▶ Watch Video: 12-person jury seated in Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial
Twelve jurors and six alternates are seated in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York, which began opening arguments on Monday.
The final jury was chosen from a pool of dozens of Manhattan residents and includes two people who replaced earlier selections. One woman expressed concerns about her identity being revealed by media reports, saying friends and family had already asked her if she was serving. Another man was dismissed after prosecutors flagged possible inconsistencies in his answers in the jury questionnaire.
The jurors, whose identities are known to those involved in the case but otherwise kept secret, are tasked with deciding the outcome of the first criminal trial of a former president in U.S. history. They all vowed to serve impartially, and answered questions about their political opinions, personal lives and news consumption habits before being selected. After the two earlier jurors were replaced, Judge Juan Merchan restricted the media from reporting on potential jurors’ employers.
The panel will hear evidence related to allegations that Trump participated in a scheme with his former attorney Michael Cohen to falsify records in order to cover up reimbursements he paid to Cohen. The reimbursements were allegedly for a “hush money” payment Cohen made just before the 2016 election to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has accused prosecutors of pursuing the case for political gain.
Here’s what we know about the jury in the Trump trial. Jurors #2 and #4 replaced the two earlier jurors:
Juror #1
Juror #1 is a man originally from Ireland who now lives in New York and works in sales. He was assigned by the judge to be foreperson. He enjoys the outdoors and gets his news from the New York Times, the Daily Mail, Fox News and MSNBC.
Juror #2
Juror #2 is a man who works in investment banking and lives with his wife in New York. He said he follows Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and a key witness in the case, on social media, as well as Trump’s Truth Social posts. He said he pays attention to “anything that might be able to move the markets I need to know about.”
Juror #3
Juror #3 is a corporate lawyer originally from Oregon. He said he likes to go hiking, and gets his news from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Google. He said he was “not super familiar with the other charges” that Trump faces and doesn’t “follow the news that closely.”
Juror #4
Juror #4 is a security engineer who said he spends most of his spare time with his children. He said he gets his news from a variety of outlets and is not on social media.
Juror #5
The fifth juror is a teacher who said she is not very interested in politics or the news, which she gets from The New York Times and TikTok. While her friends have strong opinions about Trump, she said she does not. She offered this opinion under questioning from one of Trump’s lawyers: “President Trump speaks his mind. I would rather that in a person than someone who’s in office and you don’t know what they’re doing behind the scenes.”
Juror #6
A software engineer, Juror #6 said she can treat Trump as she would any other person on trial. She reads The New York Times and uses TikTok.
Juror #7
A civil litigator, Juror #7 said he enjoys time outdoors with his children. He told the court he reads The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and The Washington Post. He likes the podcasts “Smartless” and “Car Talk.”
Juror #8
The eighth juror is a retired wealth manager. He said he enjoys meditation and yoga, and gets his news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC and CNBC.
Juror #9
Juror #9 is a woman originally from New Jersey and works as a speech therapist. She said she doesn’t “watch any news or follow it too closely” and listens to podcasts about reality TV. She said she does get newsletters from The New York Times and CNN.
“I do not agree with a lot of his politics and his decisions as a president, but I have really taken the past two days to reflect and make sure that I could leave that at the door and be a totally impartial juror, and I feel like I can,” she said in court.
Juror #10
The tenth juror is a man originally from Ohio who works in commerce. He said he enjoys the outdoors and animals. He said he could put aside his views about Trump and decide the case impartially.
“I don’t have a strong opinion about Mr. Trump,” he said. “For some things I am in favor, for [some] things I am not in favor.”
Juror #11
Juror #11 is a woman originally from California. She works in product development. She said she thinks Trump “seems very selfish and self-serving, so I don’t really appreciate that in any public servant.” But she said that doesn’t mean she can’t be impartial.
“I don’t have strong opinions about him, but I don’t like his persona, how he presents himself in public. I don’t really agree with some of his politics, but that does not mean I can’t be impartial,” she told the court. “I don’t like some of my co-workers, but I am not going to — but I can hear him out and understand his point of view and understand his issues.”
Juror #12
Juror #12 is a woman who works as a physical therapist. She said she listens to sports and faith-related podcasts, and gets her news from The New York Times, USA Today and CNN.
“As an eligible voter I feel it is my responsibility in regard to elections to establish an educated decision so that I can vote. In regards to this court case and the defendant in the room, I have no opinions until I am presented the information in the courtroom,” she said in court.
Alternate #1
The first alternate is a woman who grew up overseas and works as a financial analyst. She said she gets her news from The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
“I have opinions about [Trump] the same way I have opinions about most things. I don’t have any personal opinions about him, none that I feel would impact my ability to be impartial,” she said.
Alternate #2
Alternate #2 is a woman from Spain who is not currently working and said she “[doesn’t] believe in watching news.” She added that she doesn’t have a strong opinion of Trump, and said “nothing is going to influence my decision” if selected to serve.
Alternate #3
The third alternate is a man who works in IT as an audio professional. He joked that he could help if there were issues with the microphones.
He also said he doesn’t have a strong opinion about Trump, and that “there should be consequences” if someone is guilty of a crime.
Alternate #4
Alternate #4 works as a contract specialist. She said she is “not a big news person” and relies on the New York Times, Reuters, the BBC, Facebook and Instagram. “I have no really strong opinions about President Trump,” she told the court.
Alternate #5
The fifth alternate is a woman originally from Texas. She said she works at a clothing company and gets her news from the New York Times and Google.
Alternate #6
Alternate #6 is a woman who works for a construction company. She says she spends most of her free time with her children and reads the New York Times and watches NY1.
