A woman selected to serve on the jury in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York was excused Thursday after she expressed concerns about publicly revealing her identity and questioned her ability to remain impartial.
The juror, a young woman who was selected to serve on Tuesday, said she "definitely has concerns now" after friends and family asked if she would be willing to serve as a juror, based on published reports in the media about the people selected.
Some aspects of my identity have already become public. Just yesterday, friends and family put pressure on me," she told the court on Thursday. "I do not believe it
Judge Juan Merchan immediately criticized the press for publishing what he considered too much information about the jurors. He said questions about jurors' potential employers would now be removed from the court record, and he asked reporters not to mention jurors' physical appearance.