The selection of the 12 jurors for the trial of Donald Trump in New York concludes

A 12-member jury was completed Thursday in Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York, the first criminal case brought against a former U.S. president.

Seven men and five women were chosen to consider allegations that the 45th president planned in 2016, just before his successful campaign for the White House, to conceal money payments to two women to cover up their claims of alleged extramarital affairs with him.

Prosecutors maintain that Trump sought to withhold compromising information about his private life from voters just before the election eight years ago.

But Trump, who was president from 2017 to 2021 and is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in the Nov. 5 election, has denied the allegations and all 34 counts of felonies in the charges filed against him a year ago.

If convicted, he could receive a prison sentence of up to four years.

New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchán said opening arguments in the case could begin Monday morning in a trial that could last six weeks.

Merchan, prosecutors and Trump's defense attorneys spent hours over three days this week asking potential jurors their opinions of Trump.

When the twelfth juror was chosen, Merchan declared, “We have our jury.”

The judge and lawyers questioned jurors about how they consumed the day's news, where they worked and, specifically, whether they could fairly judge Trump, 77, a New York celebrity and real estate mogul for years before entering office. politics in 2015.

Dozens of potential jurors, whose names were pulled from voter registration lists in the heavily Democratic city that voted heavily against Trump in his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, immediately told Merchan they could not render an impartial verdict and were dismissed.

Merchan also dismissed some potential jurors who he felt, based on their responses in court or social media posts denigrating Trump, could not fairly judge the case.

Both prosecutors and Trump's lawyers had 10 peremptory challenges available that they could use to keep jurors they didn't like off the jury.

The 10-challenge rule came into play at the end of jury selection, to Trump's detriment.

When one potential juror was asked how she felt about Trump, she said she had no strong opinions about him, but added, “I don't like his personality, how he presents himself in public.”

He then said, “I don't like some of my coworkers, but I don't try to sabotage their work.”

Trump's lawyers tried to keep her off the jury, challenging her selection “for cause,” but Merchan denied their challenge.

At that point, Trump's lawyers were already out of peremptory challenges and she is on the jury, which Merchan has sworn in.

At the close of proceedings Tuesday, seven jurors had been selected, but two were excluded from the case Thursday. One of them, an oncology nurse, told Merchan that her friends told her they had almost identified her because of what “has been publicly reported about her.”

Merchan excused her from the jury, while demanding that the media limit its reporting on the employment of potential jurors and their appearance.

In a second case, a man identified only as Juror No. 4 was dismissed without public explanation after prosecutors told Merchan he may have given misleading answers about his background when he was questioned earlier in the week.

After several more hours of questioning Thursday, seven more jurors were selected along with one of up to six alternates. Merchan said she could choose five more alternates on Friday.

The alternates will hear testimony in the case, but will only participate in deciding the case if one of the 12 jurors is incapacitated or dismissed for any reason.

Although the names of the potential jurors have not been made public to protect their identity and safety, attorneys had a list of them. Trump's support staff pored over the names to see what anti-Trump social media messages they might have posted in recent years.

Trump has often attacked Merchan in his social media posts and called the case “election interference” as he seeks to regain the presidency.

Prosecutors have maintained that Trump has repeatedly violated Merchan's gag order prohibiting him from disparaging key participants in the case, although the judge opted out of the edict.

Merchan has scheduled a hearing next week to hear arguments on prosecutors' demand that Trump be found guilty of contempt of court and fined, although Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

The former president has watched the proceedings from the defendant's table, flanked by his attorneys, taking some notes and occasionally glancing at potential jurors. He appeared to fall asleep at times on Monday and Tuesday before becoming alert again.

He could eventually take the witness stand to defend himself, depending on how he and his lawyers view prosecutors' evidence.

With Trump due to appear in court, the case will almost certainly limit his time on the campaign trail.

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