Direct line drawn between Fox News broadcast and Trump juror's dismissal
"Juror No. 2" in the Trump hush-money trial was dismissed on Thursday after she raised concerns that her identity might have already been compromised.
Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake immediately drew a line between her dismissal and a Tuesday night segment on Fox News in which host Jesse Watters broadcast some personal details about the jurors, whose names are being not identified publicly.
"Fox News host Jesse Watters on Tuesday broadcast extensive biographical details about Juror No. 2 — her neighborhood, occupation, education, marital and family status, and what industry her fiancé works in," Blake writes on Twitter.
"He concluded by saying, 'I'm not so sure about Juror No. 2.'"
This juror that Watters said he wasn't "so sure about" was the same one who was dismissed Thursday after expressing concerns about being identified.
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Watters followed up his segment on Wednesday by declaring, without providing any evidence, that "undercover liberal activists" were "lying" about their feelings about former President Donald Trump to get on the jury and convict him no matter the evidence.
Trump would subsequently promote these claims on his Truth Social page, which would lead to immediate accusations of him violating a gag order that prevented him from talking about jurors in the trial.
Trump has continuously pushed the limits when it comes to his gag order and prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office on Thursday accused him of violating it in seven separate instances since the hearing started on Monday, including with direct attacks on witnesses in the case such as former "fixer" Michael Cohen.
So far, however, Judge Juan Merchan has not hit Trump with any punishments for prospective gag order violations, although he did reprimand Trump for interacting with a prospective juror while in court on Tuesday. A hearing concerning gag order violations is scheduled for April 23.