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One question both Republican job applicants and potential Trump jurors must answer
There’s one question both prosecutors and Republican hiring bosses want to know: “Do you believe the 2020 election was stolen?”
After a recent purge of the Republican National Committee, when the new leadership backed by former President Donald Trump fired more than 60 staffers, job applicants for positions in key states are being asked about their views of the 2020 election results, according to two Republican sources with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to CBS News. This line of questioning appears to be a test of their loyalty to Trump — and was described as “insane” by a Republican Party source with knowledge of the interviews.
The same question has been raised in Manhattan courtrooms. It was posed to jurors in a recent civil trial in which Trump was a defendant, and may be posed during jury selection in his upcoming criminal trial.
Trump’s first criminal trial, centering around “hush money” payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, is set to begin in April. Prosecutors see asking potential jurors for their perspectives on the 2020 election results as a way to glean whether “they can be fair and impartial.”
Joshua Steinglass, a lawyer for the district attorney, argued during a Feb. 15 pretrial hearing that jurors should be asked if any of them believe the 2020 election was stolen since “an affirmative answer here demonstrates an unwillingness to follow the facts and blindly rely on statements” made by Trump and could indicate that a juror “may not be willing to follow” the judge’s instructions.
“Over half the population of this country believe the election was stolen,” responded Trump attorney Todd Blanche, citing no evidence to back up that claim, while disputing the need for the question. “This has nothing to do with the facts of this case.”
Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts 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 claiming election fraud during the 2020 presidential election have been proven baseless.
A prosecutor acknowledged copying the election question from jury selection in another recent trial. Left unsaid was that it was a case Trump had lost.
During jury selection in the January trial pitting Trump against the writer E. Jean Carroll, prospective jurors were asked if any of them thought the 2020 presidential election had been stolen. When a man and a woman stood up, Trump turned to look at each of them. His adviser, Boris Epshteyn, sat behind him and appeared to smile.
It was Trump’s first time in a courtroom with a jury for one of his trials. He carefully watched the potential jurors as they were asked a series of politics-related questions, including whether they had voted in the 2016 or 2020 elections, were registered with a political party or had attended a Trump rally. Neither person who thought the election had been stolen was selected for the jury.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office said that the jury questions in the Carroll case had enabled the “well-respected” judge, Lewis Kaplan, to narrow jurors down quickly.
Trump was ultimately ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million. He is appealing the verdict.
The issue of what jurors should reveal about their political views is emerging throughout the former president’s trials. Special counsel Jack Smith has also proposed asking potential jurors for the Florida classified documents case about their beliefs on whether the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Blanche summed up during the February hearing what lawyers on both sides are truly hoping to ascertain from prospective jurors.
“What we all want to know, and what they want to know is: Do they like President Trump?” he said.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.