The New York state court trying former President Donald Trump on criminal charges empaneled a full 12-member jury on the third day of the trial on Thursday, according to Reports.
The trial neared the end of its first phase Thursday afternoon, when one of six alternate jurors was selected. The selection of additional alternate jurors will continue Friday.
Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, said Tuesday that oral arguments could begin as early as early next week and that jury selection appears to make that possibility more likely. The court did not meet on Wednesday.
Seven jurors had already been selected before Thursday, but two were dismissed before the court recessed for lunch. Seven more jurors were selected in the afternoon.
The trial, which could take several weeks, keeps Trump, the likely Republican presidential candidate, away from the election campaign. complained to reporters As he left the courtroom, he said the trial would hinder his campaign, CNN reported.
During a break on Thursday, the former president posted a message On his social media platform he criticizes the US House of Representatives cross-party development aid packagewhich Louisiana Republican Speaker Mike Johnson supports.
A grand jury in New York indicted Trump last year on 34 counts of falsifying business records. He lied about his former lawyer and broker Michael Cohen making payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election to cover up an affair. Trump has denied the affair.
Cohen is expected to testify during the trial, and Trump’s defense team will likely make his credibility a major issue. Cohen initially denied any involvement in the payments, but later admitted to paying $130,000 to Daniels.
In 2018, he pleaded guilty to lying to a congressional committee about a separate incident, including perjury, and served a prison sentence. But some polls suggest a guilty verdict in the case could damage Trump’s standing with voters. Observers disagree about whether even a conviction for a grave crime would seriously weaken his support base.
