‘Fascinating ... stirs the pot’: Jury candidates air views of Trump as hush money trial proceeds

New York: A day after the salacious details of his sex life were laid bare in the opening hours of his first criminal trial, Donald Trump returned to court to hear how he was viewed by prospective jurors who could soon decide his fate.

One man described the former US president as “fascinating and mysterious”, saying he found it “interesting” that Trump “walks into a room, and he sets people off one way or another”.

Another would-be juror prompted a slight smile from the incendiary Republican when she referred to him as someone who “speaks his mind” and “stirs the pot”.

And one teacher in her 20s brought up the nation’s grievances at the 2020 election.

“There was a divide in the country and I can’t ignore that,” she said. “However, I never equated that to one individual.”

The observations were made on the second day of Trump’s historic hush money trial, as prosecutors and defence lawyers continued to search for 12 jurors who could determine if Trump is guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal with porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Stormy Daniels in 2022.

By the end of Tuesday (local time) the first seven had been selected, cementing their place in a blockbuster trial that could reshape the presidential election in November.

“This is a trial that should have never been brought,” Trump said defiantly as he entered the court, once again branding the case as a political witch-hunt.

The jury selection process began on Monday but ended with dozens of candidates being dismissed after they acknowledged they would struggle to be fair and impartial.

Things looked ominous again on Tuesday morning, when two prospective jurors were late – leaving Trump looking unimpressed as he sat with his defence team in the drab courtroom on the 15th floor of the New York County Supreme Court.

A third juror also had to be excused due to illness, followed by three more dismissals on the grounds of impartiality.

But just before midday, the first group of 18 prospective jurors made it through the initial round – a 42-part questionnaire designed to weed out potential biases – and into the second stage of direct questioning by lawyers.

Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass kicked things off by telling the group that the trial against the former president was “not a referendum on whether you like Donald Trump” or “who you’re going to vote for in November”.

“We don’t care. This case is about whether he broke the law,” he said.

But it was Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche who asked the unavoidable question, given “every one of you knows President Trump”. So what opinion did they have of him?

“I don’t really have one,” said one juror, insisting she was there for her “civic duty”.

“Especially in this courtroom, he will be treated as anyone else can be treated. No one is above the law.”

Another woman said she “obviously” knew of Trump because she is female. Asked by Blanche what she meant, she replied: “I know that there have been opinions on how he doesn’t treat females correctly; stuff like that.”

However, she added: “I honestly don’t know the story. So I don’t have a view on it.”

And a third juror – a Democrat who ended up being dismissed by the judge – replied: “If we were sitting in a bar, I’d be happy to tell you … But in this room what I feel about president Trump is not important.”

It was another surreal day – even for a man known for shattering norms and redefining history.

Situated in Lower Manhattan, the New York County Supreme Court has seen many high-profile defendants over the years, but perhaps none as well known as a former reality TV star-turned president, who is now campaigning to return to the White House.

And yet here, minus his usual bravado and bluster, and once again without his wife Melania by his side, Trump looked more like a weary, ordinary man.

On the first day of his trial this week, his alleged sexual encounters had been in full view of the court as lawyers argued over what evidence could be given to the jury.

Trump’s side scored a win when Judge Juan Merchan ruled that during the expected testimony of Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says she had an affair with Trump, there could be no mention of Melania being pregnant with their son Barron at the time, or that the affair continued when Melania was at home with a newborn.

Nor could prosecutors play to the jury the now infamous Access Hollywood tape in which Trump is heard bragging about grabbing women “by the p—-”.

The main part of the trial, however, will focus on allegations he falsified three dozen business records in an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to Daniels, who says she had a brief sexual encounter with him in 2006.

Trump’s fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $US130,000 ($203,000) to remain silent in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

But according to prosecutors, he was later reimbursed by Trump, who allegedly disguised the payment as a legal retainer, thereby breaching campaign finance laws.

Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for former president Donald Trump.

Trump, however, insists he is the victim of political persecution, telling reporters on Tuesday: “I was paying a lawyer and marked it down as a legal expense … That’s exactly what it was. And you get indicted over that?”

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