Apr.18

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

Even without a Trial There Was Trial News Yesterday

God waited until the seventh day to rest, but he didn't have to put up with Donald Trump. Judge Juan Merchan couldn't take it and had to rest after just 2 days' work.

OK, not entirely. Merchan decided that for the rest of Trump's trial, there will (probably) be no session on Wednesdays, just to give him time to deal with other cases on his docket. There could be other important matters that can't wait the 6-8 weeks Trump's trial is expected to take. Merchan will use Wednesdays to deal with them. However, if Trump's lawyers gum up the works with frivolous motions, the Judge has reserved the right to continue the trial on Wednesdays, if need be. He is clearly a no-nonsense judge and wants to move things along. It is not unusual for judges to reserve one day a week for other matters during a long trial.

The judge wants to keep the jurors' identities secret, but nosy reporters want to know. So far seven jurors have been chosen, and ABC News has compiled what it knows about them as follows:

• Juror 1 is a middle-aged salesman originally from Ireland. He lives in West Harlem and will be the jury foreman. He gets his news from The New York Times, The Daily Mail, Fox News, and MSNBC. Clearly he is open to multiple viewpoints, which makes him an ideal juror. He used to be a waiter but has worked in sales for the last 30 years. In his spare time, he likes doing outdoorsy things. He is married but has no children. When asked if he knew about Trump's other cases, he said he had heard about them. If we were trying to fake it, this would be our profile.
  
  
• Juror 2 has worked as an oncology nurse at a big hospital on the Upper East Side for 15 years. She lives with her fiancé and her dog. She is a native New Yorker. She gets her news from The NYT, CNN, Google, and Facebook. She was surprised she was called for this case. When asked if she had an opinion of Trump, she said: "I really don't have one." Good answer! She also added: "No one is above the law." A bad omen for Trump.
  
  
• Juror 3 is a corporate attorney who used to live in Oregon and moved to New York 5 years ago. He has worked at two major white-shoe law firms in New York. He gets his news from The NYT, Wall Street Journal, and Google, but says he doesn't follow the news closely. In his spare time he likes to run and hike. When asked about the case, he felt like he was able to infer Trump's state of mind. He could be trouble for Trump. A lawyer, even a corporate one, is going to understand the charges—falsifying business records to hide a crime—and will be impossible to mislead. During deliberations, he will be able to explain the nature of the charges and evidence to other jury members who don't quite follow it. We suspect that a high-end lawyer who reads both the Times and WSJ knows exactly what is going on, what is at stake, and what is likely to be persuasive in the jury room. Maybe Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, was hoarding his peremptory challenges, but if we were Blanche, we wouldn't want this guy on the jury. He is no dummy.
  
  
• Juror 4 is one that the prosecution could be worried about, but only a little. He is an older Puerto Rican with two grandchildren who finds Trump to be fascinating and mysterious. Juror 4: "He walks into a room, and he sets people off one way or another. I find that really interesting. Really, this one guy can do all of this. 'Wow,' that's what I think." So he is impressed with Trump's magical powers. He is a self-employed IT consultant who attended college for one year. His hobby is spending time with his family. He was on a jury once in a civil case long ago, but has forgotten what it was about. He reads The New York Daily News and the Times, but also gets news from Google.
  
  
• Juror 5 is a life-long New Yorker who lives in Harlem with her brother, who is a basketball coach. She is a woman of color who teaches English in a charter school. She is the only potential juror who raised her hand when the jurors were asked if they hadn't heard about Trump's other cases. She gets her news from Google and TikTok and listens to inspirational podcasts and the Breakfast Club radio show. She said she doesn't care for the news. Two of her family members have worked in law enforcement, one of whom was a homicide sergeant with the NYPD. In her spare time she enjoys writing and theater.
  
  
• Juror 6 is a software engineer who works for the Walt Disney Company. She grew up in NYC and lives in Chelsea with three roommates. She reads the Times and watches TikTok. When asked, she said: "I will be fair and impartial." Way to go! In her spare time she enjoys plays, restaurants, dancing, and watching TV.
  
  
• Juror 7 is a second white-shoe lawyer. He works as a civil litigator. New York is full of lawyers. He lives on the Upper East Side and likes to play with his kids. He reads the Times, The Washington Post, and the WSJ. He has never served on a jury. He supports some of Trump's policies and not others. He also said: "I don't know the man and I don't have opinions about him personally." We think he is full of B.S. A high-end corporate lawyer who reads the three most important papers in the country knows exactly what the score is. All three are full of news about Trump's indictments practically every day. And it is hard to believe that a lawyer reads three papers just to keep up with the Yankees and the Wizards. If this guy and Juror 3 decide that Trump broke the law, they are going to reinforce each other and probably will exert a major influence on the other jurors. To us, it is inconceivable that a lawyer who reads three major newspapers packed daily with Trump's legal problems doesn't have an opinion of him. But again, each side gets only 10 peremptory challenges and this guy knew exactly what to say to keep the judge happy, so he couldn't be challenged for cause. That issue doesn't come up so much in corporate law, but he undoubtedly went to a good law school and knows how the game is played. As an aside, Trump apparently thought each side got an unlimited number of peremptory challenges and was angry when his lawyers told him, no, each side gets only 10.
  

Our take: Juror 4 finds Trump mysterious, but we doubt he will fight the two lawyers to the death in order to get a hung jury. So far, there is not a lot to cheer Trump, but another five jurors are yet to be selected, plus six alternates. We think the chance of an acquittal on all charges is basically zero, so Blanche's game has to be going for a hung jury.

Former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori is worried that the public could figure out who some of the jurors are, based on this information and some other information that has been made available. He is worried about the jurors' safety. Based on the above information, that might not be enough, but it's still a concern. Of course, if one of the jurors writes a book about the trial later, it will be harder to stay anonymous, but that is the juror's own choice.

Jury selection is not the only thing that happened yesterday. Merchan ruled that Trump may not attend oral argument for the Supreme Court immunity case. He is required to be in Merchan's courtroom for the entire trial. There is no particular reason for Trump to attend the Supreme Court argument, though. His lawyers will make the best case they can and there is no special reason why he needs to be there. After yesterday's session, Trump said that Merchan thinks he is more important than the Supreme Court. That is patent nonsense. There is a good reason to be in the courtroom when you are on trial on a criminal charge, but no real need to be at the oral arguments. The lawyers can handle that perfectly well. (V)