The first six jurors for Donald Trump’s hush money trial have been chosen after lawyers grilled members of the jury pool about their social media posts, political views and personal lives to decide whether they can sit in fair judgment of the former US president.
The court began filling out the jury of 12 people, along with six alternates, who will decide whether to convict Trump of charges accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Possible jurors were quizzed for hours about their views on Trump and other issues, and eight were excused after saying they could not be impartial or because they had other commitments.
Several people said they believed they could decide the case fairly, no matter their feelings about Trump or his policies as president.
The methodical process – which could take several more days or even weeks – highlights the unprecedented challenge of finding people who can fairly judge the polarising defendant, who has cast himself as the victim of political persecution as he vies to reclaim the White House.
The trial, which began on Monday, puts Trump’s legal problems at the centre of his closely contested race against President Joe Biden.
It is the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to go to trial, and it may be the only one to reach a verdict before voters decide in November whether to elect the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
The former president looked on in the courtroom as his lawyers challenged one person for a social media post she made after his 2020 election loss.
Trump at one point spoke loudly and gestured while the judge was questioning the would-be juror, causing the judge to admonish the former president.
“I don’t know what he was uttering, but it was audible and he was gesturing. And he was speaking in the direction of the juror,” Judge Juan Merchan said.
