“Oh, come on, let's go,” said the man. “Back in Central Park, I knew some of the kids, their cousins.”
The reference had nothing to do with the divisive Trump presidency. Instead, the black man was referring to a shocking 1989 rape in New York City. Shortly after five black and Latino teenagers were arrested and identified as suspects in the jogger assault, President Trump paid for a full-page newspaper ad calling for New York to reinstate the death penalty. Although the five teens were fully exonerated years later, President Trump has repeatedly indicated that he still believes them to be guilty.
The jury selection process for Trump's hush-money trial has created an organization that resembles a national focus group, albeit with a New York accent, and has given ordinary Americans the chance to keep the former president in the public eye for nearly 50 years. I was given the opportunity to express my opinions and thoughts on the matter.
The familiar dynamics were suddenly reversed as prosecutors and defense teams tried to weed out people who held biased views of Trump, one of the most polarizing figures in American political history.Ordinary New Yorkers who have been doing it for years. He listened from his seat in the Capitol as Trump talked about how he was forced to listen while others were there to talk about him. The defense bench in the 15th floor courtroom in Manhattan.
Trump sat with his arms crossed and looked at the jurors as potential jurors criticized him. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan admonished President Trump for attempting to intimidate the female jurors when he tweeted at one of them.
Potential jurors spanned a variety of neighborhoods, from the West Village to Hell's Kitchen to West Harlem, and professionals such as lawyers, nurses, and municipal workers.
The people with the most opinions have no chance to express their opinions. About half of the roughly 200 potential jurors called into court in the first week told Marchand they could not be fair and impartial, and the judge removed them from the jury.
Several New Yorkers who stayed there expressed strong opinions. Before being excused as a potential juror, an Italian immigrant compared Trump to Silvio Berlusconi, who disgraced the former Italian prime minister who was convicted of tax evasion in 2012.
“It's going to be a little difficult to be fair and impartial,” the man said.
Several people expressed mixed feelings about Trump's career, but insisted their opinions did not affect their ability to judge Trump fairly.
“I have an opinion. I was born and raised in New York and I've kind of spent my life knowing Donald Trump,” he said of meeting Trump and his then-wife Marla Maples while shopping for a baby. said a former university administrator who told the court. supplies. The woman said her cousin once lived in Trump Tower in Midtown.
Although she has publicly said she has heard positive things about Trump, she told Trump's lawyers, “That's not how I feel about him as president.”
Some New Yorkers seem to have mixed opinions. Some read “The Art of the Deal,” Trump's first best-selling (and ghostwritten) book about how to succeed in business. This book contained important information such as: In short, controversy sells. ”
A middle-aged man involved in real estate development said that the book was “interesting.'' The same man told prosecutors that his company never did business with the Trump Organization, but that he was “kind of an admirer from afar for some of our work.”
A lifelong New Yorker who works in law enforcement said he had a soft spot for President Trump. The reason for this is, “As an aspiring hockey player, I'm still grateful to him for fixing Wollman Rink when no one else could.''
He was referring to the once dilapidated Central Park ice rink that Trump's company took over from the city and renovated into a popular attraction.
The man, who worked as a lawyer, said he has a variety of opinions about President Trump's political views. But he expressed a more definitive view of Trump's reality TV career.
“When I was in middle school, I was a big fan of 'The Apprentice,'” the man said, referring to the show that aired 20 years ago in which businessmen competed to impress President Trump. He played the role of a ruthless person. 14 seasons of moguls.
Trump's celebrity status raises the stakes in jury selection for both the prosecution and defense, jury consultants say. In cases with high-profile defendants, even jurors who claim to be impartial may have deep-seated views that are difficult to overcome.
Almost everyone in America knows Trump's name, and his lawyers say many prospective jurors in heavily Democratic Manhattan are reluctant to express their full opinions about him in open court. “I'm concerned that this is the case,” said a person familiar with the former president's legal strategy. An anonymous person told The Washington Post.
The Reverend Al Sharpton, who also lives in New York, said in an interview that Trump's early reputation as a great New York figure was built largely on his regular appearances in tabloid gossip columns. Told. Trump's business and dating exploits were meticulously documented, often through tips from Trump himself to reporters.
“A lot of it was created by the tabloids. He became a tabloid darling,” said Sharpton, who has fought with Trump on civil issues. “One tabloid guy said to me, [former New York mayor] Controversial people, like Ed Koch or Donald Trump or even me, that's what sells newspapers. ”
Joe Elan Demetrius, who served as a consultant for O.J. He said he had an opinion. Simpson was ultimately acquitted in a highly publicized trial.
Although some viewed Simpson negatively because he had repeatedly been accused of domestic violence, “The most vocal opinion by far was, 'I used to watch his USC football games. , I thought he was an interesting actor,''' she said. He has done very well for the football world. ”
Demetrius said that in Trump's case, those sentencing him will bring “a compilation of all the knowledge that New Yorkers have about him.” He said prosecutors and defense attorneys “need to compare potential jurors' answers in court to past statements about Mr. Trump on social media to see if this person is being honest.” He emphasized. are they hiding something? ”
Mr. Trump's lawyers worked with a jury consultant to examine the social media histories of prospective jurors who participated in Q&A during the selection process. Mr. Trump's lawyers also paid close attention to the opinions of potential jurors. A person familiar with the defense team's strategy said his body language when talking about the former president was “outlandish.”
On Thursday, a woman said publicly that she doesn't have “strong opinions” about President Trump and is willing to be unbiased. However, she was later questioned pointedly and she admitted that in fact her own opinion was being expressed.
“He seems very selfish and selfish,” the woman said during cross-examination by Trump's lawyers. “I don't get much appreciation for that from any public official.”
Todd Blanche, Trump's lead attorney, challenged the potential jurors' ability to be impartial, citing online posts, some of which date back more than five years.
Blanche also successfully persuaded Marchand to punch a man in a 2017 Facebook post. Trump loses legal battle over illegal travel ban! Get him out and lock him up. ”
Another prospective juror posted an artificial intelligence-generated deepfake video in which Trump appears to repeatedly call himself a “shithole.” In fairness, the man claimed that this was “just something I reposted.” What I think about the defendant outside of this room has nothing to do with the merits of the case. ”
Another juror was shown old social media posts she wrote calling Trump a “racist, sexist and narcissist.”
“Oops, that's bad,” she admitted after seeing the post, before pledging to be fair. She was fired after Machan deemed it a “close call.”
However, the judge also rejected the defense's argument that potential jurors should reflect on anti-Trump posts from their families. Marchan said other posts amounted to political satire without any suggestion of bias.
Marchan denied a legal challenge to a woman who posted a video of a New Yorker celebrating Trump's loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The woman told the court she was documenting “celebratory moments in New York City.”
Other potential jurors expressed approval of Trump's bombastic rhetorical style. Trump attacked Marchand and District Attorney Alvin Bragg, leading a judge to issue a partial gag order, but some jurors praised Trump's lack of filter. He said he was there.
A black woman who said she avoids political conversations told the court: “President Trump speaks his mind, and I'd rather do that.” [have] That's better than someone in a position where you don't know what they're thinking. ”
A grandfather who came to New York from Puerto Rico seemed intrigued by President Trump, calling him “charming and mysterious.” Trump “walks into a room and kicks people out in some way,” the man said. “I think that's really interesting.”
Blanche seemed at a loss as to how to interpret his opinion. “Okay, thank you,” he said.
The grandfather was later selected as one of the 12 jurors in the trial.
