, saying they will remain anonymous except to Mr Trump, his lawyers and prosecutors.
He has also imposed a partial gag order on Mr Trump, who has criticised him, witnesses, and prosecutors and their relatives.
Prosecutors say Mr Trump has violated the gag order seven times since they flagged three potential violations on Monday, and have asked Justice Merchan to impose fines or other penalties.
On Thursday, prosecutor Christopher Conroy pointed to posts about former Mr Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a star prosecution witness, and a post saying undercover liberal activists had been lying to the judge to try to get on the jury.
One of Mr Trump's lawyers, Emil Bove, said those posts "do not establish any willful violations" of the gag order.
Prosecutors also flagged a potential problem with one of the six jurors who have already been selected, saying a person with that name had been arrested for tearing down political advertisements in the 1990s.
That juror's wife was also involved in a corruption inquiry at the time, they said.
Opening statements could take place on Monday if the full jury is seated this week.
Trial dates have not yet been set for the cases in Georgia and Washington that charge him with trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Mr Biden, and another case in Florida that charges him with mishandling classified documents.
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