‘It’s a whole mess,’ rages Donald Trump outside court after staring down jurors selected for hush money trial
DONALD Trump has fiercely labelled the hush money trial against him a “mess” after 12 jurors were selected to hear his case.
The former president, 77, stared down sworn-in jurors as they left a Manhattan court following the third day of proceedings on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters outside, Trump raged he should be out campaigning for the 2024 presidential election.
“[But instead] I’ve been here all day,” he fumed, insisting the trial against him is “unfair.”
The 2024 hopeful went on to hold up a stack of news stories that he claimed were critical to the case.
“The whole thing is a mess,” he said.
Trump is accused of paying adult film star Stormy Daniels at the end of the 2016 election cycle to keep quiet after she alleged they had an affair in 2006.
He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsification of business records related to the $130,000 payment.
The jury selection process for the trial will continue into Friday as six alternate jurors will be needed before the trial can move forward.
As of Thursday afternoon, one alternate has been chosen.
“We have our jury,” said Judge Juan Merchan after the jurors swore to decide the case in a “fair and impartial manner.”
The jurors were instructed by Merchan to not discuss the details of the case with anyone else.
Trump was present in the courtroom in Manhattan, New York, staring at the sworn-in jurors as they left.
Merchan believes the court is on track to begin opening statements on Monday.
The news comes after two jurors who were previously selected earlier this week had to be excused.
One of the jurors, a woman, expressed concerns about being identified publicly and how it would affect her ability to remain impartial.
“Aspects of my identity have already been out there in public. Yesterday alone, I had friends and family push things to me,” she told the court today.
“I don’t think at this point that I can be fair and unbiased.”
The other juror, a man, was excused after prosecutors said they discovered information about him being potentially involved in a corruption investigation in the 1990s.
After being questioned by attorneys in front of the judge, the man was ultimately dismissed.
The excused jurors were replaced later in the afternoon when a group of 96 Manhattan residents entered the courtroom.
About half of them were immediately excused when they said they couldn’t be impartial in the trial and another nine were dismissed for reasons that weren’t revealed.
Those who remained were given a 42-question assessment to help lawyers determine their feelings about Trump and if they could remain impartial when deciding the outcome of the first criminal trial of a former US president.
Earlier this week, a smaller group made it past the initial screening and was questioned individually as lawyers looked through their online activities.
Some had been questioned by Trump’s legal team over social media posts made several years ago before being excused.
On Thursday, the questioning seemed more direct as potential jurors were asked about their recent social media history.
Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles singled out Juror No. 430 for allegedly sharing “vitriolic” social media posts about her client though 2020.
She alleged the juror called Trump a “racist, sexist narcissist” online and said he “could not be more fundamentally un-Christian.”
Trump's Legal Battles
The former president faces at least four criminal trials and 91 felony charges related to the following:
- Stormy Daniels Hush Money: Trump stands accused of falsifying business records allegedly connected to $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
- Classified Documents: Trump has been accused of mishandling classified documents after he left office and storing them at his Mar-A-Lago estate. He could face 100 years in prison if convicted.
- 2020 Election Subversion: Trump has been charged with four counts of illegally subverting the election results and the peaceful transfer of power related to his actions leading up to the January 6 riot.
- Georgia Election Interference: Trump and 18 others have been accused of attempting to alter the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia by pressuring local officials and election workers.
- Ballot Disqualification: The Supreme Court is set to rule on whether Colorado’s decision to disqualify Trump from the ballot over allegedly engaging in an “insurrection” can stand.
- New York Civil Suit: Trump stands accused of fraudulently increasing the value of his New York properties to inflate his net worth. He could be fined hundreds of millions of dollars.
Despite his raging on social media, Trump has, for the most part, remained quiet and reserved in the courtroom.
However, he was warned by Judge Merchan on Tuesday for “audibly uttering something…speaking in the direction of a juror” who was being questioned about one of her social media posts.
“I won’t tolerate that,” said Merchan. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear.”
HUSH MONEY
Trump was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year over a $130,000 payment that was allegedly made to adult star Stormy Daniels.
His former lawyer, Michael Cohen, allegedly paid Daniels the money a month before the 2016 election to keep her from making public allegations about her affair with Trump.
Trump has repeatedly denied ever having a sexual encounter with Daniels, however, he has been accused of repaying Cohen in installments by marking them as legal fees in company records.