Prosecutors want to ask potential jurors in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case against former President Donald Trump whether they believe the 2020 election was stolen – one of several proposed queries for the jury pool that prosecutors and the defendants are at odds over, according to a new court filing.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys submitted a list of questions for potential jurors for the judge overseeing the case to review. The filing outlines which questions the parties agree are necessary to ask people called for jury duty when the case goes to trial, and which questions they disagree on asking.
The proposed jury questionnaire form gives insight into how each side in the case is approaching voir dire, or the process of questioning potential jurors, for the historic trial. It also highlights the unique challenges of fielding a jury for the unprecedented, high-profile case.
According to the new jury questionnaire filing, defense attorneys object to asking questions about potential jurors’ feelings on the Justice Department and FBI, and their opinions and news consumption around the FBI’s 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago. The defense also opposes specific references to Trump’s properties, including the Mar-a-Lago estate, in some of the questions.
Meanwhile, the defendants are proposing – to the objection of special counsel Jack Smith’s office – that jurors be asked if they’re registered to vote, if they voted in 2020 and whether they have a registered party affiliation. The special counsel also opposes a question proposed by the defense seeking negative views potential jurors have of politicians.
Trump has been charged with unlawful retention of national defense information and obstruction in the case, which was first brought against the former president last summer….
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