Twelve men and women from Manhattan will try Donald Trump in the first criminal trial against a former president of the United States in the political history of this country. Judge Juan Merchán already has the list of those chosen after a scrutiny by the Republican magnate's prosecutors and lawyers as has never been seen before.
This Friday is the last day that the parties have to raise the latest allegations and present five more substitutes to the one who has already been designated. All of them will act as possible substitutes in case any of the approved jurors withdraw for any justified reason. This Friday's session begins at 9:30 a.m. (three-thirty in the afternoon in Spain) and has generated unusual expectation, since it will be the last before the trial begins its crucial phase next week. The judge wants to start Monday with the statements that will decide whether Trump is convicted or declared innocent for payments to actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter between the two. There are 34 charges against him that the Prosecutor's Office has presented. Never has a US president been so close to a criminal court ruling, not even Richard Nixon in the 'Watergate' case, although he eventually resigned from office.
Merchán has hidden the names of the jurors and only authorized the dissemination of the data of each of them, which is essential to guarantee the transparency of the process. He has been so zealous in his objective that he has even ordered to remove the names of the companies for which they work or have recently worked and has 'covered' from the interrogations the paragraphs where they themselves talk about their lives so that they could be easily identified. .
In an exercise of public responsibility, the magistrate has also asked lawyers and journalists to keep secret some details that do appear in internal documents, but that have been removed from public information in order to protect the privacy of the twelve men. and women without mercy. In the preliminary phase, a secret number of applicants were discarded because they did not meet the suitability criteria or, in some cases, because they themselves feared that they would not withstand the pressure or suffer reprisals, including physical ones, if their identity ended up being revealed.
As an example of the rigor of the examination to which they have been subjected, two candidates who had already been sworn in have been removed this Thursday by order of the lawyers. In total, the jury will be made up of seven men and five women who have declared themselves impartial to judge their former president.
Who is who
Jury number 1. He will be the member who coordinates the rest and acts as spokesperson. He works in sales, enjoys the outdoors, and resides in West Harlem. Married, he has no children. He assures that he lacks a formed opinion about Trump. He reads 'The New York Times' and is a regular on Fox News and MSNBC.
Juror number 2. He believes that the tycoon has done good things for the United States although his opinion of him is ambivalent. He lives in Hell's Kitchen, likes New York and works in finance. A fan of hiking and music, he follows two people close to Trump on social media: Kellyanne Conway, former advisor to the former president when he was in the White House, and Michael Cohen, his former spokesperson and lawyer, called to testify in this trial over the payments. to actress Stormy Daniels. He also follows the channels of other leaders on the right and left. “Maybe you need to know anything that could move the markets,” he explained to the lawyers and prosecutors. He listens to a podcast about Russian interference in the 2016 elections and is concerned about wars in Ukraine and Israel.
Juror number 3. He lives in the wealthy neighborhood of Chelsea, one of the oldest and most artistic neighborhoods in New York. Attorney, he has stated that he does not know well the other criminal cases involving Trump. Read 'The New York Times' and 'The Wall Street Journal'. As a young man he was hooked on 'The Apprentice', the reality show produced and presented by the former president between 2004 and 2017.
Judge Merchán questions one of the people preselected for the jury, in gray in order not to give details of their physical appearance.
Reuters
Juror number 4. I didn't expect him to be selected. He assures that the former president does not generate important feelings for or against him and that, in fact, he would not worry if he should issue a verdict against him. He is an engineer, 25 years old, and a resident of the Upper West Side. He does not appear on social networks. He already participated in another jury some time ago. He doesn't remember the verdict.
Jury number 5. She is an educator. Two of his relatives, now retired, worked in the New York Police Department. She follows the news very little and is not interested in political conversations either. “President Trump says what he thinks,” she says positively. “I would prefer that in a person than in someone who is in a position and you don't know what he is doing behind the scenes,” she noted in her questionnaire. She resides in Harlem.
Juror number 6. Chelsea neighbor, engineer in the technology sector, often reported in 'The New York Times' and is a follower of Facebook and TikTok. Her beliefs are different from Trump's, according to her own confession, but she does not believe that this influences her decisions during the process.
Jury number 7. Second professional in the legal field who will be part of the jury. He resides on the Upper East Side. He is informed of the multiple processes that affect the former president. He has “political opinions” about the magnate and regarding his time in the White House he maintains that he has made good and bad decisions. He likes to spend time with his children and is a fan of reruns of 'Car Talk', a program about the world of motors and car repairs that was very popular until 2012 due to the jokes of its presenters.
The Republican leader looks at the camera out of the corner of his eye while sitting on the bench, before the start of one of the sessions.
AFP
Juror number 8. Also resident on the Upper East Side, retired in the world of finance, he is fond of fishing, skiing and practices yoga. He considers himself an impartial person to judge Trump, although at the beginning of the selection process he expressed some doubts. He follows the major New York newspapers and also likes the BBC.
Juror number 9. «He was our president. “Everyone knows who he is,” said this speech therapist, a resident of the Upper East Side, about Donald Trump. “I am not very well versed in the legal world,” she stated with complete sincerity during the selection process, but she is convinced that she “knows how to fully comply with the judge's instructions.” She doesn't listen to the news. She is a fan of podcasts about reality shows.
The vehicles of the television networks, parked in front of the Manhattan court, a symbol of the expectation aroused by the trial.
AFP
Juror number 10. Businessman, lives in Murray Hill and likes podcasts on behavioral psychology. He has no formed opinion about Trump.
Juror number 11. He also does not have firm opinions about the former president, although he has acknowledged that “I don't like his personality, how he presents himself in public.” He also says, “I don't like some of my coworkers, but I don't try to sabotage their work.” His answers have caused many smiles. She resides in Manhattan as a product developer, often stays to watch late-night television shows, and is a regular at fashion publications. She is possibly the most surprising juror given the apparent neutrality of her colleagues. She confessed that she finds Trump “very selfish” and when a lawyer for the tycoon suggested that she gave the impression that he didn't like her, she responded simply: “Yes.”
Jury number 12. Physiotherapist. Listen to podcasts about religion and sports. He lives on the Upper East Side. Like many of his classmates, he likes hiking and concerts.
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