Trump Attorney Fears Jury Contamination

Alina Habba, a leading attorney for former President Donald Trump, said last week that the jury in Trump’s New York criminal trial should have been sequestered to avoid outside influence. Her comments came as both she and the former president warned that the decision by the judge or the jury in the case could be biased.

Habba said in a weekend media interview that sending members of the jury home for the Memorial Day weekend could result in them being affected by “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

The attorney’s comments came after New York Judge Juan Merchan did not call for a sequester in the New York case. Trump is currently facing charges related to accusations following a reported brief relationship with former adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Habba argued that the jury “should have been sequestered, because, in my opinion, these jurors are handling something that is completely unprecedented and unwarranted in America.”

“And for them to be able to be out and about on a holiday weekend with friends and families who have opinions, who are watching the news, TVs on in the background at the pool party, I have serious concerns,” she added.

“If they’re left-winging and they’re watching MSDNC, as my client calls it, or CNN, they’re not going to get fair news,” she said.

Separately, Republicans sought to have the case dismissed by Merchan.

Habba’s comments came after the former president called the judge conflicted on social media. Trump was fined several times for allegedly breaking the judge’s gag order. The former president argued that the gag order limited his First Amendment rights.

If the jury convicts Trump in NYC, the media is going to celebrate like you’ve never seen

But it will be shortlived

Trump will get this trial easily thrown out on appeal

Why?

The judge is giving unconstitutional instructions to this jury https://t.co/qxlxuLBozi

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) May 26, 2024

Furthermore, the result of the New York trial could have a significant impact on the other criminal cases facing Trump. However, it appears less likely that a trial could take place before the election due to a decision by Judge Aileen Cannon pushing one of the cases back.

Trump has argued that all of the current cases against him are political in nature and blames the Biden administration. The former president also argued that the effort is meant to keep him off the campaign trail and hurt his chances of becoming president.