By Maria Ortiz
Apr 19, 2024, 18:44 PM EDT
The Manhattan court session where the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump is taking place concluded on Friday after the selection of 12 jurors and six alternates was completed.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Trump, who seeks to return to the White House in the 2024 electionsparticipated in a scheme designed with his former lawyer Michael Cohen and others to influence the 2016 election by falsifying business records to conceal information about payments, including a $130,000 payment to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels from disclosing a relationship. Trump with her.
The 5 missing alternate jurors were selected on Friday from a total of twenty-two candidates and They thus join the twelve starters, seven men and five women, already selected on Thursday.
Among the members elected today is a woman of Spanish origin who passed the suitability filters applied by Judge Juan Merchán, the prosecutor’s office and the former ruler’s defense lawyers.
However, there were other candidates who were discarded after stating that they suffered anxiety or “doubts” about the prospect of having to be part of the jury.
Additionally, a hearing was held in which prosecutors confirmed that if Trump takes the stand in this criminal trial, They will also ask you about your other legal battles, including two high-profile civil sentences for which he has been convicted in New York.
Friday’s day, the fourth since the trial began, was marked by an event outside the walls of the court: a man set himself on fire “in a big way” outside and was seriously injured, an event that is still unknown. its relationship with the trial, although the impression is that there is none.
The constitution of the jury today clears the way for the opening arguments phase that will begin on Monday.
Subsequently, the Manhattan district attorney’s office, where the case is being heard, will call its first witness.
According to the Manhattan court, as revealed yesterday, Monday’s day will end at two in the afternoon due to the celebration of the Jewish Passover, and Tuesday will maintain the same schedule.
Keep reading:
– What is the case of porn actress Stormy Daniels in which Trump becomes the first former US president to face a criminal trial?
– An unemployed Spanish woman will be a substitute member of the jury that will define the fate of Donald Trump
– Man sets himself on fire in front of the Court where Donald Trump is intended to be tried