#TrumpTrial cont’d

One prospective #juror said he only reads the New York Post & the New York Daily News. In other words, he's a NY unicorn.

At another point he said he only has a flip phone. "And therefore I do not *watch* any podcasts," he says, elliciting laughter.

The man says he has no friends or family who have been convicted of a #crime, but quickly amends his answer, more loudly, to no "close friends."

The first potential #juror that is being questioned this morning says she has previously worked as a #law clerk for the federal government & has discussed the #legal merits of this case w/many of her coworkers. Justice #Merchan asks if that would influence her if she’s chosen for the jury. She paused before saying she could be fair, but then added: “It is hard to unring a bell.” [no doubt. I couldn’t be on this #jury]

#Merchan is now saying that the DA’s office came across information about juror #4 that called the veracity of that juror's answers into questions. The juror did not arrive at court on time.

The judge notes that the #juror was asked to be here at 9:15 & is still not here, & he expressed some reluctance to come in this morning. He is letting the parties discuss whether to dismiss the juror or wait for him.

A Manhattan DA prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, said that #juror 4 or someone w/ their name seems to have been #arrested in the 1990s in Westchester for tearing down #political ads. After some more research, he says, they also found that the juror's wife was previously involved in a #corruption inquiry & cooperated w/ the DA's office. This means that the juror, if they've identified the right person, #lied in response to one of the questions on the questionnaire.

The #defense is objecting to skipping the question about current & past employers.
"That's not fair," #Trump atty Susan Necheles said of being denied the info.

#Merchan asks the #press not to report the answers to questions 3a & 3d on the #juror questionnaire: "Who is your current employer?" & "Who was your prior employer?"

"I have the #legal authority to do it,” he says of blocking the press from reporting info about jurors' employers.

"There's a reason this is an #anonymous #jury & why we have taken the steps we have taken," Justice #Merchan says, asking that the #press "abide common sense," & avoid physical descriptions.

Merchan says we lost a #juror who he thinks would have "been a very good juror."

"I'm directing the press to refrain from writing anything you observe w/your eyes & hear w/your ears that's not on the record," the judge says.

The #juror explained that aspects of her being part of the jury are now out in #public. She said she was concerned about people knowing her identity.

The juror is worried about what has already been reported about her publicly. She said she had friends, colleagues & family conveying to her that she had been identified as a potential juror.

#Merchan: “Such concerns will undoubtedly #interfere w/the fair administration of #justice & constitutes a direct attack on the #RuleOfLaw itself. Again, all citizens, called upon to participate in these proceedings, whether as a #juror, a #witness, or in some other capacity, must now concern themselves not only w/their own personal #safety, but w/the safety & the potential for personal attacks upon their loved ones. That reality cannot be overstated.”