7 jurors selected in former President Donald Trump's hush-money trial

Seven jurors were seated Tuesday for ex-President Donald Trump's Manhattan hush-money trial as day two of the jury selection process grew heated at times, with one would-be juror questioned about a past social media post calling to “lock him up” and Trump accused of juror intimidation.

The seven jurors — four men and three women — make up more than half the panel of 12 who will ultimately decide if the presumptive Republican presidential nominee falsified business records in an attempt to cover up an affair as not to tank his chances at winning the 2016 presidential election. Six alternate jurors will also be selected.

The panel members were selected following a day-and-a-half long process that included questions from prosecutors, defense attorneys and the presiding judge. Trump himself was admonished by Supreme Court Justice Juan M. Merchan, who accused him of “muttering” something during the voir dire process.

“He was audible. He was gesturing. I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom,” the judge said.

Trump, 77, entered the courtroom at 9:30 a.m., winked at a court officer and took his seat beside his attorneys Todd Blanche, Susan Necheles and Emil Bove.

Trump, who was in Manhattan Supreme Court for a second consecutive day during what should be a busy campaign season, stopped again to denounce the case against him before a pool video camera before walking into the courtroom, where he spent the next several hours listening as a group of strangers were grilled about their opinions of him.

“This is a trial that should have never been brought,” said Trump, wearing a blue-and-white striped tie, hours before the jurors were seated. “Every legal pundit, every legal scholar said this trial is a disgrace. We have a Trump-hating judge. We have a judge who shouldn't be on this case. He's totally conflicted.”

Trump, addressing the allegations, explained: “I was paying a lawyer and marked it down as a legal expense. An accountant I didn't know marked it down as a legal expense. That's exactly what it was. And you get indicted over that?”

Earlier Tuesday, some prospective jurors were dismissed after the defense raised issued with their social media posts.

One prospective juror, a man, had celebrated in a post about the demise of the Trump-era travel ban to multiple Muslim-majority countries. Merchan said that itself was not disqualifying. But what the prospective juror wrote next was, Merchan said.

“Get him out and lock him up,” the post read.

Asked by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass whether he still believes Trump should be “locked up,” the man said “no.”

Trump craned his neck to get a look at the man and flashed a smirk. Merchan dismissed the potential juror.

The seven that were selected include juror number one, the foreperson, who is a married Harlem resident originally from Ireland. He works in sales, was previously a waiter and has no children, he told the court during the selection process.

Juror number three, a corporate lawyer, is originally from Oregon and has lived in Chelsea for five years. After he was sworn in as a juror, he was seen biting his bottom lip as he left the jury box.

Other jurors include a self-employed IT consultant who lives on the Lower East Side and an unmarried nurse with no children who lives on the Upper East Side. 

When asked by Blanche during the voir dire what her opinion on Trump is, the nurse said: “I don’t really have one. Especially in this courtroom, he will be treated as anyone else can be treated and no one is above the law.”

She later added: “I am here for my civic duty. I’m here to listen to the facts.”

Two other jurors selected include a recent college graduate who lives in Chelsea and works as a software engineer at the Walt Disney Company and an attorney who does civil litigation and lives on the Upper East Side.

Merchan instructed the newly sworn-in panel to return to court Monday at 9:30 a.m. for opening statements.

Earlier, Merchan declined to dismiss another prospective juror, a woman, for cause.

“These are three posts — they are all fairly characterized as satire, I believe,” Merchan said. “None of them expresses the sentiment we saw in some others, a desire to see your client locked up or beheaded or something or other of that nature.”

Merchan, speaking to Blanche, said the prospective juror was forthcoming about her political disagreements with Trump.

“The question is not whether someone agrees with your client politically or not. The question is whether or not they can be fair and impartial,” the judge said.

A bearded man with sunglasses hanging on his button-down shirt was dismissed after he told the judge: “I don't think I can be fair and impartial.”

Another man, wearing dark-rimmed glasses and gray hair, said he's read Trump's books, including “Trump: The Art of the Deal” and “Trump: How to Get Rich.”

Some of his wife's family members are lobbyists for the Republican Party, he said.

“I don't think there's anything that would prevent me from being a fair and impartial juror,” he said, before adding: “I feel that no one's above the law.”

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said he directed his personal attorney, Lawrence native Michael Cohen, to make a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors have said the payment was illegally recorded as legal services as part of a retainer agreement, but neither the retainer nor the legal services existed.

Jury selection in the historic case — the 45th president of the United States  is the first current or former president to go on trial in a criminal case — began Monday afternoon in Manhattan Supreme Court. Ninety-six were screened and more than 50 of those jurors were dismissed for saying they couldn't fairly consider the case against Trump. At the end of Monday, 32 potential jurors remained.

Another 96 were brought in for screening Tuesday, bringing the total pool to 192. The court has issued jury summons to a potential pool of 500 Manhattan residents.

“I know that you’ve been sitting around all day, waiting for something to happen, and I want you to know that wasn’t lost on us,” Merchan told prospective jurors Tuesday morning.

Trump, who was elected president in 2016 and served one term before being defeated by President Joe Biden in 2020, faces up to 4 years in prison on each of the 34 counts if convicted. Trump also is a defendant in three other criminal cases in Washington, D.C., Florida and Georgia.

Merchan set a hearing date of April 23 to determine whether Trump had violated an earlier gag order prohibiting him from publicly deriding any potential witnesses after Trump called two potential witnesses — Daniels and Cohen — “sleaze bags.” Prosecutors said Trump should be fined $3,000.

Also expected to testify is Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who has said she had an affair with Trump; and, like Daniels, was similarly paid off by the National Enquirer, at the behest of Trump.

The trial is off Wednesday but will resume with jury selection Thursday.