Donald Trump, once more enraged and online, has implausibly claimed that his legal team was blindsided by court staff saying that they could only strike up to 10 jurors from the docket and no more.
"I thought STRIKES were supposed to be 'unlimited' when we were picking our jury?" he wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. "I was then told we only had 10, not nearly enough when we were purposely given the 2nd Worst Venue in the Country. Don’t worry, we have the First Worst also, as the Witch Hunt continues! ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"
What the post misses is that the number "10" is baked into New York state criminal law, information that Trump's legal team should have known about even if the court staff didn't remind them before the trial. Prosecutors can also strike any 10 jurors from the pool, although each side is prohibited from striking them based solely on factors such as race. Jurors can also be struck for cause, such as openly expressing bias during the selection process, which does not count against either side's allotment.
Law professor and for U.S. attorney Joyce Vance wrote on X that the rule is common knowledge in legal circles. "The number of peremptory strikes are set by NY law," she noted. "For cause challenges are unlimited, but the judge rules on them. Again, Trump is either deliberately ignorant or lying."
Trump has displayed a bitter and defiant attitude throughout first couple days of the trial: that is now landing him in some trouble. On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan had to admonish Trump for gesturing and speaking in the direction of a potential juror.
The jury that takes shape will decide whether or not Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts, all related to accusations that he falsified business records to hide hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, who claims they had an extramarital affair.
