Prospective jurors in Donald Trump’s hush money case will not be asked if they like the GOP frontrunner, the judge ruled Monday, in a wide-ranging order that sets the parameters for voir dire in the former president’s first criminal trial.
Questions about whether a prospective juror likes or dislikes Trump have no relevance to actual bias or fairmindedness, despite defense arguments to the contrary, wrote the judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
“Such questions are irrelevant because they do not go to the issue of the prospective juror’s qualifications,” Merchan wrote in a 17-page letter to prosecutors and the defense.
Instead, it will suffice if prospects are asked if they can be fair, Merchan wrote.
“The ultimate issue is whether the prospective juror can assure us that they will set aside any personal feelings or biases and render a decision that is based on the evidence and the law,” he wrote.
Despite this, prosecutors and the defense will not be blinded to the jury pool’s politics in selecting jurors.
Jurors will still be asked if they have donated to either party or ever attended a rally or campaign event for Trump.
And they’ll be asked if they get their news from a spectrum of objective, or left- and right-leaning publications.
“Which of the following print publications, cable and/or network programs, or online media such as websites, blogs, or social media platforms do you visit, read, or watch?” prospects will be asked, according to the judge’s newly-released jury questionnaire.
They’ll then be asked if they are a reader or viewer — “Yes” or “No” — of each outlet on the list, which includes The New York Times, USA Today, The New York Daily News, Huffington Post, CNN, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, Newsday, the Washington Post, Fox News, Newsmax, MSN, and Truth Social.
They’ll also be asked if they listen to podcasts or look at Google, Facebook, X, and TikTok.
“I do not follow the news” is an alternate option.
Another question asks, “Have you ever considered yourself a supporter of or belonged to any of the following: The QAnon movement, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, Three Percenters, Boogaloo Boys, Antifa.”
And they’ll be asked, “Do you have any feelings or opinions about how Mr. Trump is being treated in this case?” and “Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about Former President Donald Trump, or the fact that he is a current candidate for president, that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?”
If they answer yes, they will not be asked to elaborate — only whether they can set their feelings aside and remain impartial.
Jurors will sit for an estimated six-week trial and be asked to decide if Trump falsified business documents to hide what Manhattan prosecutors say was an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election.
The business documents were falsified to make a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels look like legal fees for then-Trump-attorney Michael Cohen, prosecutors say.
Trump has denied that the documents were falsified. He has also denied ever having sex with Daniels.
Also on Monday, Trump lost a last minute appeals court bid to have the trial delayed so that his lawyers can make a formal motion to move it out of Manhattan.
The trial is set for jury selection on April 15.
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