A woman selected to be a juror in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial in Manhattan was dismissed on Thursday after informing Judge Juan Merchan that she had been identified in the press as a member of the jury.

Prospective jurors have been told that their identities will remain anonymous during the landmark criminal trial of the former president. But the juror, who was seated on Tuesday, told the court that her friends had warned her that some identifying details about her had been made public. When she added on Thursday that she could not be impartial, Merchan dismissed her, leaving six of the necessary 18 to impanel a jury.

In the first few days of jury selection, Merchan did not block reporters from publishing non-identifying details about the anonymous members of the jury. This led to some open sharing of non-identifying information that could be used to triangulate who is on the jury. For instance, Fox News host Jesse Watters hosted a segment on his Tuesday show called “Meet the Jurors” in which he revealed a female juror’s occupation, education, marital status, the neighborhood she works in, and the industry her fiancé works in.

Fox News host Jesse Watters on Tuesday broadcast extensive biographical details about Juror No. 2 -- her neighborhood, occupation, education, marital and family status, and what industry her fiance works in.

He concluded by saying, "I'm not so sure about Juror No. 2."

He… pic.twitter.com/PCMMOvnoGw

After dismissing the juror on Thursday, Merchan told reporters not to publish information about the employment history that prospective jurors are required to answer in a questionnaire. Jurors are also quizzed in open court by attorneys for the defense and prosecution, where more details have been revealed. While Merchan said that “the press can write about anything the attorney and the courts discuss,” he advised reporters to use “common sense” when discussing jurors: “There’s a reason why this is an anonymous jury and we’ve taken the measures we have taken. It kind of defeats the purpose of that when so much information is put out there.”

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