Trump more agitated as hush money jury selection continues
Newsy
Former President Trump expressed dismay that he is not on the campaign trail and complained the courtroom was "freezing" during jury selection.
Friday could be the final day of jury selection in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York as Judge Juan Merchan looks to find a group of alternates.
On Thursday, Merchan added seven jurors to the five already seated, completing the 12-person jury panel. One alternate was also seated Thursday. Merchan is expected to seat five more alternate jurors, although that exact number could vary.
Thursday's jury selection had a couple of notable speed bumps. The day started with seven jurors, but two of the seven were dismissed. One juror raised concerns that they could no longer remain impartial after their identity became known. This prompted Merchan to redact employment information on jurors' questionnaires as he asked the media to refrain from reporting on a juror's place of work.
A second juror was dismissed after prosecutors found that the person may have been arrested in the past for removing political advertisements. Prosecutors claimed that the juror may have lied on the questionnaire when asked if they had ever been arrested.
Merchan informed jurors on Thursday that they should be prepared for opening statements to begin on Monday.