After hunt for impartiality, who are the 12 Trump jurors?
By Madeline Halpert
In just three days, a court has weeded through hundreds of Manhattanites, selecting 12 people and six alternates to serve on the jury in the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.
Finding a group of impartial jurors in the case against Donald Trump – one of the most polarising US politicians – was no easy task.
But now, after over a dozen challenges, both sides have settled on the panel.
“Those who are blatantly biased are out,” said Jeremy Saland, a former Manhattan prosecutor. “They’ve done their homework and done their job to pick a jury.”
To protect their identities, New York Judge Juan Merchan limited the amount of information reporters can share about the 12.
But from what we know, it’s a highly educated group. The five women and seven men include a civil litigator from the Upper East Side: an investment banker with an MBA; a security engineer from the West Village; and a retired wealth manager.
Having highly educated jurors is valuable in this case, Mr Saland, who is not connected with the case, said. “You need someone who’s capable and intelligent enough to parse out what happened and apply the law.”
But the jurors could face intense outside pressure in the high-profile felony trial scheduled as Mr Trump runs for president.
