Dismissed juror 'not a fan' of Trump but 'even he deserves the right to a fair trial'

Record ID: 1819277

  • Title: Dismissed juror 'not a fan' of Trump but 'even he deserves the right to a fair trial'
  • Date: 16th April 2024
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 16, 2024) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF COURTHOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISMISSED JUROR IN TRUMP TRIAL, KARA MCGEE, SAYING: "I looked at him after I had finished giving my final answer, which was the one that I was dismissed for, which I work in cybersecurity, scheduling wise, it's very difficult for me to do my job if I'm here for six weeks because it's a lot of coordinating other people and I can't really do that from only 4:30 in the afternoon onwards. I said, 'I'm willing to work around it if you need me. I want to be honest.' So after I answered that question and the judge said, 'You're excused,' I glanced over at him again and made eye contact with him and have no idea what he thought at that moment. And then I got down and left." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISMISSED JUROR IN TRUMP TRIAL, KARA MCGEE, SAYING: "Hilariously, yesterday, when walking in, my first thought when I saw him was, 'Oh, he looks exactly like he does on TV.'" EXTERIOR OF COURTHOUSE READING (English): "EQUAL AND EXACT JUSTICE TO ALL MEN OF WHATEVER STATE OR PERSUASION" (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISMISSED JUROR IN TRUMP TRIAL, KARA MCGEE, SAYING: "It's very difficult for anyone, really, in this country to not come to this with prior opinions. I think we all have prior opinions about the defendant unless you've been living in a cardboard box since 2014. But personally, the right to a fair trial in this country is more important to me than anything this particular defendant has done or any feelings about him that I personally have, and then I think in order to uphold that, I was willing to put everything aside as much as I could." NEWS MEDIA IN FRONT OF COURTHOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISMISSED JUROR IN TRUMP TRIAL, KARA MCGEE, SAYING: JOURNALIST: "Can you share your opinion of the former president and why you felt that you could be unbiased?" MCGEE: "I'm not a fan. During COVID-19, I lived with someone who was immunocompromised, and I think his handling of COVID-19 was abysmal. I also have a sister who was adopted from China, and the comments he made about China when he was running for president made her very anxious and therefore it made me angry. There are policies he has supported regarding women and reproductive health that I do not agree with, and I think all of that needs to be addressed. I also, however, think that something extremely important in this country, especially in this age where en masse we do not trust each other, is the right to a fair trial and no matter what you think of someone as a person or what other things they may have done, what he is on trial for is a very specific thing that even he deserves the right to a fair trial." JOURNALIST: "Were you able to gauge the sentiment of other pool members? In general do you feel there was more against Trump or more for Trump?" MCGEE: "It actually seemed pretty even, surprisingly. I thought, because this is Manhattan, it might be a little bit more liberal, but there were a number of people who said, like, 'Yes, I listen to Fox, I watch Fox. I have been on Trump mailing lists in the past,' etc. So not really leaning towards one side or the other that I could tell." EXTERIOR OF COURTHOUSE READING (English): "EQUAL AND EXACT JUSTICE TO ALL MEN OF WHATEVER STATE OR PERSUASION" (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISMISSED JUROR IN TRUMP TRIAL, KARA MCGEE, SAYING: "Jury wise, like from the other jurors, everyone was really taking it upon themselves to step in and do their civic duty here. I think regardless of what people came into it thinking about the defendant, there were other people as well in the jury box who answered the questions honestly and said, 'Yes, I have family members who have been involved with X political thing. I have X opinion about something on this jury sheet, but I believe that I can put that aside and be unbiased.'" OFFICER AND BARRICADES IN FRONT OF COURTHOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISMISSED JUROR IN TRUMP TRIAL, KARA MCGEE, SAYING: "I think this was, partially because of how historic this is, you got a sense that people were really trying to put anything that they had brought to this aside and step in and do their civic duty and be as unbiased and impartial as they possibly could, and that people really were being honest, answering the questions. I was worried that there were maybe people who wouldn't be so honest because of their prior feelings in one direction or the other, but people were very forthright and said like, 'Yes, I had volunteered for an anti-Trump thing. I had been subscribed to Trump mailing lists. I watch Fox News.' And I think because of the gravitas, I guess, that all of us felt, there was a sense of, 'What happens, happens, but I'm going to do my best to be a model citizen right now.'" OFFICER AND BARRICADES IN FRONT OF COURTHOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISMISSED JUROR IN TRUMP TRIAL, KARA MCGEE, SAYING: "There are two questions in the questionnaire that that makes me think of, one of which is, 'Do you have any opinions about the ability for a former sitting president to be tried in a court of law?' And I think the way that people answered that said something about how they felt about the case, most people just said, 'No, I don't really have any opinions about it.' Two of us, one other juror who I think is still in there and myself said, 'I believe that the law applies to everyone.' I think he said, I believe, 'No one's above the law.' And the other one was, 'Do you have any opinions about legal limits for campaign finance donation amounts?' Which I believe was another one that was kind of meant to gauge your feelings about this particular case. Again, most people said, 'No opinions.' Another woman who, I won't say what she does for a living because I don't know if people are still in there, I don't want to imply anything, she said, 'Yes, I do have an opinion about it.' I said, 'Yes, I do have an opinion about it.' They kept her around. That didn't seem to be as big of a deal because again, there's people kind of on both sides, but it was interesting." OFFICERS MOVING BARRICADES
  • Embargoed: 30th April 2024 17:29
  • Keywords: New York Trump hush money juror
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA001563716042024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Five more prospective jurors were dismissed from Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial on Tuesday (April 16), as lawyers try to choose a panel of 12 residents of heavily Democratic Manhattan to hear the Republican former U.S. president's criminal case impartially.
    The proceedings so far have underscored the challenges of the task.
    Roughly half of 96 potential jurors summoned on Monday were dismissed after saying they could not impartially judge the polarizing businessman-turned-politician, who is mounting a comeback White House bid while battling four separate criminal cases.
    Those dismissed on Tuesday said they had scheduling conflicts or concerns about balancing juror service with their jobs.
    One of them, Kara McGee, who works in cybersecurity and was dismissed due to scheduling conflicts, shared her experience outside the courthouse, reflecting on the complexities of the situation and her personal feelings towards Trump.
    "I'm not a fan," she said. "I also, however, think that something extremely important in this country, especially in this age where en masse we do not trust each other, is the right to a fair trial and no matter what you think of someone as a person or what other things they may have done, what he is on trial for is a very specific thing that even he deserves the right to a fair trial."
    Trump, wearing a blue tie, at times held a piece of paper up to his face as jurors read out answers to a list of 42 questions. Occasionally he yawned and leaned back in his chair at the defense table.
    A New York native who now lives in Florida, Trump was a fixture in the city's tabloid press for decades before he won the presidency in 2016. But as a Republican politician, he has never been able to count on the heavily Democratic city for votes.
    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, has charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels says she had a sexual encounter with Trump about a decade beforehand.
    Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies an encounter took place.
    In other jurisdictions, he stands accused of mishandling classified information and trying to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. But the hush-money case may be the only one to go to trial before Trump faces Biden again in the Nov. 5 election.
    If convicted, Trump would still be able to run for office and serve as president if he won. But a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that half of independents and a quarter of his fellow Republicans would not vote for him if he is found guilty.
    Trump has pleaded not guilty in all four criminal cases, and says they are a plot by Biden's Democrats to neutralize him politically.
    (Production: Andrew Hofstetter, Christine Kiernan, Roselle Chen)
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