2 weeks ago
25
Thursday saw more jurors selected for Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial. Trump faces 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal that could have affected the 2016 election. A dozen jurors and one alternate were in place by the end of the day, but it didn’t happen without another round of courtroom drama.
Two of the seven jurors who had been selected on the first day were sent home, Trump had to be cautioned for misbehavior, Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order was once again front and center, and how the press reports on the case is already having an impact inside the court. After the day’s proceedings ended, media reports that had contributed to earlier problems continued on Thursday evening.
Despite everything, Trump’s trial remains on track. There are only two half-days of court next week, and Tuesday has been set aside to hear issues related to Trump’s possible violations of the gag order. But Merchan is keeping things moving briskly, and it seems likely testimony could get underway when the case resumes in the first week of May.
