Trump back at court, complains gag order is ‘unfair’

NEW YORK — Jury selection at Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial is expected to enter the home stretch Friday, with only five alternates to be seated before prosecutors make their case against the former president to a panel of his peers.

Trump returned to the lower Manhattan courthouse for the fourth day of proceedings after a jam-packed first week searching for a jury. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has told jurors to plan on coming back Monday for opening arguments.

Trump spoke to the cameras just before 9 a.m., complaining how the gag order that requires him to stay mum on witnesses, the jury and court staff and their family makes the trial “unfair.”

“The gag order has to come off,” the former president said. “People are allowed to speak about me and I have a gag order, just to show you how much more unfair it is.”

He did not enter the courtroom, but went back through the back doors.

The latest batch of potential jurors summoned in the case is expected to face more questions on Friday about whether they can be fair and impartial.

Jury selection went faster than expected

By the end of Thursday’s proceedings, the entire jury and one alternate had all been seated. The seven men and five women among more than 150 people surveyed this week are poised to make history as the jurors who will consider the first-ever criminal charges filed against an American president and determine whether Trump is a felon before voters head to the polls in November.

Two of seven panelists chosen Tuesday were excused Thursday after one said she was uncomfortable serving on the high-profile case and another was found to have provided conflicting information to the court.

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