By the end of Tuesday, seven jurors had been selected to determine whether Donald Trump should be the first president ever convicted of a crime. By Thursday morning, when the Manhattan trial resumed, there were just six.
According to Judge Juan Merchan, the juror was excused after later expressing doubt that she could remain fair and impartial. In particular, she said that friends and family had already reached out to ask if she was serving on the jury.
Those calls came after media outlets reported potentially identifying biographical information about the woman, including her job and the neighborhood she called home. As The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake noted, she was singled out in a Tuesday night Fox News broadcast, anchor Jesse Waters declaring: “I’m not so sure about Juror No. 2.”
Fox News host Jesse Watters on Tuesday broadcast extensive biographical details about Juror No. 2 — her neighborhood, occupation, education, marital and family status, and what industry her fiance works in.
He concluded by saying, “I’m not so sure about Juror No. 2.”
He… pic.twitter.com/PCMMOvnoGw
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) April 18, 2024
Watters “managed to get a juror bumped out of the case by doing everything possible to expose her identity,” argued attorney Bradley Moss.
Watters has alleged without evidence that “liberal activists” are lying to get on the jury, a claim that Trump himself has repeated on Truth Social, potentially violating a gag order.
Jury selection is continuing Thursday. Trump is facing charges that he falsified business records to cover up a hush payment and affair with Stormy Daniels to unlawfully influence the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty.
Judge Merchan implored journalists to be more careful going forward, asking that they exercise “common sense” before reporting jurors’ biographical information, NBC News reported.
“Jurors are real people with families, lives, and jobs,” tweeted former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. “If one juror came forward and vocally expressed concern about her safety, that concern is likely in the mind of the *other* jurors. Their safety must be ensured in order for our legal system to work.”
