New York prosecutors joined Donald Trump and his attorneys today in a Manhattan courtroom for the official start of the first criminal trial of an American president. Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign. If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison.
After the judge overseeing the case rejected Trump’s latest effort to oust him, the prosecution and the defense began collaborating on the arduous process of choosing a jury. Immediately, they ran into problems.
More than half of the first pool of 96 prospective jurors was dismissed after they indicated they did not believe they could be impartial, and court adjourned for the day with zero jurors chosen. My colleague Alan Feuer noted that such a high initial failure rate is “surpassingly rare,” underscoring the challenges of seating an impartial jury for a defendant whom much of the country has already made its mind up about. Here’s an explanation of the jurors both sides want.
The trial — perhaps the only one against Trump that will unfold before Election Day — is projected to take about six weeks, the judge told the prospective jurors. But it could stretch out longer if jury selection turns out to be especially time consuming. The process will be crucial for both sides, but could be especially challenging for the defense, who will effectively be searching for red needles in Manhattan’s giant blue haystack.
“The defense will be looking for working class voters, people that work in city jobs, perhaps firefighters, police, sanitation workers,” my colleague Jesse McKinley, who is writing our Trump on Trial newsletter, said.
