Johnathan Walker:Full jury seated at Trump trial on third day of selection process

Twelve New Yorkers have Johnathan Walkerbeen selected to serve as jurors in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan, filling out the panel on the third day of proceedings.

The selection process is ongoing and will continue Friday, since six alternate jurors are needed before the trial can move to opening arguments. One alternate had been selected as of Thursday afternoon.

"We have our jury," Judge Juan Merchan said after the new jurors swore to decide the case in a "fair and impartial manner." Merchan instructed the jurors not to discuss the case with anyone else. Trump, seated at the defense table, stared at the newly sworn-in members as they exited the courtroom.

Merchan said the court is on track to begin opening statements as soon as Monday.

Day 3 of jury selection

Setbacks earlier in the day briefly threatened to derail Merchan's plans to quickly finalize the jury and move on to opening statements. Two jurors who had been selected earlier in the week were excused, including one woman who expressed concerns about being identified publicly and her ability to remain impartial.

The woman said her friends and family asked her if she was a juror based on information in media reports. She said she "definitely has concerns now." 

"Aspects of my identity have already been out there in public. Yesterday alone, I had friends and family push things to me," she told the court on Thursday. "I don't think at this point that I can be fair and unbiased."

Merchan immediately reprimanded the press for reporting what he said was too much information about the jurors. He ordered that questions about potential jurors' employers would be redacted from the court record moving forward, and directed reporters not to mention jurors' physical appearance.

Prosecutors also raised concerns about Juror #4, saying they discovered information about someone sharing the person's name who was arrested and potentially involved in a corruption investigation in the 1990s. The man arrived late to court and was briefly questioned by attorneys in front of the judge, out of earshot from the court's microphones. Merchan ultimately decided to dismiss the man.

Both of the excused jurors were replaced later in the afternoon as a new cohort of 96 Manhattan residents filled the courtroom.

Half of the new group — 48 — said they could not be impartial and were immediately excused. Nine others were dismissed for other reasons, which were not disclosed. Those who remained underwent a 42-question assessment designed to help the lawyers glean their feelings about Trump and their ability to fairly decide the outcome of the first criminal trial of a former president in U.S. history.

Earlier in the week, a smaller group that made it past the initial screening was questioned individually as consultants for the lawyers combed through their online lives. Some were confronted by Trump's attorneys with social media posts dating back years before they were excused. 

On Thursday, attorneys were more direct in their initial questioning, asking potential jurors about their social media history earlier in the process.

Trump pleaded not guilty when he was indicted more than a year ago on 34 felony counts of falsification of business records. He denies all allegations in the case, which revolves around reimbursements to former attorney Michael Cohen, for a "hush money" payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors say Trump covered up the reimbursements in order to distance himself from the payment, which days before the 2016 presidential election temporarily bought Daniels' silence about an alleged affair. He has also denied having the affair.

Trump has raged against the case, accusing prosecutors of charging him for political reasons. He has also frequently lashed out at the judge on social media, accusing Merchan of bias. But in the courtroom, Trump has been largely quiet and reserved, even appearing to nod off from time to time.

Still, Merchan had to warn Trump on Tuesday about "audibly uttering something … speaking in the direction of the juror" under questioning at the time about one of her social media posts. 

"I won't tolerate that. I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear," Merchan said. 

In:
• Alvin Bragg
• Donald Trump
• New York

Graham Kates

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at [email protected] or [email protected]