MSNBC Legal Analyst Predicts Possible Mistrial In Alvin Bragg’s Trump Case

MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos predicted on Monday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s trial against former President Donald Trump may be cut short.

Cevallos, an attorney and columnist for the liberal network, told viewers that a sharp attrition rate during juror selection may portend an inability by Judge Juan Merchan to keep a fair, unbiased, and full jury throughout the case.

“So here’s the thing. I think juror attrition could be a real problem in this case,” Cevallos said during “Morning Joe” according to the Daily Caller. “I mean, just do the math. Last week, we lost two jurors before the trial even began.”

“When you think about it, you do lose jurors during a trial. I’ve lost them. They fell asleep. They don’t follow the judge’s orders. But you don’t normally lose a juror after the moment they’re selected and between that and the time that the trial actually begins because, ordinarily, nothing happens during that time.”

Cevallos also cited the intense pressure that jurors face from family and friends who pressure them with their own opinions and beliefs.

“But in this case, you have an example where a juror goes home, they start really thinking about their duty and what this is going to entail, and they come back and say, ‘you know what, I don’t want to do this anymore.’ By the way, that’s also something that happens from time to time,” Cevallos added. “I’ve had it in organized crime cases. You have jurors who come up to the judge and say, ‘I’ll do anything. Please, I do not want to be on this jury. I’m afraid.’ That’s not obviously the same situation here, but you do have jurors who are going to have second thoughts.”

On Friday one of the jurors selected the previous day told Judge Merchan that she would not be able to remain impartial throughout the trial following quizzing by family members asking if she had been selected. Another admitted he may not have been fully truthful when asked previously about whether he or a relative has a criminal record.

“And the question becomes, will six alternates be enough to cover this trial?” Cevallos asked. “I hope so. But if what we’ve seen so far, if that’s the rate of loss of jurors, two before we even start the trial, that could be a real problem and that could lead to a mistrial, which in, I think, the defense’s view, is a win.”

WATCH:

Former President Donald Trump has fanned the flames of doubts that he could receive a fair trial in sapphire-blue Manhattan. He has targeted the daughter of Judge Merchan, a Democratic operative, while his allies in the media have cited the hypocrisy in DA Bragg’s decision to levy felony charges against Trump while historically downgrading felonies against other defendants.

Shortly before the trial began Monday, President Trump took to Truth Social to question why authorities are preventing his supporters from getting closer to the courthouse while pro-Palestinian protestors around the country are allowed to “riot” and “block traffic” without serious consequences.

“America Loving Protesters should be allowed to protest at the front steps of Courthouses, all over the Country, just like it is allowed for those who are destroying our Country on the Radical Left, a two-tiered system of justice,” he posted Monday morning.

“Why are Palestinian protesters, and even rioters, allowed to roam the Cities, scream, shout, sit, block traffic, enter buildings, not get permits, and basically do whatever they want including threatening Supreme Court Justices right in front of their homes, and yet people who truly LOVE our Country, and want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, are not allowed to “Peacefully Protest,” and are rudely and systematically shut down and ushered off to far away “holding areas,” essentially denying them their Constitutional Rights.”