Merchan called her "credible" and refrained to beat her after chastising Trump for his treatment. One of Trump's attorneys' challenges removed her from the lawsuit.
“It is not a Trump presidency referendum or popularity contest. He pointed to Trump and said this case is about whether he broke the law. “Can you all separate believability and likability?” he asked, hinting at prosecutors' opening comments. Prospective jurors said they could.
Trump listened to the group of regular New Yorkers, who recounted their friends' bad thoughts of him and remembered watching "The Apprentice" in middle school. Another said, “I find him fascinating!”
After other potential jurors indicated they couldn't serve because they weren't impartial, individual questioning began. They included a Texas native who said he couldn't be fair because he works in finance and growing up around Republicans. “I believe I have some unconscious bias,” he remarked. Another juror was excused after telling Merchan that she had thought overnight and decided, “I can’t be impartial and unbiased.”
A software firm employee survived the first round of questioning. He said he followed Trump on Twitter as president and read two of his books, including "The Art of the Deal," which got Trump to smile and nod. He and another "Art of the Deal" real estate reader were fired by the district attorney's office after two challenges.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying company documents linked to a hush money payment to a porn star in the final days of the 2016 presidential election. A low-level felony can result in four years in prison.
Trump's lawyers and prosecutors argue over 2020 social media and 'lock him up' posts. See what you missed on trial Day 2.
Merchan expects the jury selection procedure to take 1-2 weeks. As the trial doesn't sit on Wednesdays, it will continue Thursday morning. Passover begins next week, so the trial will possibly pause.
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