WE, THE JURY:...Prosecutors/Defense Almost There With Selection...Interesting Mix So Far...MAGA Says Defendant Trump Cannot Get A Fair Trial In New York City...No-Nonsense Judge Pressing Onward...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...The case is underway and as happens even in B-Grade Hollywood legal thrillers, the defendant has his fans and he has his boo birds. Donald J. Trump is no exception. Trump's on trial for alleged illegal business accounting related to his $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

So far, he's hanging in there, like a doomed nutcase but hanging in there just the same.

We're watching, tuning in to the goings-on during the daytime, blowing it off at nighttime. This, we say, is not the O.J. Simpson trial until Stormy Daniels takes the stand. No one has been murdered here, unless you count the truth. Stormy is not the new Nicole Simpson, although she's just as attractive.

There is no Kato Kaelin in this spoof, unless former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen suits you in that goofy role. And, of course, Judge Juan Merchan is likely an improved version of Judge Lance Ito in the Simpson case.

It should be noted that Simpson died last week; Donald Trump is still very much alive.

We do not willy-nilly compare these two notorious dudes as equals in their problems, but we scribes in America like to rethread our history at every opportunity. There is, for example, no "white Ford Bronco" in the Trump hush money trial. Does Trump even have a driver's license? We're pretty sure he owns black gloves. In fact, he was wearing them on the day he gave a speech to his supporters before they staged that wild, destructive riot at the National Capitol Building.

Are we saying that Trump, like O.J., will be found not guilty?

No, we're not. Not yet anyway.

This posting was supposed to be about jury selection for his trial, so...  

From axios.com: [ Eleven more people - five jurors and six alternates - still need to be picked in the case. Dozens have already been dismissed because they said they couldn't be impartial, a sign of the complexity and unique nature of the case.

Here's what we know about who's been selected so far:

1.) The foreman, who works in sales, lives in Harlem but is originally from Ireland.

2.) A native New Yorker who's an oncology nurse.

3.) A corporate lawyer originally from Oregon.

4.) A self-employed IT consultant who lives on the Lower East Side but grew up in Puerto Rico.

5.) A teacher and lifelong New Yorker. She was the only juror in the box who said they didn't know Trump was charged in three other cases.

6.) A software engineer who works for Disney.

7.) A lawyer who lives on the Upper East Side.

What's next: Jury selection is set to resume today. Judge Juan Merchan is moving things right along: He said opening statements could start Monday morning. ]

We'll tune-in again later today to see what else has come down the prosecution pike. Trump will address the press as he steps into the courthouse, damn it all as a fake trial and proceed to walk into his political degüello.

That's a clue as to where we sit on the eventual jury verdict, yes...

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