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Ex-US President Trump Gets Full 12-Person Jury To Decide His Fate In Criminal Trial
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Trump’s historic trial started on Monday with jury selection.
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On Day 3 of the trial on Thursday, the full 12-person jury had been selected.
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Jury selection for remaining alternate spots is set to resume Friday morning.
Eko Hot Blog reports that former United States President Donald Trump has gotten a 12-person jury in his New York criminal trial.
The court appointed the full 12-person jury and an alternate juror by the end of Thursday’s proceedings.
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Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for his alleged role in a hush money scheme before the 2016 election.
The appointment of the 13 jurors (including one alternate juror) in the case came after the former president’s lawyers and the district attorney’s office used up their 10 peremptory strikes to remove jurors.
Former US President Donald Trump sits beside his lawyer Todd Blanche during jury selection. (Photo: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)
The seated jury includes seven men and five women.
Presiding judge, Juan Merchan, rejected Trump’s challenges to remove jurors for cause because they had expressed negative opinions about Trump, telling the former president’s attorneys that not liking his persona was not enough.
On Thursday afternoon, jurors were generally more open about their opinions of Trump.
Many said they didn’t like his politics or some of his behaviour in public but felt they could see past that to be a fair and impartial juror.
One woman who will eventually decide Trump’s fate called him selfish and self-serving.
“I don’t like his persona,” she said. “I don’t like some of my coworkers, but I don’t try to sabotage their work.”
Former US President Donald Trump sits in between his lawyers Todd Blanche, left, and Emil Bove, right, as Judge Juan Merchan begins proceedings during jury selection at Manhattan criminal court on Thursday, April 18, in New York. (Photo: Christine Cornell/CNN)
Twenty-two prospective jurors have yet to go through the questionnaire process from the second panel.
Judge Merchan will begin with them on Friday to try to fill out a slate of five additional alternate jurors, although the judge noted he may change that number.
The trial is on track to begin opening arguments on Monday as Trump fights to stay out of jail and win reelection to the White House.
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The former American president has baselessly accused his successor and opponent for the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden, of being behind his legal predicament.
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