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Items tagged with: jurors
👀 #MichaelCohen says he talked to #AllenWeisselberg, who was the #TrumpOrganization's CFO. Cohen references “the financing,” & #Trump interjects, “What financing?”
The call related to the #HushMoney deal made w/ #KarenMcDougal.
#Jurors are hearing Trump in the OvalOffice discussing a hush-money payment.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#Blanche said that the prosecution told a “clean nice story," but that it is not as simple as they would have the #jury believe. He said that many of the docs in evidence are almost a decade old. The testimony, he suggests, is similarly old. He said, the story that #jurors heard "is not true."
#Trump largely avoided looking at the jury during prosecution's opening statement. He shifted his body in their direction during defense’s.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference
#Colangelo encourages #jurors to "tune out the noise" & "focus on the facts" during the course of the #TrumpTrial. He summarizes the evidence again, & says after all the evidence is in, Joshua Steinglass, another prosecutor, will do the closing argument.
He ends by saying there is "only one conclusion: Donald Trump is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree."
#criminal #law #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Merchan has explained the concept of #ReasonableDoubt, instructed the jurors that statements made by the various attorneys are not to be accepted as fact, & #jurors are listening intently, a reminder that jurors take many cues from judges - as the impartial arbiter & why #Trump's attacks on judges are stupid.
Besides this case, today there's a hearing to determine the sufficiency of Trump’s #civil #fraud #bond for the $454M penalty, & Thurs, #SCOTUS hears arguments on his bs #immunity defense.
It’s probably safe to say that few, if any, judges have had to deal w/the array of #threats to #their trial that Justice #Merchan has had to. Besides #Trump himself, who constantly tests the boundaries of his #GagOrder, there are his allies who attacking the judge & his family & who aren’t covered by the gag order. Then there’s the #media who has been putting potentially identifying info about prospective #jurors on TV.
#criminal #law #intimidation #harassment #JuryTampering #TrumpTrial
#Jurors are often excused by the dozens during selection, & even if someone is picked, it is not guaranteed that they'll serve. But losing 2 previously seated jurors in one day, isn’t great.
Justice #Merchan said Tues that given the rate they were seating jurors, opening arguments could begin as soon as Mon morning. We’ll see.
Merchan says that more prospective jurors will answer the questionaire before lunch. Attys on both sides will then each question the group.
#Trump #TrumpTrial #law
The prospective #jurors will now be asked the 42 questions on the juror questionnaire, starting w/ basics. They’ll also be asked more targeted questions re their political leanings. For example, they will be asked if they have ever attended a #Trump rally or read one of his books.
Trump has been animated at points this morning, but now, he has partially closed his eyes --- his new narrative is he does this when he’s trying to keep from lashing out.
w/a celebrity trial—or a case that elicits strong feelings—there’s a dynamic where people are trying to get on the #jury. Not so w/the #TrumpTrial; >50 of Monday’s 1st group of 96 said they couldn’t be fair. Dozens today have said the same, & they’ve had a few days to think about the ramifications of serving.
So far, 48 prospective #jurors left bc they said they could not be fair & impartial, 9 more were excused for other reasons. 39 are left in this group.
The #press is barred from covering aspects of the trial related to the #jury, for understandable #security reasons. At the same time, the judge is taking another 5 days to hold a hearing on whether #Trump has violated the #GagOrder that was placed on him w/ repeated social media posts about a key #witness & #jurors.
This is 1 of many ways in which despite Trump's complaints that he is being treated unfairly, the judge is bending over backwards to be fair to him in this #trial.
They are bringing in a new group of 96 prospective #jurors. This group has already been sworn in, & will soon go through the winnowing process, starting w/ Justice #Merchan asking them to raise their hands if they feel they cannot be fair to #Trump.
Reporters will be more careful in offering physical descriptions of the jurors after the judge's warning & earlier juror dismissal.
#media #Trump #criminal #law #intimidation #harassment #JuryTampering #TrumpTrial
#Trump defense is saying that reposting statements from others should not violate the #GagOrder, echoing Trump's own defense of his statements for years.
Conroy notes that Trump posted on social media quoting Jesse Watters on Fox News appearing to attack the prospective #jurors, saying they were activists trying to get on the jury to harm Trump. He underscores that they are asking #Merchan to hold Trump "in contempt."
#Trump #criminal #law #intimidation #harassment #JuryTampering #TrumpTrial
Joshua Steinglass, a Manhattan DA office prosecutor, suggested that prospective #jurors not be asked to answer who their current & previous employers are, to better anonymize them.
The judge says it's a great suggestion.
It was the juror questionnaire, which was not created by the #press, that included a question about employers.
#media #Trump #criminal #law #intimidation #harassment #JuryTampering #TrumpTrial
#TrumpTrial #jurors’ concerns
#JurySelection began w/a sworn in juror getting dismissed over doxxing concerns.

“I definitely have concerns now. One of them especially being the aspects of my identity have already been out there in public. Yesterday alone I had friends, colleagues & family push things to my phone regarding questioning my identity as a juror.”
#Trump #law #crime #intimidation #JuryTampering
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/18/trump-hush-money-trial-live-updates/
