‘Shocked Juror of Dumped Trump Case Calls Judge’s Actions ‘Cowardly’

A juror who was dismissed from Donald Trump’s business records trial expressed feeling caught in a “competition” between a “cowardly” judge and prosecutors.

According to USA Today, Herson Cabreras said he was surprised to be dismissed by Judge Juan Merchan after already being selected for the high-profile criminal case.

“I said, ‘Wow, something else is going on here.’ But they decided not to take me, and that’s it. What can I say? So I said, ‘Fine,'” Cabreras said. “Everybody wants to look good and fair in front of the public, but they don’t act fair.”

The abrupt dismissal came after prosecutors brought up a 1991 incident where Cabreras and an associate were accused of tearing down political campaign signs in Harrison, New York, most of which belonged to Republicans.

Cabreras, who is in his 70s, stated that he barely remembered the incident when confronted by prosecutors and had never been required to disclose it during his involvement in other civil juries in New York.

“I didn’t expect they were going to go into my history of 30 years and pull out something I didn’t even remember,” he said. “I just thought it was an excuse” for prosecutors to remove him from the jury.

Despite expecting Judge Merchan to intervene, Cabreras felt that the judge did not take any action to address the situation.

“I looked at him, like, ‘Aren’t you going to say something?'” Cabreras said. “I’m sitting there, I’m the target, and he’s supposed to be judging. And he just let it happen, he didn’t say anything.”

The juror questionnaire given to potential jurors required them to disclose any encounters with law enforcement or the criminal justice system.

During the initial questioning, Cabreras mentioned that Trump is “fascinating and mysterious,” stating that Trump stirs up different reactions among people. He added that he “didn’t even notice” Trump when he entered court.

Cabreras criticized Judge Merchan, calling him a “cowardly judge” for allowing the prosecution to bring up details from the decades-old incident.

“I feel sorry for the other jurors,” Cabreras told USA Today. “Because if the way they treated me is any indication of how they’re going to treat other potential jurors, then I feel sorry for them.”

Despite asserting that he could have been impartial in the trial, Cabreras mentioned that it was a “favor” to be removed from the jury, as his family was unhappy with the situation.