Trump trial live updates: 12 jurors seated; selection of alternates ongoing

What this case is about: Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to bury stories that he feared could hurt his 2016 campaign.

Where the trial stands: Twelve jurors have been picked for former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York. Lawyers are still working to select alternates.

The trial’s first witness remains under wraps

Prosecutors declined to tell Trump’s legal team who the trial’s first witnesses would be, complaining that he has been posting on social media about witnesses in the run-up to the trial.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche offered to assure the court that it wouldn’t happen, saying he would “commit to the court and the people that President Trump will not Truth about any witness.”

“That he will not tweet about any witnesses? I don’t think you can make that representation,” the judge said.

The new jurors have been sworn in

Before adjourning for the day, Trump watched as they raised their right hands and swore to hear the case in a “fair and impartial manner.”

Trump exits the courtroom

Holding a stack of print-outs of articles and op-eds criticizing the case he addressed cameras to complain that he’s supposed to be campaigning across the country but is instead stuck in court.

“Everybody’s outraged by it,” he says, criticizing Bragg. “They’re doing this for Joe Biden,” he claims, calling the charges “a scam.”

1 alternate juror has been sworn in

Five more still need to be seated.

All 12 jurors have been seated

Lawyers have moved on to discussing alternates.

2 new jurors have been seated

The total number of jurors has returned to seven, the same number it was at the start of the day.

The judge swears in a new panel — then sends them home

The third panel of prospective jurors were told to return at 11:30 a.m. Friday. Judge Merchan apologized that they had to wait all day without anything happening

Prospective jurors offer unvarnished views of Trump as he watches on

The former president looked toward the jury box as the potential jurors offered their often critical views of him as a person and president.

After a string of responses taking issue with Trump’s politics and “persona,” at least one spoke of the former president in glowing terms.

“He was our president. Pretty amazing,” the man said, adding that he was “impressed” with Trump’s ability to forge a career as a successful businessman.

“I started as an entrepreneur as well. I’ve made a lot of things happen, just as he has, so I take that as a positive thing,” he added.

Some potential jurors recall Trump not as the president, but as a New Yorker

Asked about her opinions of Trump, one prospective juror mused about a lifetime of being aware of — and sometimes crossing paths — with the New York businessman-turned-celebrity-turned-politician.

One of her cousins lived in a Trump building, while another relative was involved with a separate Trump building and had only positive things to say about the experience. She even recalled once glimpsing Trump himself and then-wife Marla Maples shopping for baby items, years ago.

“How I feel about him as a president is different. So I have feelings in both directions,” said the woman, a retired university administrator.

Another prospective juror, a lifelong New Yorker, said he had a fondness for Trump — at least when it pertains to one issue near to his hockey-loving heart.

“As a wannabe hockey player, I still thank him for fixing that Wollman Rink that nobody couldn’t fix,” said the man, referring to an ice skating rink in Central Park that Trump’s company managed for many years through a contract with the city.

Trump’s lawyer warns prospective jurors about the dangers of implicit bias

A woman from the Upper West Side acknowledged, in response to questions from Trump’s attorney, that she did have strong feelings about the former president. “Yes. I disagree with most of his policies,” she said.

Shortly after, another woman spoke in even stronger terms. “He just seems very selfish and self-serving, so I don’t really appreciate that in any public servant,” she said.

Trump appeared to perk up during both comments, turning around to look in the direction of the box. Both women said it would not impact their ability to act impartially.

In response to the first woman, Trump’s lawyer Necheles launched into a lengthy speech about implicit bias.

“The problem with biases is they color the way you look at the world. What you may believe and may not,” Necheles said. “We wouldn’t allow someone who has a strong dislike for a certain type of people to sit on a jury of that type of person.”

His ‘politics aren’t my politics’

One prospective juror told Trump’s lawyer that the former president’s “politics aren’t my politics” but also that she doesn’t “have strong feelings about President Trump at this point.”

Trump’s attorney pressed the woman on whether she ever posted negative things on social media about the former president.

The woman, who has served on numerous other juries, said that her social media posts are often “negative about politicians” but that she’d eased off posting about politics since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“Politics seems like a nasty thing to be posting about during a national crisis,” she said.

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