NEW YORK: A panel of 12 jurors was sworn in on Thursday to sit in judgment of Donald Trump at the unprecedented criminal trial of a former US president.
“We have our jury,” said Judge Juan Merchan after a day of intensive questioning of dozens of potential jurors by prosecutors and Trump’s defence attorneys.
Merchan said he hoped to complete the selection of six alternate jurors on Friday and hold opening arguments in the blockbuster case on Monday.
Trump, 77, who is seeking to recapture the White House in November, is accused of falsifying business records on the eve of his 2016 election victory to cover up a sexual encounter with a porn star.
He has pleaded not guilty.
The Republican presidential candidate addressed reporters after court adjourned for the day, complaining that the trial was keeping him off the campaign trail — and about the temperature in the Manhattan courtroom.
“I’m supposed to be in a lot of different places campaigning,” he said. “And I’m sitting here for days now, from morning till night in that freezing room.”
He denounced the trial as “very unfair” and read headlines from an inches-thick sheaf of news clippings that he said were stories from “legal experts” critical of the case.
Seven jurors had been selected for the historic trial as of Tuesday but that number fell to five on Thursday following the release of two jurors who had already been sworn in.
One was excused because she had concerns her identity had been revealed and the other following doubts about the accuracy of his answers during questioning.
Seven jurors were selected on Thursday afternoon along with one alternate. They looked sombre as they raised their right hands and swore to hear the case in a “fair and impartial manner”.
Trump, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, watched silently from the defence table as the jurors took the oath.
Five more alternate jurors will need to be chosen on Friday to complete the panel.
To protect the anonymity of the New Yorkers randomly selected for jury service, Merchan asked reporters to stop providing physical descriptions of jurors and not to identify where they work.
A unanimous verdict will be required to convict Trump. – AFP
