”Have you ever attended a meeting or campaign event for donald trump?”: Anonymous New Yorkers will have to answer these types of questions next week to be part of the jury in the first criminal trial in history against a former president of USA.
Trump faces 34 charges for allegedly falsifying documents that prosecutors say were used to conceal a payment to former porn actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 presidential election.
The Republican, once again a candidate for the White House, denies that he had sexual relations with Daniels and denies any fraudulent confidentiality agreement with the adult film figure.
The case is titled “The people of the state of New York against Donald J. Trump.” Jury selection will begin on Monday, April 15, and hundreds of Manhattan residents have been summoned to appear in court.
Among them, twelve jurors and up to six alternates will be chosen, and the trial is expected to last about six weeks.
“Anti-Trump”?
Each potential juror, drawn at random from a public list of residents, will have to respond orally to seven pages of questions ranging from occupation to political orientation, the result of an agreement between the prosecution and defense attorneys.
Between them: “Do you follow an anti-Trump organization or group account on social media, or have you followed one in the past?”
The questionnaire also asks if they have any opinions about Trump’s treatment in the case or if they support far-right groups such as QAnon or the white supremacist organization Proud Boys.
Their verdict will have to be unanimous, hence the importance of each of them.
The prosecutors prosecuting Trump, like the lawyers defending the former president, seek to know which way the jurors lean politically, given that New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly for Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in 2016 and 2020, respectively. .
Despite being born in New York and having built his real estate empire there, Trump remains a controversial figure in the metropolis.
“Manhattan has a long history with Donald Trump,” recalls Leslie Ellis, a jurist and psychologist who is an expert in jury trials. “Not only because of his presidency and the time after it, but also because of his experience in real estate and business in New York before that.”
This is one of the reasons why the former president’s lawyers tried, without success, to delay the trial. According to them, the members of the jury in New York would have been exposed to “an enormous amount of biased and unfair media coverage.” Some of the questions refer to the way in which they obtain information.
Named in other judicial proceedings, Trump, 77, has consistently denounced a “Witch hunt” carried out, in his opinion, by Democratic prosecutors and judges who seek to derail his campaign to regain the White House in the November 5 elections.
Protected jurors
But District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is prosecuting the case, dismisses that idea. “Given the size of New York County, it is absurd for the defendant to claim that it will be impossible or impractical to find a dozen fair and impartial jurors.”said.
In any case, the jury selection process promises to be more complicated than usual. Judge Juan Merchán, who will preside over the hearings, has already ruled that the names of the jurors will be kept secret due to the “likelihood of corruption, jury tampering, physical injury or harassment.”
The judge has also warned Trump that if he violates the gag order imposed against him, which prohibits him from criticizing witnesses or court employees, he could decide not to give the names of the jurors to their lawyers.
Like the prosecutors, the former tycoon’s defense will have the option of preventively challenging members of the selected group.
It may interest you
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
