Seven jurors chosen in Trump criminal trial, 11 more needed
Seven jurors have been selected for former President Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial.
Lawyers approved the seven individuals, including two lawyers, an IT worker, a nurse, an English teacher, a software engineer and a sales professional.
Like all other potential jurors interviewed for the New York case, they were grilled on their political beliefs and thoughts towards the former president in order to assure impartiality.
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The jurors are picked by process of elimination in a system that will repeat until a full jury is selected: Eighteen prospective jurors are brought to the jury box and then lawyers move to have certain prospective jurors eliminated "for cause."
They then eliminate some peremptory challenges, which don’t require a reason.
Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree relating to alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels during his successful 2016 presidential campaign.
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On Monday afternoon, 96 prospective jurors were sworn in but more than 50 of them were almost immediately excused for admitting they could not serve as impartial jurors.
"It’s a scam. It’s a political witch hunt," Trump said after court adjourned Monday.
Judge Juan Merchan, who Trump has repeatedly criticized as being partisan and serving the interest of Democrats, addressed Trump directly before calling the prospective jurors into the courtroom. The judge told Trump that if he fails to be present, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.
Merchan also told Trump that he has a right to be present at the trial, but that if he disrupts the proceedings, he would be removed. Trump nodded after hearing the instructions.
The judge denied Trump’s request to be excused from the trial next Thursday, after the president expressed he wanted to attend arguments at the Supreme Court about presidential immunity.
The judge has not yet ruled on whether the trial will be adjourned so Trump can attend his son Barron’s high school graduation.
Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.