Jury selection was completed Friday in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial, with six alternates now picked in addition to the 12-person regular jury.
Selection got off to a slow start Monday, picked up on Tuesday with the seating of seven jurors, shrunk to five on Thursday morning but then ended the day with the full regular jury and one alternate.
The completion of the jury on Friday clears the way for opening statements on Monday. After those statements, prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office will call their first witness. The burden is on the prosecution to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. Bragg alleges that Trump skewed those records to cover up the reimbursement to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who paid Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence her about an earlier affair she says she had with Trump. The defendant — and presumptive GOP nominee — denies the affair, as well.
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This article was originally published on MSNBC.com