Jurors serving in former President Donald Trump's first criminal trial are at risk of being "outed" and put in harm's way, according to former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori.
Trump's trial began with the start of jury selection on Monday in New York City, where the former president has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records tied to hush money paid to former adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Seven jurors had been selected by the end of proceedings on Tuesday, with a total of 12 jurors plus six alternates required.
Publicly released details about the identities of the selected and potential jurors have been largely vague at the moment, although some concerns have been raised that the identities of certain jurors could be deciphered through specific information released in the press.
A report on one prospective juror from Washington Post reporter David Nakamura initially included the length of time that the juror had worked at a small independent New York bookstore, which was also named. The store name was later removed from the report.
During a Tuesday night interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Khardori speculated that the jurors selected so far may feel that their role in the trial is "somewhat surreal" but are possibly "a little unhappy with the amount of information that is being made public about them."
"Responsibility to guard all of the very specific information that we're learning resides with the D.A.'s office and with the judge," Khardori said. "I'm a little surprised that we are learning all of this [information] because I do not think this jury is gonna remain anonymous necessarily if they keep this up."
"I'm worried about their safety," he added. "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."
Newsweek reached out for comment to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg via email on Tuesday night.
Most of the publicly revealed details about the selected jurors, who are expected to remain anonymous during the trial, has not included any information that would make them easy to identify in a city with more than 8 million residents.
Details for all of the jurors have included the New York City neighborhoods in which they reside, where they are from originally, their past experiences serving on juries, their preferred news outlets and mostly vague details about their professions and families.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial, ruled in favor of Trump's legal team receiving the names of the prospective jurors last month, although their home addresses remained under wraps.
Some commentators suggested that the names of the jurors would be leaked as a result, opening them up to potential threats, harassment and intimidation from angry Trump supporters.
In court on Tuesday, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche reportedly exposed a social media post showing one potential juror celebrating after the former president lost to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
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