Judge Empanels First Six Jurors, Including Foreperson

Politico reports:

Justice Juan Merchan has officially impaneled the first six jurors who will decide whether Donald Trump is guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a sex scandal. The six individuals were sworn in after various other prospective jurors were removed from the pool this afternoon.

Some were dismissed by the judge “for cause” after lawyers successfully argued that they could not be impartial. Others were dismissed through a process that allows each side to remove a limited number of prospective jurors for virtually any reason. So far, prosecutors have struck four candidates under that process, while Trump’s legal team has struck six.

Read the full article. This is going faster than expected.

A woman in seat 16 apparently posted the following, date uncertain, on social media:

“Republicans projected to pick up 70 seats in prison.”

Trump’s lawyers press a for-cause challenge.

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 16, 2024

We have our first six jurors, and the foreperson, in Trump’s historic criminal trial.

They have been sworn in.

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 16, 2024

Reminder:

For their privacy and security, these jurors have been anonymized to the general public. The court proceedings have revealed details about their lives that would provide information about them without disclosing their identities.

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 16, 2024