There’s one question both prosecutors and Republican bosses want to know: “Do you believe the 2020 election was stolen?”
After a recent purge of the Republican National Committeewhen the new leadership is backed by former President Donald Trump laid off more than 60 employeesjob applicants for positions in key countries are asked their views on Elections in 2020 the results, according to two Republican sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity. That line of questioning appeared to be a test of their loyalty to Trump — and was described as “crazy” by a GOP source familiar with the interviews.
The same issue was raised in Manhattan courtrooms. It was put to the jury in a recent civil trial in which Trump was a defendant, and may be put to jury selection in his upcoming criminal trial.
of Trump first criminal trialcentered around “hush money” payments made to an adult film star Stormy Daniels, should start in April. Prosecutors see asking potential jurors about their views on the results of the 2020 election as a way to find out if “they can be fair and impartial.”
Joshua Steinglass, an attorney for the district attorney, argued during a Feb. 15 preliminary hearing that jurors should be asked if any of them believe the 2020 election was stolen because “an affirmative answer here demonstrates a reluctance to following the facts and blindly relying on statements” made by Trump and could mean that a juror “may be unwilling to follow” the judge’s instructions.
“More than half the population of this country believes the election was stolen,” Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche responded, citing no evidence to support that claim while disputing the need for the question. “This has nothing to do with the facts of the case.
Trump was were charged with 34 crimes of falsifying business records as part of an attempt to cover up the story of his alleged affair with Daniels from coming out before the 2016 election. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
His allegations of electoral fraud during the 2020 presidential election have been proven unfounded.
A prosecutor admitted to copying the election question from jury selection in another recent trial. It goes without saying that this is a case that Trump has lost.
During jury selection in the January trial pitting Trump against the writer E. Jean Carroll, prospective jurors were asked if any of them believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen. As a man and woman stood up, Trump turned to look at each of them. His advisor, Boris Epstein, sat behind him and seemed to be smiling.
It was Trump’s first time in a courtroom with a jury for one of his trials. He closely watched potential jurors as they were asked a series of political questions, including whether they voted in the 2016 or 2020 elections, registered with a political party or attended a Trump rally. Not a single person who believed the election was stolen was selected for jury duty.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office said juror questions in the Carroll case allowed the “respectable” Judge Louis Kaplan to quickly narrow the jury.
Trump was eventually ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million. He is appealing the sentence.
The question of what jurors must reveal about their political views arose during the trials of the former president. Special prosecutor Jack Smith also suggested asking potential jurors Florida classified documents case on their beliefs about whether the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Blanche summarized during the February hearing what attorneys for both sides really hope to find out from prospective jurors.
“What we all want to know and what they want to know is: Do they like President Trump? he said.