A former federal prosecutor said he worries about the safety of the jurors in former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial in New York, as jury selection heads into its third day.
Ankush Khardori, a former Justice Department lawyer who specialized in white-collar crime, told CNN’s “The Situation Room” that he is concerned about the amount of information being made public about the potential jurors. The first seven of 12 jurors were selected Tuesday. Six alternates also need to be chosen.
“I am wondering if some of them are a little unhappy with the amount of information that has been made public about them,” Mr. Khardori said Tuesday. “Now, this is not the fault of the media. I want to be very clear about this.”
He said the responsibility to protect the jurors’ information rests with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and with New York Judge Juan Merchan.
“I’m a little surprised that we are learning all of this because I do not think this jury is going to remain anonymous necessarily if they keep this up,” Mr. Khardori said.
“I’m worried about their safety. I mean, it’s up to them if they want to write a book after all this is said and done, but that’s their option. They shouldn’t be outed this way. They’re not supposed to be outed this way,” he said.
Jurors are supposed to be anonymous to the public and the media; only prosecutors, Mr. Trump and the legal teams know their names.
Judge Merchan warned Mr. Trump and his lawyers that he will not allow any bullying of the jurors.
“I won’t tolerate that,” Judge Merchan said. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear.”
Mr. Trump already has a gag order on him in this case that prevents him from verbally attacking any witnesses, staff or jurors in the case, along with the families of the judge and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The jury selection is expected to take up to two weeks in the trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments Mr. Trump‘s former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
His lawyers have said the reimbursement payments to Mr. Cohen were legal expenses and not part of a cover-up. He has denied the claim of an interaction with Ms. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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