By Jack Queen and Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A juror was excluded from Donald Trump’s criminal trial on Thursday after she said she felt intimidated that some personal information had been made public, as lawyers struggled to assemble a jury for one of the most high-profile trials in American history.
The judge later said the juror told him she was scared and intimidated by the press.
“I don’t believe at this point that I can be fair and unbiased and not let outside influences influence my decision-making in the courtroom,” said the juror, who was selected as one of seven earlier this week.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, told news media not to report where potential jurors said they worked. There were already such restrictions before Thursday.
“We just lost what probably would have been a very good judge,” Merchan said.
Six jurors remained.
The decision underscored the extraordinary pressure surrounding the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
Trump is one of the most controversial figures in American politics, and roughly half of the 192 potential jurors screened so far in heavily Democratic Manhattan have been dismissed after saying they could not impartially judge his guilt or innocence .
Trump is facing 34 felony charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly falsifying records to cover up hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election, who said she was a had a sexual encounter with Trump.
Trump denies having sex with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. He faces 34 felony charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly falsifying records to cover up hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in this case and in three other criminal cases against him in Washington, Georgia and Florida.
The New York trial could be the only trial he faces before the election. A conviction would not prevent Trump, the Republican presidential candidate in the November 5 election, from running for office or taking office
Trump says, without providing evidence, that all four criminal cases are part of a broad effort by allies of Democratic President Joe Biden to thwart his candidacy.
Officials in some of these cases have reported receiving death threats and intimidation after being criticized by Trump.
Merchan has taken steps to protect the 12 jurors and six alternates in the case from harassment, saying they will remain anonymous except to Trump, his lawyers and prosecutors.
He also imposed a partial gag order on Trump, who has criticized him, witnesses, prosecutors and their family members.
Prosecutors say Trump has violated the silence order seven times since they flagged three possible violations on Monday, and have asked Merchan to impose fines or other penalties.
On Thursday, prosecutor Christopher Conroy pointed to reports about former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a key prosecution witness, and a report saying undercover liberal activists had lied to the judge in an attempt to sway the jury to come.
One of Trump’s lawyers, Emil Bove, said these messages “do not demonstrate any intentional violation of the silence order.”
Prosecutors also pointed to a possible problem with one of the six jurors already selected, saying a person with that name was arrested for pulling down political ads in the 1990s. That juror’s wife was also involved in a corruption investigation at the time, they said.
Opening statements could take place on Monday if the full jury is seated this week.
While a guilty verdict would not keep Trump from office, half of independent voters and one in four Republicans say they would not vote for him if convicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on April 8 ended.
The same poll found that 64% of registered voters thought the hush money allegations were at least “somewhat serious.”
No trial dates have yet been set for the cases in Georgia and Washington in which he is accused of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, and another case in Florida in which he is accused of mishandling classified documents.
(Reporting by Jack Queen and Luc Cohen in New York; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Lisa Shumaker and Jonathan Oatis)
