The hush money trial of former President Donald Trump is moving at a brisk pace, barrelling through jury selection this week in an often tense courtroom and setting up opening statements on Monday.
At times, seating 12 jurors and six alternates seemed like it would be a long and daunting task. After the first two days of trial, seven jurors had been sworn in. But when the hearing resumed Thursday morning, two of those jurors were removed in short order. One said the gravity of the case had sunk in and she no longer believed she could be impartial, especially after family and friends began to realize she was on the jury. And prosecutors discovered that another juror had not disclosed a prior arrest involving the removal of political signs.
By the end of Thursday, 12 jurors and one alternate had been selected. And on Friday, despite three more prospective jurors citing anxiety about being involved, an additional five alternates were sat. They represent New Yorkers from all walks of life — young and old; seven men and five women; single and married with kids; an investment banker, a teacher, an attorney and a retiree.
The enormity of the matter before them was on constant display. Potential jurors self-selected to leave. Others grappled publicly with whether they could be fair to someone whom they carried political opinions about. There was a near-universal agreement that everyone had an opinion about the former president.
In moments of drama, some of the jurors were called back into the courtroom to explain social media posts about Trump, some that were years old — asked to own in some cases vitriolic words about a man sitting only feet away.
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