Drama from day three of Trump's trial: Jurors scared of being revealed, risk of jail over gag orders and quiet ex-president looking 'bored' and raging at a 'freezing' courtroom

Finding an impartial jury in the trial of the century proved to be a challenge in the hush money case against Donald Trump as it dragged into day three.

It turns out that many potential jurors already have an opinion of the ex-president while others are concerned about their own safety and whether their identities would be publicly uncovered even if they do believe they can remain impartial in the case.

Day three of the Trump hush money trial started with seven jurors having been seated but two were dismissed throughout the day dropping the number down to five before more were added. 

Dozens of more potential jurors filed through the courtroom in lower Manhattan as the ex-president of the United States looked on. But many were excused after saying the could not remain impartial.

By the end of the day twelve jurors had been seated. Jury selection for the alternates will continue Friday. 

Judge Juan Merchan said he remains hopeful opening statements could begin Monday.  

Ex-President Donald Trump awaits day 3 proceedings to start in the Manhattan criminal court on April 18, 2024

Here are the big takeaways: 

Twelve jurors seated after two were dismissed 

Juror number two was dismissed on Thursday. 

One was an oncology nurse who was selected to be the second juror but she was dismissed after casting doubts about her ability to be fair and impartial. 

The woman was brought in before proceedings began. She told the court that she  'definitely have my concerns now.' 

The woman said she had her friends and family 'push things' questioning her identity as a juror.

‘I don’t believe at this point I can be fair and unbiased and let the outside influence not affect my decision making in the courtroom,' she said.

Merchan said he was 'sorry' she went through that and she was excused.

Juror four was also excused after prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said his team found a man with the same name was arrested for tearing down political ads.

The arrest was not disclosed on the juror questionnaire. 

Two replacement jurors were officially added to Trump's panel bringing the tally back to seven by the late afternoon.

A married male engineer originally from California was the next added.

A second man - who follows Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen on Twitter  and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway- also secured a spot on the jury.

By late afternoon the full 12 jurors had been seated for the case. 

Two jurors were dismissed on Thursday before the full 12 jurors were seated

Juror privacy is a top concern

Judge Merchan on Thursday addressed concerns over juror privacy as lawyers have struggled to find a jury for the case.

Merchan said he agreed it was important to obtain information about potential jurors' employers, but he ordered that the information be redacted from the court record and directed the press not to report such details. 

'It's become a problem,' Merchan said. 

He also said the press should not report on physical appearances of jurors which could be used to help identify them. 

The directives came as one of the jurors on Thursday expressed concerns over being identified publicly. 

The woman said her friends, colleagues and family conveyed to her that she had been identified as a potential juror and she was concerned. 

She was one of the two jurors the judge ended up dismissing.

Courtroom sketch of Trump sitting with his lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove during jury selection on day three for his criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records over hush money payments

Dozens excused amid struggle to find impartial jurors

Day three of the trial started with 96 new prospective jurors entering the courtroom. 

But 48 of those potential jurors were dismissed after they said they could not be fair or impartial. 

Another nine jurors were excused for other reasons as the prosectors and lawyers work to seat a jury of Trump's peers.

Those who remained were questioned individually.

One potential juror who is a paralegal said 'yes, I will be unbiased. I will be very impartial' in response to the question if she can put aside bias.

Another said she had read Trump's 'Art of the Deal' decades earlier but said 'absolutely' when asked whether she could decide the case solely on the evidence and law. 

One man who was raised in Italy was excused after saying it would be a little hard to 'retain my impartiality and fairness' since the Italian media has a strong association with Trump.

But a pause for lunch gave more potential jurors the time to consider whether they could really be impartial.

A sketch of Trump paying close attention as jurors are questioned for his criminal trial Thursday

A lawyer in the juror pool said she feared she might not be able to set aside prior knowledge and thoughts about Trump's cases.

 'I thought about this during lunch. I think the fact that I spent a year discussing this case with a federal judge and law clerks, I fear that I know too much,' she said. 'I don’t know that I can put that aside. I’m worried that it’s going to seep in, in some way.'

One said she disagreed with most of Trump's policies, but she said she did not have an opinion of him personally. 

Another said she doesn't like his 'persona' and how he 'presents himself in public.'

'I don’t like some of my coworkers but I don’t try to sabotage their work,' she added.

Multiple prospective jurors have read about Trump and others in case 

Potential jurors filing through the Manhattan courtroom on Thursday are very familiar with Donald Trump. 

One prospective juror said she had read Trump's book 'Art of the Deal' decades ago.

Another said he had read several of Trump's books including 'Art of the Deal' and 'How to be Rich.' But the man maintained he could be a 'fair and impartial juror.'

A third from Manhattan had also read 'Art of the Deal.'

Potential jurors also were familiar with expected witnesses in the case. 

One woman said she had read the first ten pages of Michael Cohen's book 'Disloyal' for work. 

Another said he follows Cohen's podcast as well as Trump on social media.

Trump appears engrossed at times, bored others but holds his tongue in court on Day 3

Unlike his first two days during the trial, Trump did not speak to reporters when he arrived at court for day three of his trial.

The ex-president entered court with his lawyers around 9:15am Thursday morning. He waved, but he did not make remarks or take questions. 

During a break he also did not speak with reporters or answer questions. 

He did at one point raise a clenched fist at the cameras. 

As potential jurors filed in, Trump eventually turned around and looked at them. As potential jurors took the jury box throughout the day, Trump craned his neck observe them. 

Reporters observing said Trump appeared 'engrossed' with potential jurors seated in the jury box as they gave their answers to the questionnaire. 

At other times he was seated silently at the defense table looking forward.

Trump raising a fist when returning from a break at the Manhattan criminal court on April 18

Prosecutors urge judge to find Trump in contempt over posts 

Prosecutors in the case added seven additional statements made by Trump for the contempt hearing that is set to take place next Tuesday.

The online posts from Trump's Truth Social account and his campaign website attacked Michale Cohen.

The ‘most disturbing’ one was a claim on Truth Social that there were ‘undercover liberal activists lying to the judge’ to get on the jury.

Prosecutors have already asked the court to fine Trump $3,000 for three previous violations, but they said they were ‘considering our options’ for what further sanctions were justified.

‘We’re asking you to hold the defendant in contempt,’ prosecutor Chris Conroy said.

Judge Merchan said he would deal with it on Tuesday at the hearing.

Judge Juan M. Merchan has issued a gag order against Trump

It is cold in the Manhattan criminal court 

On numerous occasions throughout the day, the temperature in the courtroom was the topic of conversation, but the judge refused to turn up the heat.

Trump joked with reporters 'is it cold enough?' as he walked out for a lunch break. 

Earlier in the day, his lead attorney Todd Blanche approached Merchan and asked if he could make the court any warmer. 

Merchan agreed it was cold, but warned turning up the heat would lead to a spike in the temperature. 

Later, Merchan even apologized to potential jurors for the chill, but said 'it's one extreme or the other.'

In the late afternoon, Trump could be heard telling an aide 'it's freezing.'