Dismissed Juror Kara McGee Describes ‘Jarring’ Encounter With Trump in Court: "It was odd"

A dismissed juror from Donald Trump’s ongoing trial in Manhattan, spoke candidly about her experience in the courtroom, describing the presence of the former president as 'odd' and 'jarring'. Kara McGee, a woman working in cybersecurity, was one of the first jurors dismissed from the potential pool, citing time constraints with her job. Speaking to MSNBC’s Vaughn Hillyard, she shared her run-in with Trump during the proceedings.

As per The Hill, McGee recalled, “It was odd. It was such an interesting experience because I had never seen him in person before and you see someone blown up so larger than life on the media for so many years, to see them in person is very jarring. You get the sense that it’s like, oh, this is just another guy, and also he sees me talking about him, which is bizarre.” 

During her time in court, McGee interacted with Trump directly, making eye contact with him before and after the questionnaire. She confessed, “It made the whole thing feel more real in a way because, I guess — when you’re on any jury, it’s, you have elements of that person’s future in your hands. So whether it was Trump or whether it was some stranger off the street in Manhattan who I’d never heard of before. If you commit to sitting on the jury, you can change that person’s life forever,” as reported by Mediaite. McGee also described the situation outside the court when she arrived, “I get here yesterday and there’s a massive line and Trump protesters and counter-protesters…and our holding room had something like 250 people in it.”

Trump's trial, which involves 34 criminal charges related to hush money payments and falsifying records, has drawn intense scrutiny and media attention. The trial's proceedings have also raised broader questions about public perception, political affiliations, and the challenges of ensuring a fair trial. Trump and his legal team have argued that securing an impartial jury in Manhattan is difficult, given Trump's extreme public scrutiny over the years. McGee also echoed similar sentiments, "I don’t like him, I don’t approve of what he did as president, but the right to a fair trial is extremely important."

Meanwhile, Trump's team faced an embarrassing setback recently, when they mistakenly issued a subpoena to an individual who shared the same name as their intended recipient, former D.A. investigator, Jeremy Rosenberg. The individual asserted, "I don't have any files for you...I'm keeping the fifteen dollars" allotted for witness travel expenses.

Subsequently, when Trump's lawyer claimed Rosenberg was not cooperative, the prosecution informed the court of the blunder. They said, "After receiving the defendant's pre-motion letter, the People spoke with Mr. Rosenberg's counsel, who informed the People that Mr. Rosenberg was not, in fact, served with the subpoena, that Mr. Rosenberg had not corresponded with defense counsel, and that Mr. Rosenberg does not have any connection to the Brooklyn address where the subpoena purportedly was served."