After four days of jury selection, Donald Trump has a full jury in his criminal trial in New York, where he faces criminal charges related to the 2016 payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Judge Juan Merchan swore in five additional alternate jurors Friday and scheduled opening statements for Monday.
Tensions were high at times in the courtroom Friday, as defense attorneys attempted to question potential witnesses about their social media stories and opinions about the former president. Two potential jurors broke down in tears during questioning, telling the judge they were too worried about the case to serve as fair jurors. Both were excused.
Here are four key takeaways from the fourth day of the historic trial:
Alternate jurors sworn in
Five additional alternate jurors were sworn in to hear the case Friday.
“We have now completed jury selection for this case,” Judge Merchan said.
The alternate jurors are five women and one man. Below is a breakdown of all alternates:
Alternate Juror No. 1: Female, Analyst at Asset Manager
Alternate Juror No. 2: Woman, unemployed
Alternate juror no. 3: male, audio professional
Alternate Juror No. 4: Female, contracts specialist
Alternate Juror #5: Female, creative operations for a clothing company
Alternate juror no. 6: Woman, project manager for a construction company
Judge rejects Trump’s request for emergency stay
An appeals court judge on Friday rejected the defense’s request for an emergency stay of the trial.
Earlier Friday, Trump filed an emergency appeal as he sought to change the venue of the trial based on some of the answers given by potential jurors during the jury selection process.
The appeals court judge denied Trump’s request to delay the start of the trial.
Judge won’t order prosecutors to disclose first witness
Judge Juan Merchan refused to order prosecutors to disclose their first witness after defense attorneys repeated their request yesterday.
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“I still think that under the circumstances, the people’s response is understandable, and I’m not going to force them to do anything,” Merchan said, citing a hearing scheduled for Tuesday to convict Trump of contempt for violating the judge’s limited silence order.
Prosecutors on Thursday expressed concern that Trump could attack the first witnesses if he learned their names. Today, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass proposed a compromise: They would release the name of the first witness on Sunday under one strict condition.
“If this is going to be tweeted, it will be the last time we show any courtesy,” Steinglass said.
Steinglass said that while the first witness’s testimony will likely begin Monday, it is unlikely the witness will finish his examination-in-chief by the end of the day.
Potential alternates express varied views on Trump
Many potential alternates freely expressed their opinions about former President Trump during one-on-one questioning by defense attorney Susan Necheles.
As the former president looked on, a man said there were several categories to Trump: “He’s a family man. He’s a businessman,” the man said. “Clearly, he’s brought a lot of value to the economy.”
But he said his opinion was divided on Trump himself.
“I really like the lower taxes in this country. I like the lower regulations,” the man said. “When I think about the Republican Party and why we bring religion and women’s rights with their own bodies,” that’s where he says he separates from Trump, concluding that his impression is both “neutral and positive.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media after leaving the courtroom for the day at Manhattan Criminal Court during his trial for allegedly concealing hush money payments, April 19, 2024, in New York .
Spencer Platt, POOL via Reuters
Another man admitted to posting about Trump multiple times online in 2016 and “around the time of the insurrection.” When asked for his impression of Trump, he said, “I would say it’s pretty negative.”
“Do you continue to have this opinion of strong dislike?” Necheles asked him.
“Based on his rhetoric,” the man replied, while declaring himself open-minded.
“What is your opinion?” Necheles asked another potential replacement, the management consultant who loves the outdoors.
“I think we don’t agree with a lot of policies. But it’s also something where I’ve had to step back and really talk to a lot of people close to me that he’s in contact with,” he replied. . “You have to take both sides.”
Trump reiterates his intention to testify
Trump reiterated his intention to testify in his criminal trial as he left the courtroom at the end of the day.
“We just had a new hearing and the trial starts on Monday, which is way before a lot of people think,” he said. “The judge wants to go as quickly as possible.”
The former president once again, without evidence, called the trial a witch hunt orchestrated by his political rivals.
ABC News
