seated in the trump criminal trial. that does it for us. that means that there are four left that they need and could happen very quickly. chris jansing reports starts right now. good day. i m chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. high emotions and high stakes at donald trump s manhattan trial. one potential alternate quickly dismissed after saying donald trump s new york hush money case has already made her too anxious. with a jury in place, a second alternate just chosen. can lawyers find four more to make the cut today and get to the heart of the case on monday? the challen j made in court. and the pressure on both legal teams this weekend, so much to do with opening statements expected to start as soon as monday. i ll talk to a seasoned jury consultant and a former federal prosecutor next. and no comment from israel, the eerie silence hanging over the middle east right now after israel carried out a military strike against iran. plus, the la
To slot in two of these 12 individuals here before lunchtime and could we potentially in the matter of minutes even fill out the rest of the jury box? that is the outstanding question here at this time, chris. they re currently going through one juror b 647 about an apparent social media post, showing this individual at an anti-trump rally in new york city. they re looking to question that potential juror. all they need is two individuals out of this last dozen that are standing here. we may have a good shot at it before lunchtime, chris. 2 of the 12 jurors actually so far are, alan, lawyers. i think that raises a lot of eyebrows, presumption being that you don t want necessarily lawyers on a jury. is it clear to you who that might favor in this case? it really isn t, and it s so interesting because a lot of times when you let a lawyer on, you re hoping that the other
Have been missed during this voir dire process. just because we have 18 today doesn t mean that on monday morning they re going to be those same 18 who hear the opening statements. paul butler just raising the stakes even more. paul, vaughn hillyard, alan, thank you all very much. in 60 seconds, growing fears after israel retaliates against iran, but will tehran strike back again, or can a wider conflict be avoided? we ll go live to the region next. he region next every day, more dog people, and more vets are deciding it s time for a fresh approach to pet food. they re quitting the kibble. and kicking the cans. and feeding their dogs dog food that s actually well, food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it s smarter, healthier pet food. get 50% off your first box at thefarmersdog.com/realfood
Avoid, judgment. it will be an intense weekend for the lawyers putting the finishing touches on opening arguments, tweaking strategy, and for the defense preparing a client who is famously uncontrollable and who has spent this week as politico puts it, having to sit and listen to strangers insult him, quote, trump has heard himself described by a those under consideration as racist, sexist and a narcissist. he s been presented with a social media post calling for officials to lock him up. he s been told to his face that he s very selfish and self-serving. with the prosecution about to make its case and the judge planning to rule on whether trump broke the gag order, the opinions of would be jurors are just the beginning. nbc s vaughn hillyard reports from outside the courthouse. i also want to bring in former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst, paul butler, jury consultant, alan turnen halftimer is with us as well. apparently the pressure is
The defense perspective. so there was a juror, let me tell you specifically that i mentioned, who said, alan, that to his face, donald trump was very selfish and self-serving, but got on the jury because they had run out of challenges, so is that the risk you take every single trial? sure, you have to be wise and use your strikes intelligently, and there must have been something else about that juror that the defense thought was acceptable, and maybe they just thought, yeah, okay, we appreciate your candor and we believe this juror can compartmentalize and isolate that perspective, and maybe there s something else about this juror s profession or their experiences or their beliefs that make the defense team think despite that, this juror is going to do their best to be fair and impartial. most jurors do. i think that s an encouraging sign for the defense and for all these jurors. it seems like they re going to do their best and they re going