Trump Judge Orders Jurors’ Names Kept Secret

NEW YORK (Bloomberg News/TNS) — New York jurors in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial will have their names, addresses and other personal information kept secret to protect them from any tampering or backlash over their role in the politically charged case.

State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial set to start March 25, on Thursday ruled that prosecutors had made a “compelling” argument that the former president “has an extensive history of publicly and repeatedly attacking trial jurors and grand jurors.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for allegedly directing his former lawyer Michael Cohen to make payments to someone with potentially damaging information during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Prosecutors say Trump claimed the funds were for legal fees. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

It isn’t the first time the identities of Trump jurors have been withheld. In two federal civil lawsuits filed against Trump by New York writer E. Jean Carroll, the juries were anonymous to protect their privacy and safety.

Merchan said he hasn’t yet decided a separate request for a gag order preventing the former president from making statements about the case outside of the courtroom. In their Feb. 25 request, the district attorney’s office cited Trump’s history of inflammatory comments issued on social media that had resulted in death threats for prosecutors.

On Thursday, Merchan reminded Trump and his lawyers of the justice’s earlier warning to “refrain from making comments or engaging in conduct that has the potential to incite violence, create civil unrest or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individual.”