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Day 4 of Trump New York hush money trial

From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell in the courthouse

Updated 10:14 a.m. ET, April 20, 2024

What we covered here

Opening statements are expected to begin Monday in Donald Trump's New York hush money criminal trial. A full 12-person jury and six alternate jurors were selected this week over the course of four days. Read about the panel here.
In a hearing this afternoon, Trump's attorneys argued against allowing prosecutors to question the former president about his past legal issues if he testifies, including the $355 million civil fraud judgment and E. Jean Carroll defamation case. The judge said the lawyers will have his decision on the matter by Monday.
Trump told reporters that he would testify during the trial.
Outside the courthouse, a man lit himself on fire Friday afternoon, law enforcement said. A motive is not clear. Police said there are no public safety threats following the incident, and officials are reviewing security protocols around the court.

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11:27 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Alternates ensure a trial can continue if a seated juror cannot proceed. Here's when they may step in

From CNN's Elise Hammond

Attorneys have selected a jury of 12 New Yorkers — but now they need to seat as many as six alternates before opening statements can begin. One alternate was picked on Thursday.

Both sides know jury selection is one of the most important parts of the trial. These are the people who will hear the evidence and determine the historic outcome. Alternates ensure the trial can continue to the end if a seated juror cannot proceed.

New York criminal procedure law outlines several cases in which an alternate would replace a juror, and that juror would be dismissed, during a trial.

That includes:

If a juror gets sick “or other incapacity.”
The juror is not available to serve on the jury anymore.
If the court finds additional information or facts are revealed after jury selection that suggests the juror is “grossly unqualified” to be on the case.
If a juror does not show up to court.
The juror engaged in “misconduct of a substantial nature” — but not conduct that would warrant a mistrial.

The state law also says alternates must have the same qualifications and go through the same examination as other jurors. They will be questioned and chosen by the judge and the lawyers in this case after all 12 jurors are seated.

Alternates will listen to the entire trial, but won’t participate in deliberations.

11:37 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Potential alternate allowed to go through questionnaire after revealing past conviction

A possible alternate juror was allowed to remain through the questionnaire process after revealing she had been convicted of a crime in another state.

Before the questionnaire process started, she told the judge she was convicted of a crime in another state and would be disqualified.

At one point, her voice cracked. Trump watched intently as she shared her story.

Judge Juan Merchan had her approach the bench so they could discuss it privately. He ultimately allowed her stay and she was not disqualified.

After the prospective jurors left the courtroom for the break, Merchan addressed the room, saying everyone inside "heard from a very brave woman who shared very personal things about her life. I know that wasn’t easy to do in a room full of strangers. I want to encourage the press, please be kind. Please be kind to this person."

Remember: On Thursday, after a paneled juror expressed concerns in court about her ability to serve, the judge addressed the press in court, telling them "there's a reason this is an anonymous jury" and to "refrain from writing about anything that has to do with physical descriptions."

"We just lost what probably would've been a very good juror," Merchan said. "The first thing she said was she was afraid and intimidating by the press."

11:25 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Court is taking a short break

Court is now in a 10-minute break.

11:37 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Trump spends another morning in court after railing against the case as he entered

Former US President Donald Trump attends his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 19. Curtis Means/Pool/Getty Images

Donald Trump is spending his Friday morning seated at the defense table next to his lawyers in a chilly Manhattan Criminal Courthouse.

The former president has been seen reviewing documents and flipping through papers containing charts, photos or graphics. He's whispered and passed notes between his lawyers, and at some points, he has remained hunched over with his elbows on the desk.

On several occasions, Trump has looked over at the jury box while potential alternate jurors answer questions about their ability to be impartial. Other times, the former president has stayed facing straight ahead as his defense team and prosecutors turn in their chairs to look at jurors.

On the way into court this morning, he took the opportunity to voice his displeasure with the proceedings. He stopped to tell reporters he should be on the campaign trail, not sitting in the courthouse for another day.

He also railed against a gag order that restricts him from making statements about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors and court staff, as well as family members of some of the key players. Prosecutors say he has violated that order at least seven more times in recent posts on social media.

11:32 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Prospective jurors say what they do and where they get their news

Two people in a batch of 22 potential alternates read their answers to the questionnaire. Here's what they said:

One prospective juror is a corporate lawyer who is married without children. Her husband is also a lawyer. She says she likes to hang out with friends, go to the gym, listen to music and watch TV. She's not an avid news reader but says she is mostly on X, formerly known as Twitter, and listens to sports and entertainment podcasts.
Another is female, married and works for a clothing company and gets her news from Google.
A potential juror is a self-employed retail executive who grew up in Minnesota. She is married without kids and says she likes to travel, read and enjoy New York. She says she attended the women’s march and posted on her Instagram about it. She says she read The New York Times and Daily Mail, watches CNN and listens to podcasts about entrepreneurship and reality TV. She has Facebook and Instagram but does not post about politics on them. She says, “I believe everyone has to follow the law” when responding to the question, “Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about whether a former president may be criminally charged in state court?”

11:11 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Some lawyers have turned in their chairs to look at the jury pool while Trump remains seated forward

Jury questions are ongoing, and Donald Trump attorney Todd Blanche and the prosecutors have turned around in their chairs to look at the potential jurors.

Trump, meanwhile, is seated facing forward.

11:14 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Here's how other potential jurors answered their questionnaires

More potential alternate jurors described their employment, some family members and what they do in their spare time:

One prospective alternate is a married program manager for a global medical technology firm with a degree in mechanical engineering. She teaches and practices yoga and does home renovations in her spare time. She’s been the victim of a few smaller crimes, including credit card fraud, a stolen car, and her house was broken into. In response to specific questions, she said she has a friend who is an intellectual property litigator and others who are felons.
Another prospective juror starts by saying that her father’s lifelong friend is former New Jersey Gov. and GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie. Judge Juan Merchan asks her if that would affect her ability to be fair and impartial. “I don’t believe so,” she says, prompting Merchan to ask if that was a figure of speech or if she’s unsure. It was just a figure of speech, she says. The prospective juror works in sales for a trading company. She likes to walk in Central Park, go to restaurants and enjoy New York City. She says she reads news from all sources through the Bloomberg terminal at her office. She used to listen The New York Times podcast “The Daily,” but says she stopped because it got “too depressing.” She notes that a relative of Michael Cohen works at her company but says she’s never worked with him. On the question of whether she has firmly held beliefs about Trump as a candidate that could interfere with her ability to be fair, she says, “I have opinions, but I don't think it should interfere.”
Another juror works in insurance. "I try to find a wife in my spare time," he joked. He said he has two close friends in local law enforcement and three family members who work in the New York state court system, including a court officer in the courtroom.

10:57 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Jurors should make decisions solely based on evidence, a prospective juror says

Here's how a few more potential alternate jurors described their jobs, hobbies and news consumption habits:

One prospective juror is a native New Yorker and retired high school teacher. He is a widower with an adult son, who is also a teacher. He likes cultural organizations including the New-York Historical Society, reads The New York Times every morning and also lists NPR, CNN and C-SPAN as media sources. He says he believes "that everyone should obey the law" and that jurors should "make our decisions solely on the evidence presented before us."
Another alternate is a consultant, whose wife is a dentist. He listens to podcasts that summarize the news. He says he read Trump's "The Art of the Deal" years ago.
A prospective juror started by noting that he worked in music and entertainment as a private equity fund manager and has a minority investment in a podcast company that he believed produced Michael Cohen’s “Mea Culpa” podcast. He says he wasn’t part of any decision-making and did not listen to the podcast, and that it would not be an issue for him to be fair and impartial. The prospective juror was raised in New Jersey and likes fitness, yoga, arts and culture. He reads The New York Times and says if the TV is on, he’ll watch MSNBC. He notes that he worked for get-out-the vote efforts for the Democratic Party and attended the women’s march and rally.

The former president talked to his attorney Todd Blanche after the latter juror said he was involved with voter efforts and attended the march.

10:36 a.m. ET, April 19, 2024

Another potential juror has been excused after saying she can't be fair and impartial

As questioning of potential alternates continues, another juror has been excused after saying she could not be fair and impartial.

Three potential jurors have been excused so far today, out of a panel of 22.