On April 18, 2024, in the Manhattan State Court in New York City, the United States, former US President Donald Trump sat in court. He was accused of falsifying business records and concealing payments made in 2016 to silence porn star Stormy Daniels. of money.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
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Prosecutors on Thursday accused former President Donald Trump of violating a gag order in his New York hush money trial seven times since Monday on social media.
“This is ridiculous and it has to stop,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchant as jury selection resumed.
Conroy said Trump’s “most disturbing post” echoed Fox News host Jesse Waters’ assertion that the pool of potential jurors included “undercover freelance activists who lied to the judge.”
Conroy said prosecutors would later decide what sanctions to pursue against Trump. A hearing on Trump’s alleged violation of the gag order is scheduled for next week.
Earlier Thursday, Merchant excused one of the seven jurors in the previous trial after she expressed concerns about her identity being made public and her ability to be fair.
The juror seated Tuesday said she received multiple calls Wednesday asking if she had been selected.
“I don’t believe I can be fair and impartial in a court of law and keep outside influences from affecting me,” the juror told Merchant.
The judge apologized and immediately excused her from the trial. He cautioned reporters covering the trial to “use common sense” and not release identifying information about jurors who are supposed to remain anonymous.
Merchant also ordered the media not to report on answers to questions on the jury questionnaire about past and current employers.
The setback means six more jurors and six alternates will now be selected in the trial. Trump’s lawyers and New York prosecutors will question a new panel of 96 potential jurors on Thursday.
Seven jurors were seated Tuesday for the second day of a trial that focuses on Trump’s falsification of business records in a plan to silence porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Despite the dismissal of one juror Thursday morning, the trial is proceeding at a pace with opening arguments starting Monday, a week sooner than some legal experts had predicted.
Trump is required to appear throughout the trial, which is taking place on all weekdays except Wednesday and is expected to last about six weeks.
The Republican presidential candidate denounced the trial as a political “witch hunt” and complained it was hampering his campaign against President Joe Biden.
But Trump has also used the media frenzy surrounding his trial and three other pending criminal cases as an opportunity to spread his campaign message and attack his political enemies. On Tuesday afternoon, Trump accused Judge Juan Murcha of “rushing” the trial.
He then went to a grocery store in North Harlem for a campaign stop aimed at showing that his prosecutor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, was failing to stop crime in New York City because of his focus on trials.
On Wednesday, Trump complained that his legal team had “not enough” opportunities to reject potential jurors. In fact, he received the exact number of strikes required by New York law.
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