Jury assembled for Trump’s criminal case in N.Y.

The 12-person jury and one alternate in former President Donald Trump’s hush money case have been seated following a day in court Thursday. The remaining alternate jurors need to be selected now to begin the trial.

Both sides flagged potential jurors. The prosecution and defense both had 10 peremptory strikes that they could use to excuse jurors. Both sides used six on Tuesday, leaving them each with four strikes remaining. Trump’s defense ended up using all of its strikes.

These strikes can be used to dismiss potential jurors they don’t want without providing a reason, but both parties can also ask the judge to dismiss jurors for cause, which means they would not use a strike. Trump’s defense also successfully had at least one potential juror dismissed for cause.

Leaving the courtroom, Trump said, “I’m supposed to be in New Hampshire, I’m supposed to be in Georgia, I’m supposed to be in North Carolina, South Carolina. I’m supposed to be in a lot of different places campaigning, but I’ve been here all day on a trial that really is a very unfair trial,” per CNN .

As he is one of the most well-known people in America, it’s hard not to have an opinion of Trump, whether you like him or not. And because of this, finding an impartial jury, especially in Democrat-heavy Manhattan, is no easy feat.

On Tuesday, seven New Yorkers passed questioning and sat on the jury that would judge Trump during his criminal trial. On Thursday morning, that number dropped back down to five.

Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, dismissed two jurors and banned reporters from describing potential jurors’ physical appearance and job descriptions in court.

Juror No. 2 told the court she had concerns about making a fair judgment after friends and family began figuring out she was a juror on the case due to media outlets sharing information about her.

“Aspects of my identity have already been out there in public. Yesterday alone, I had friends and family push things to me,” she said Thursday in court, per CBS News . “I don’t think at this point that I can be fair and unbiased.”

Juror No. 4 was the first seated juror to be removed after prosecutors expressed concern with his responses to questions and what they deemed a lack of candor. “Asked outside the courthouse whether he believed he should have been dismissed, the man, who declined to give his name, replied: ‘Nope,’” according to The New York Times .

The hush money trial is the first time in history that a former president has been criminally tried. Trump, who is juggling court and campaigning as the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner, is now also facing potential fines for breaking the guidelines in his gag order imposed by Merchan. Prosecutors have accused Trump of violating the order seven times since Monday, when jury selection began.

“On Thursday, prosecutor Christopher Conroy pointed to posts about former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a star prosecution witness, and a post saying undercover liberal activists had been lying to the judge to try to get on the jury,” per Reuters .

Merchan said he would approach the gag order issue next week. Trump’s defense has denied any willful wrongdoing.

Prosecutors also told Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, that they would not release the names of their first three witnesses — even though they usually would — due to Trump’s history of reprimanding them on social media. When asked if he could ensure that his client wouldn’t do that, Merchan replied, “I don’t think you can make that representation,” according to The New York Times.

The court is scheduled to resume Friday morning.