Jury selection in Trump hush money trial faces pivotal stretch as former president returns to court

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jury selection in the hush money trial of Donald Trump enters a pivotal and potentially final stretch Thursday as lawyers look to round out the panel of New Yorkers that will decide the first-ever criminal case against a former president.

Seven jurors have been picked so far, including an oncology nurse, a software engineer, an information technology professional, a sales professional, an English teacher and two lawyers. Eleven more people must still be sworn in, with the judge saying he anticipated opening statements in the landmark case to be given as early as next week.

The seating of the Manhattan jury — whenever it comes — will be a seminal moment in the case, setting the stage for a trial that will place the former president’s legal jeopardy at the heart of the campaign against Democrat Joe Biden and feature potentially unflattering testimony about Trump’s private life in the years before he became president.