Day 2 of Trump New York hush money trial

If you’re just catching up, here are the takeaways from day 2 of the Trump hush money trial:

We have (more than half) a jury: So far four men and three women have been selected to serve on the jury. A man originally from Ireland who works in sales in New York City was appointed as the jury foreperson, who essentially serves as the panel spokesperson. Five of the seven have a college degree or higher education. Two men on the panel are lawyers. All but one juror empaneled Tuesday indicated that they’re aware Trump is facing charges in other criminal cases. The woman was the only one of the 18 jurors questioned who said she wasn’t aware of the other charges. None of them shared particularly strong views about Trump or politics.

Trump’s lawyers scrutinize jurors’ social media: Trump’s side asked the judge to remove five jurors for cause, pointing to alleged anti-Trump social media posts and trying to argue that the jurors were unfairly biased against the former president. When the former president’s attorney Todd Blanche was questioning the jurors, he asked them one by one what they thought of Trump, outside of the case. He then tried to argue before the judge that many of the jurors’ answers that they didn’t have an opinion of Trump did not align with their social media. Judge Juan Merchan was generally skeptical but he did agree on two counts that the jurors should be struck. As for the three jurors Merchan did not strike: Trump’s side used its preemptory challenges to remove all of them anyway. After Tuesday, both Trump’s team and the district attorney’s office have four peremptory challenges left.

Trump gets admonished (again): Trump was admonished for his conduct when Merchan brought in one of the jurors individually to discuss her social media posts raised by Trump’s team. After the juror left the courtroom, Merchan raised his voice and admonished Trump, saying he was audibly speaking and gesturing in the direction of the juror. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom,” Merchan told Blanche, raising his voice.

Jury selection could end – maybe – by the end of the week: One of the things Merchan has emphasized this week is that the court schedule is fluid. But the judge is hoping to wrap up jury selection this week. After swearing in the seven jurors Tuesday, Merchan told them he hopes they could return next Monday for opening statements – but he emphasized that the schedule could always change and the court would be in touch.

No cameras are allowed inside the Manhattan courtroom where Donald Trump’s hush money is underway, but sketch artists captured Tuesday’s proceedings.

Former President Donald Trump said he would decide after the trial if he thought the seven jurors who were seated Tuesday in his New York criminal hush money case could be fair.

Trump was asked on Tuesday by a reporter, “What kind of juror in your mind is an ideal juror in this trial?” 
“Anybody that’s fair,” the former president said.
Trump was then asked, “Do you believe that the jury, the jurors seated today can be fair?”
“I’ll let you know after, after the trial, depending on what happens,” he said.

Seven people have so far been seated on the jury.

The court is not in session Wednesday, and jury selection will continue Thursday until a panel of 12 New Yorkers and likely six alternates has been selected.

Former President Donald Trump said he does not think he violated the gag order prohibiting him from talking about witnesses in his New York criminal hush money trial. It comes after prosecutors asked Judge Juan Merchan to sanction Trump for what they say are violations.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy on Monday asked Merchan to hold Trump in contempt for violating the gag order and sanction Trump $1,000 for each of three social media posts he made that prosecutors say violate the order 

“No, I didn’t. There shouldn’t be a gag order,” Trump said when asked by CNN if he thought he had violated the gag order.

The hush money criminal trial against former President Donald Trump is one of four criminal cases he faces while juggling his presidential campaign.

The former president is facing at least 88 charges over the four criminal indictments in Georgia, New York, Washington, DC, and Florida. Trump has pleaded not guilty to every charge in these cases. 

Here’s a recap of each case: 

Read more about the four criminal cases Trump faces. 

CNN’s Laura Coates and former US attorney Michael Moore took viewer questions about the trial yesterday.

Among them:

“What can prosecutors do to prevent a Trump supporter from using this opportunity to lie their way into the jury? Are there investigations allowed or penalties if such a juror is exposed once the trial begins?” - Rich from Colorado

Coates says:

“First of all, the idea of trying to navigate how to select a jury is a lot of gut and intuition and some research in terms of having past experiences of things. You might have somebody who is a “stealth juror,” as we’ve discussed who has a different motive for being on the trial. That’s why you have to ask a lot of questions to figure out what they actually are thinking and can they be consistent in their responses?”
“And as for the second part of it, once the jury panel has been empaneled you’re going to have 12 and then six alternatives as well, there’ll be a way to track to figure out if there’s anything they’re doing to violate the judge’s orders about what they can and cannot do going forward. And if they are violating, that’s when you have the alternative jurors coming in,” she says.

Watch more answers to your questions here.

 As we end the second day of former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial with seven jurors seated, he’s where both sides stand on peremptory strikes:

Attorneys can also argue to strike jurors for cause, which the defense did successfully twice on Tuesday. 

Court resumes Thursday: There is no court on Wednesdays.

Seven people have been seated on the jury in the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump in Manhattan. Court is not in session Wednesday, and jury selection will continue Thursday until a panel of 12 New Yorkers and likely six alternates has been selected.

But before anyone was seated Tuesday, jurors went through the questionnaire phase in which they were questioned by the district attorney’s office and Trump’s lawyers. As jurors spoke, Trump was frequently seen flipping through the jury questionnaire, often leaning back in his chair.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche challenged several prospective jurors, calling for some to be dismissed for cause due to social media posts.

Remember: Each side has 10 peremptory strikes to remove a juror from the pool — no questions asked. In the instances in which either side is successful in dismissing a potential juror for cause, it does not have to use a strike.

Both the prosecution and defense have each used six preemptive strikes. This means each side has four strikes left.

These were some of the challenges:

Who are the jurors? An oncology nurse, a corporate lawyer, an English teacher: What we know about the seven seated jurors.

Trump and the judge: Merchan gave the former president a stern warning for visibly and audibly reacting to one of the potential jurors in court. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom,” the judge said after the potential juror left.

Looking ahead: The next batch of 96 potential jurors was sworn in Tuesday and dismissed until Thursday morning.

Seven jurors have been seated in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial so far today. Here’s what we know about them:

The first seated juror, who will be the foreperson on Trump’s jury, is a man originally from Ireland. He works in sales and has some college education. He is married but doesn’t have kids. He reads the New York Times and Daily Mail and watches some Fox News and MSNBC. The second juror is an oncology nurse who lives with her fiancé. She’s a native New Yorker. She reads the New York Times and watches CNN. The third seated juror is a corporate lawyer. He’s originally from Oregon. He gets his news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Google. He’s a younger man who’s never been married and doesn’t have kids.  The fourth juror is an older man originally from Puerto Rico who’s married with adult children and two grandkids. When asked about his hobbies, he said, “I guess my hobby is my family.” He has an IT business for training and consulting and attended one year of college. He told the court he finds Trump fascinating and mysterious. “So many people are set off one way or the other and that is interesting,” the man said. “Really, this one guy can do all of this, wow.” Trump “makes things interesting,” the man said, but also didn’t indicate any strong feelings about his politics. The fifth juror is a young Black woman who teaches English language in a public charter school system. She has a master’s degree in education, is not married and doesn’t have any kids. The juror said that as a person of color she has friends who have strong opinions on Trump, but she personally is not a political person. She said she tries to avoid political conversations and doesn’t really care for the news. The juror did say she appreciates Trump’s candor: “President Trump speaks his mind and I’d rather that than someone who’s in office who you don’t know what they’re thinking.” She was also the only juror of 18 in the box Tuesday morning who said she wasn’t aware that Trump is facing charges in other criminal cases. The sixth juror is a software engineer at a large broadcast company who recently graduated from college. She voiced no strong feelings about Donald Trump one way or the other and said, “I will be fair and impartial.” She is not married and has no kids, currently living with three roommates in Chelsea. The juror gets her news from the New York Times, Google, Facebook and TikTok. She asked the judge whether her sister’s wedding on a Sunday in September would be a scheduling conflict. Merchan quipped, “If we were still here in September that would be a big problem,” garnering laughs in the courtroom. The seventh juror is a civil litigator who is married with two kids and lives on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. Originally from North Carolina, he reads the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post and Washington Post. He said he has “political views as to the Trump presidency” and that he thinks there were likely Trump administration policies he disagreed with. “I don’t know the man and I don’t have opinions about him personally,” he said. “I certainly follow the news, I’m aware there are other lawsuits out there. But I’m not sure that I know anyone’s character.”

This post has been updated with information about the seventh juror.

Donald Trump, while leaving court for the day, called Judge Juan Merchan “conflicted.”

Trump also commented on the pace of trial so far after seven jurors were chosen in the first two days.

Merchan is “rushing this trial. And he’s doing as much as he can for the Democrats. This is a Biden-inspired witch hunt and it should end,” Trump added.

Facts First: There is no basis for Trump’s claims. There is no evidence that Biden, his White House or his Justice Department has had any role in launching or running Bragg’s case, let alone that Biden operatives are issuing secret commands in the case - and Bragg is a locally elected official who does not report to the federal government.

The post was updated with more comments from Trump on the trial and the fact check on his remarks.

The court has adjourned for the day.

The seventh juror seated today has been sworn in.

Judge Juan Merchan said that he is “hopeful we’ll be ready to go Monday morning” with the trial, though he shrugged as he said it.

A total of seven jurors have been selected to serve on the jury. One of the people questioned in this final batch of potential jurors was added to the panel.

Six were selected earlier today.

Judge Juan Merchan has asked the potential jurors to step outside the courtroom after they were questioned by Donald Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors.

In questioning, one of the prospective jurors underscored the seriousness of this trial.

Donald Trump attorney Todd Blanche started his questions by asking the prospective juror who works in real estate — and who said he knows people who knows Trump — whether he has a favorable or unfavorable view of the former president.

The juror responded that it was a “loaded question” as there’s a “lot of history” there.

“I’d say there are things that I disagree with, and things I think were done well during his presidency,” the potential juror said. “I wouldn’t classify it as favorable or unfavorable. But I think things are favorable and other things that are unfavorable.”

Prosecutors just wrapped up questioning today’s final prospective jurors. Donald Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now up.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked a potential juror who said he has friends who have committed crimes if he’d hear from a witness in this trial who also committed crimes, Michael Cohen.

She asked the juror whether that would keep him from having an open mind to what Cohen has to say.

“I wouldn’t prejudge it, but I would definitely have to listen to him based on what he says,” the potential juror said.

She followed up by asking whether his feelings about keeping an open mind might change with Cohen changing his story when he pleaded guilty.

“No, I was a corrections officer in New York City, so I’ve heard it all,” he said when asked if that would be a concern.

Donald Trump has been watching the smaller pool of jurors as they are asked questions by the district attorney’s office.

He’s sitting back in his chair and turned toward the jury box, occasionally whispering with his attorney Emil Bove.

Former President Donald Trump will have dinner with Polish President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower on Wednesday, according to a campaign official.

Trump is in New York for his criminal hush money trial, but the court is not in session on Wednesdays. The former president is expected the spend the day holding meetings, the campaign said.

Bloomberg was first to report on the dinner with Duda.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now questioning the potential jurors for the prosecution.

Prospective Juror No. 5 in this group is a native New Yorker who lives on the Upper West Side

Asked about his media consumption habits, he said, “I don’t do the news.”

When he got to the question on having beliefs on Donald Trump as a candidate and whether that would interfere with his ability to be fair, he said: “No opinion. Person on trial is a personal on trial. Doesn’t matter.”

On the final question about being fair and impartial if selected, the prospective juror said: “No, I judge him as I would judge myself.”

The six potential juror to review his questionnaire was dismissed after he raised a work problem.

Before being dismissed that juror said, “as much as I would love to serve for New York and one of our great presidents,” he felt he couldn’t take off from work for six weeks.

Donald Trump is expected after court Tuesday to stop at a Manhattan bodega where an employee stabbed a man in a 2022 incident that sparked backlash against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is leading the hush money case against the former president.

Jose Alba was a worker at what is now called the Sanaa Convenience Store in Upper Manhattan in July 2022, when he was charged with second-degree murder after stabbing a man who came behind the counter and shoved him. Alba and his lawyers argued that he acted in self-defense, and the charges were later dismissed amid backlash to Bragg’s decision to charge him.

Trump is expected to talk about crime and inflation, according to the pool covering the former president’s visit. It’s unclear whether Alba will be present.

The fourth juror to review his questionnaire is an attorney and civil litigator who lives on the Upper East Side and is married with two kids.

He said he’s never served on a jury before and reads the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and Washington Post.

He said he didn’t have any strong opinions to share about politics or Donald Trump. He indicated he would be able to serve fairly and impartially, according to journalists inside the courtroom.

The first of the six potential jurors being questioned now has made it through the questionnaire.

The prospective juror is in the real estate industry and is married with two children. He says he once read Donald Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal” — and he noted that because he’s in the real estate business, he knows people who know the former president.

“It wouldn’t in any way influence my thinking or how I feel about him, but I just wanted to state for the record that’s out there,” he said.

Judge Juan Merchan thanked him and moved onto the next juror.

There are three more jurors left to go through the questionnaire.

Another prospective juror has been dismissed after she said she has strong beliefs about Donald Trump that would interfere with her ability to be fair and impartial.

She read through most of her questionnaire before saying, “As I’m sitting here reflecting deeply, I do have concerns.”

The woman was a high school history teacher at the Spence School, according to reports from journalists inside the courtroom. 

The first potential juror in this group has been dismissed after she said she’s a medical director who does surgeries and is concerned about her job and the length of the trial.

“I’m getting concerned about the need to fulfill that work, and take care of my patients and be present” for the trial, she said.

The judge said that it’s only her who can say if she can be fully present.

“I don’t think I can,” the juror said before she was dismissed

The six remaining jurors from the first panel of 96 are in the courtroom and are being questioned.

Remember: Six jurors have already been seated on the jury. Donald Trump’s team has used six of his 10 preemptive challenges. The district attorney’s office has used four of its 10 challenges. A panel of 12 New Yorkers and likely six alternates will ultimately be selected.

President Joe Biden made a sharp economic argument against former President Donald Trump during a campaign speech Tuesday in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, framing the election as a debate between his Scranton outlook and Trump’s view from Mar-a-Lago. 

“When I look at the economy, I don’t see it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago, I see it through the eyes of Scranton and that’s not hyperbole — that’s a fact,” Biden said at the Scranton Cultural Center Tuesday. “It’s a stark contrast from my opponent. He looks at the economy from Mar-a-Lago where he and his rich friends embrace the failed trickle-down policies that have failed working families for more than forty years.” 

The trip, which kicks off a three-day swing through Pennsylvania, presented a stark split screen as the president is on the campaign trail while Trump spends most of the week in a New York City courtroom for his criminal trial.

“Scranton values or Mar-a-Lago values. These are the competing visions for our economy and they raise questions of fundamental fairness at the heart of this campaign,” Biden argued. 

Biden’s Pennsylvania push comes as he’s also seeking to move the needle with voters who continue to hold sour views about the president’s handling of the economy.

Recent polling has also shown a close contest between Biden and Trump fewer than seven months from Election Day.

Another panel of 96 individuals were brought in to be sworn as potential jurors.

Some looked around curiously – perhaps nervous, perhaps excited — as they passed the half-dozen journalists and a sketch artist in the back row, according to to pool reports

“Ma’am, ma’am put your cell phone away,” a court security officer told one potential juror after she saw Donald Trump and tried to pull out her phone.

Some looked nervous. One man and woman were whispering feverishly to one another. Heads craned to try and look at Trump, according to pool reports.

The potential jurors were sworn in, vowing to truthfully answer all questions. Then were dismissed for the day.

“I know that you’ve been sitting around all day, waiting for something to happen, and I want you to know that that wasn’t lost on us,” Judge Juan Merchan said, telling them that things would start right away when they return Thursday morning.

The rest of the afternoon will pivot to questioning of six potential jurors from the first panel.

Judge Juan Merchan said the court will move to voir dire for the remaining six jurors from the first panel who have not yet been questioned.

Because it’s a group of six instead of 18, he asked the defense and prosecution teams to take only 15 minutes, instead of the 20 minutes he initially agreed they could have.

Judge Juan Merchan is now addressing the next pool of jurors who have been sworn in.

Merchan said he plans to excuse them shortly and they will come back at 9:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

Before Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial began, experts had deemed that selecting a jury would be a long and challenging task. But six jurors have already been seated before the end of Day 2. 

Six more jurors, as well as alternates, are required for jury selection to conclude. 

“Remember, the tactic here from defense counsel for months and months, it was to delay this trial. This pace is absolutely antithetical to trying to delay that process. In other words, this defendant, Donald Trump, has the pacing of most defendants who are charged with the crime in New York City,” CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates said. 

Remember: For months now, Trump’s team has pushed to delay the New York trial, as part of the former president’s broader strategy of trying to push back all four of his trials until after the 2024 election.

To recap where we are now:

A second panel of jurors has arrived in the courtroom.

Judge Juan Merchan asked Donald Trump’s team to confirm that the media they have been accessing is “all public media.”

“Very much confirm,” attorney Todd Blanche said.

Judge Juan Merchan said they will swear in the second panel of potential jurors and then excuse them for the day.

Then, he will bring the six jurors from the first panel who have not yet gone through the questionnaire back in to have them answer questions.

He said he expects court will go past 4:30 p.m. ET today.

Judge Juan Merchan gave the jurors instructions, from logistics like arriving before 9 a.m. ET to give them time to clear the mags for court, to serious matters like not accepting bribes and reporting any attempts to influence them.

He told them to avoid reading the news or researching the case.

“In addition, not conversing face-to-face with anyone about the case,” Merchan said, adding that jurors cannot communicate electronically with anyone.

Of the six jurors still in the audience, Merchan said, “We’re not done with you.”

Judge Juan Merchan told the seated jurors that six more jurors are needed, along with alternates, which he said he thinks will be “about six.”

The six individuals who have been selected to serve as jurors have been seated.

The six who have yet to be questioned are still in the courtroom. The jurors who were dismissed are being excused.

The six jurors are being sworn in.

Some look stressed as they walk to the jury box, according to pool reports. Some who are walking out appear relieved, while others are smiling.

Remember: A panel of 12 New Yorkers and six alternates will ultimately be selected.

Judge Juan Merchan thanked the potential jurors for their patience as they entered the courtroom.

The potential jurors from the first panel, including the 18 questioned in voir dire and the six who have yet to be questioned, are headed to the courtroom.

They will be told whether they were seated as jurors or dismissed.

Judge Juan Merchan said he will ask the six jurors selected to return on Monday — though he cautioned that could change, depending on the schedule and how quickly things go.

Judge Juan Merchan said he wants to bring in the next panel of jurors today and get them sworn in. That way, they can get started Thursday morning with that panel.

Remember: Court will not be held on Wednesdays for this trial.

Three more people have now been seated on the jury. That means we are at six jurors in total now.

Judge Juan Merchan denied the challenge for cause for this latest potential juror, saying the three social media posts had to do with satire.

He also noted the prospective juror was “pretty open and honest she has disagreements” with Trump’s political views.

Judge Juan Merchan notes that the social media posts in question contained satire, and asks Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche whether any other posts on the potential juror’s page contained satire.

He’s conferring now with his counsel.

Social media posts are playing a “pivotal role” in the jury selection process in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial, CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates said, as the former president’s legal team challenged prospective jurors on their ability to be impartial in the proceedings based on their past posts. 

While Judge Juan Merchan struck two potential jurors for cause based on their social media posts, he noted that this cannot happen with every juror. 

Merchan told Trump’s lawyers they have to find “a respectful way to bring this up during the questioning of the jurors,” CNN’s Kara Scannell said, adding the judge is “really trying to … prevent this from becoming a runaway train where they go through everyone’s social media history.” 

Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche is questioning a potential juror who posted on social media in the past about politics.

“I feel that politically, we have big disagreements, your client and myself,” the juror said. “There are certain things he’s said that I don’t care for. But lots of people say things I don’t care for.”

She added, “But when I’m coming here, that can’t count, that has to go away.”

One of the posts lawyers highlighted was from the New Yorker’s satirical “Borowitz report,” about Republicans picking up “70 seats in prison” back in 2018.

With three jurors now seated, Donald Trump’s attorneys have raised a challenge against another potential juror.

They’re bringing in the juror being challenged to discuss her social media posts.

Attorney Todd Blanche showed the juror a post from her Facebook page in 2018. She said that looks like her, and that she has since stopped posting about politics since.

She said she has “very little” to do with politics now “because it got too vitriolic for me.”

Blanche asked her about saying she could be impartial and that she said she had to sleep on it.

“I didn’t have to sleep on it about being impartial,” the juror said. “I slept on it in terms of the seriousness in terms of what’s going on in this room.”

Three people have been seated on the jury.

Jury selection will continue until a panel of 12 New Yorkers and six alternates have been selected.

Judge Juan Merchan granted the defense team’s challenge for cause and struck potential juror No. 6.

Merchan said that the social media posts on their own aren’t reason to dismiss, but combined with his demeanor and some of the answers he gave, “I’m having a hard time crediting some of his responses.”

Potential juror No. 6 acknowledged he reposted a negative AI video about Trump in March earlier this year.

“I don’t recall watching it,” the juror said, when questioned in court.

He reiterated his views of Trump “outside of this room” do not weigh on how he’d conduct himself as a juror.

Judge Juan Merchan has called in juror No. 6 into the courtroom, who is being challenged by Trump’s attorneys over Facebook posts.

“That is from my Facebook account,” the juror said, noting that he sells buttons to support a get-out-the-vote political organization.

Donald Trump’s team is now challenging potential juror No. 6.

Judge Juan Merchan read a social media post Trump’s team flagged from the juror.

“Want to beat Trump in 2024?” Merchan read the post in part. There’s also a photo of display tables with a Biden-Harris poster on it.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche also raised two social media posts on Facebook from yesterday from this juror, where he was asked if he got picked and he said, “I have to go back tomorrow.”

Judge Juan Merchan declines to dismiss a potential juror for cause or bring her in for questioning.

“These are posts from over 8 years ago, not involving the juror, involving the juror’s husband,” he says.

“Honestly, if this is the worst thing that you were able to find about this juror — that her husband posted this humor, albeit not very good humor, from 8 years ago — it gives me confidence this juror can be fair,” Merchan says.

“I’m not going to make further inquiry,” Merchan said.

Former President Donald Trump is leaning back in his chair. He turned to his lawyer Emil Bove and made a remark when Merchan made that ruling.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said that the social media posts in question are jokes and not an indication of bias.

“It is not necessarily as weighty as it’s being suggested,” he says.

Judge Juan Merchan is starting to get tired of the approach of former President Donald Trump’s attorneys of challenging every juror’s social media posts.

Merchan said the court is not going to keep doing this. “If you have the goods on someone you need to politely and respectfully” ask them about it, he said.

Merchan notes that Trump attorney Todd Blanche could have asked this juror about her family member’s posts during “voir dire,” the earlier portion of questioning.

Donald Trump’s team is now challenging juror No. 3.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche raised three social media posts of memes. One of the posts is a picture of Trump and Obama from 2016, with the caption: “I don’t think this is what they meant when they said orange is the new black.”

Judge Juan Merchan says that the potential juror’s social media post about the travel ban being unlawful was acceptable, but it also contained the language “lock him up.”

“This is a person who expressed … a desire that Donald Trump be locked up,” Merchan says, even though he notes that it was a few years ago.

Merchan read the post: “Goodness !! Trump lost his court battle on his unlawful travel ban!!”

“If it ended there, I wouldn’t really have a major problem with it,” the judge said. “Then it continues ‘get him out’ and ‘lock him up.’”

Merchan said “everyone knows” there’s a potential jail sentence for Trump if he’s convicted, so he could be “locked up.”

The judge is striking potential juror No. 2 for cause.

Trump’s team found social media posts from the juror referencing Trump that say, “Get him out” and “Lock him up.”

The prospective juror whose Facebook posts are in question said he can “set all the prior feelings aside” about the former president.

The potential juror being questioned now was a middle-aged man who lives in Midtown and works as a creative director.

The juror confirmed the social media account in question is his.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked whether he has recollection of this post. The man said he does not but it’s on his account so it’s his post.

Before the other juror is brought in, Judge Juan Merchan says that the question that the former president’s attorney Todd Blanche posed to the jurors — “What is your opinion of Donald Trump?” — was problematic.

“That’s another way of saying do you like or don’t like Donald Trump,” Merchan says, noting that people could base that on the way he dresses, the way he speaks or his job as president.

Judge Juan Merchan issued a stern warning to Donald Trump for his reaction to a juror in the courtroom. But it was just that, for now — a warning — not to do it again.

The judge said earlier in court that Trump was gesturing and audibly speaking in the direction of the potential juror who was being questioned.

“I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom,” he said after the juror left the court.

Former President Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche is now challenging another potential juror.

Trump’s team found social media posts from the juror referencing Trump that say, “Get him out” and “Lock him up.”

Judge Juan Merchan denied the defense team’s challenge for cause.

“Juror No. 1 is denied, who’s your next?” he told Trump lawyer Todd Blanche.

Blanche responded: “Juror No. 2.”

What this means: Trump’s attorneys are seeking to have some potential jurors dismissed for cause — which, if successful, means they would not have to use one of their 10 strikes.

Judge Juan Merchan says he does not want people on the jury who lie or mislead, and that’s why he brought the potential juror in to have her explain the Facebook posts. He says she “provided what I believe were reasonable explanations for both.”

“That juror looked me right in the eye and when she said she could be very impartial, she meant it,” Merchan says, adding that the juror is credible.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is fighting the defense’s motion to dismiss the potential juror on cause.

“I fail to see how posting a video of other people celebrating, and even indicating a favorable view of other people celebrating, implicates this juror’s” ability to be fair, Steinglass argued.

Judge Juan Merchan told Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche to speak to his client after saying the former president was gesturing at a potential juror during questioning.

The judge raised his voice as he spoke to Trump’s attorney.

Blanche moved on from the admonishment and continued arguing about the juror.

Donald Trump was gesturing and audibly speaking in the direction of the potential juror who was being questioned, Judge Juan Merchan said after the juror left the courtroom.

“Your client was audibly uttering,” he told Trump’s lawyers. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom.”

Former President Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche asked a prospective juror about her caption on a Facebook video depicting people celebrating during the 2020 election.

The caption read: “You had to get in the car to spread the honking cheer. it’s a full on dance party at 96th street,” according to Blanche.

The juror says that she understands the questions here are about bias and implicit bias.

“I very, very strongly believe that regardless of my thoughts about anyone or anything political, feelings or convictions, that the job of a juror is to understand the facts of a trial and to be the judge of those facts,” the juror said.

The potential juror said a Facebook video of people celebrating after the 2020 election that is being reviewed “was just a New York celebratory moment.”

“I think I went to the car to alternate side parking or something like that and there were people dancing in the street and stuff,” she said.

The prospective juror that Trump attorneys want to dismiss for cause, over a video the individual posted around the 2020 election is in the courtroom.

“Counsel has some follow up questions for you,” Judge Juan Merchan tells the prospective juror.

Judge Juan Merchan said he wants to question a potential juror who posted a video to Facebook around the 2020 election.

“This is clearly an anti-Trump event,” Donald Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles said of the post.

Merchan agreed: “I would agree with you that it would appear that it is.”

Merchan says there’s enough there that he wants to ask the juror about the video in question. She’s now being brought into the courtroom.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked the prospective juror whether anyone felt the prosecutors should have to prove more because of former President Donald Trump’s position. He specifically asked this juror now in question.

“I don’t think it matters what my political beliefs are,” she said in response.

Donald Trump’s attorneys are seeking to have the first juror dismissed for cause — which, if successful, means they would not have to use one of their 10 strikes.

Attorney Todd Blanche argued it was important enough to the prospective juror when Trump lost the election to take a video and join in a celebration of his loss.

Judge Juan Merchan asked to see the video in question for context.

Trump’s attorney is drilling down on a post from one juror about being in a car “spreading the honking cheer” on Election Day 2020 or when Biden was declared the winner.

Blanche said when the juror was asked if anything should be known about her opinion of Trump, she said no.

Prosecutors and Donald Trump’s lawyers are now beginning the process of using their preemptive strikes.

Each side has 10 strikes they can use. If either team chooses to use one of their 10 strikes, the potential juror is removed.

Prosecutors said they would not use any strikes against the first 12 jurors seated in the box.

Trump’s attorney is challenging the social media posts of some of the jurors, saying the posts are contrary to the answers the jurors have given. 

Right now, he’s seeking to have the first juror dismissed for cause — which, if successful, means the defense would not have to use one of its 10 strikes.

The Facebook post that Judge Juan Merchan is reviewing appears to be from 2020, where the potential juror is in a Facebook post about being in a car “spreading the honking cheer” on the date of the election or the day that President Joe Biden was declared the winner.

“I’m trying to understand what I’m looking at here; how does it call into question what the juror said?” Merchan asked.

Judge Juan Merchan is reviewing the social media posts, wondering what the issue is because there’s no obvious reference to former President Donald Trump.

“Show me the bias,” he said.

Prosecutors said they don’t have any challenges for cause for the potential jurors in seats 1 through 12.

However, Trump attorney Todd Blanche is challenging the prospective juror in seat 1 for cause.

“Juror No. 1 has a series of extraordinarily hostile Facebook posts,” he said.

Former President Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche said that there are social media posts from potential jurors that are “very much contrary” to the answers they have given.

Blanche has not offered any specifics yet.

Court has resumed following a lunch break. Jury selection will now continue.

Donald Trump returned to the courtroom following the court’s lunch break. He did not say anything to reporters as he entered.

Donald Trump has faced three civil trials in New York since he left the White House, but this is the first time he faces possible jail time.

The former president is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, stemming from reimbursements made to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen for hush money payments he made before the 2016 election to an adult film star alleging an affair with Trump. The former president has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair with Stormy Daniels.

Each count represents a separate instance of the alleged misconduct, pointing to different business records associated with a series of repayments to Cohen (ledger entries, checks, stubs, invoices, etc.) that were allegedly falsified to conceal his criminal conduct.

Penalty: The maximum penalty for each count is four years in state prison. However, the judge has discretion on how long any sentence should be and whether to allow any sentences to be served consecutively. He could also sentence Trump to probation.

New York caps sentencing for this type of felony at 20 years.

A president has no authority to pardon state crimes.

When court resumes, prosecutors and Donald Trump’s defense team will each be able to use 10 peremptory strikes to remove a juror from the pool — no questions asked. Both sides have 10 strikes to use throughout the entire jury process.

This process is a lot like a game of 3D chess, Richard Gabriel, a jury consultant, told CNN.

“There are some people that you think, maybe the other side is going to strike them, therefore, I can spare my strike. Truly, you’re picking a jury … of only a few people who are going to be the opinion leaders. So you’re prioritizing who are your most high-risk individuals, and then trying to eliminate them to basically reshape the pool a little bit, so you get the most advantageous hearing,” he said.

Both sides are looking for different things, Gabriel added. He said the prosecution is looking for a consensus jury — a group of people that will get along and come to a unanimous verdict. Meanwhile, the defense is looking for high-conflict jury — one that will not get along because even if one juror doesn’t agree with the verdict, it’s a win for Trump, Gabriel said.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what to know about how the case has played out this morning.

Donald Trump appeared outside court, where he railed against his trial and said he should instead be campaigning in Pennsylvania.

The former president took his seat between his attorneys as jury selection resumed for the second day. As jurors spoke, the former president was frequently seen flipping through the jury questionnaire, often leaning back in his chair.

Throughout the morning, at least eight potential jurors were excused. Here are some of the reasons why:

Eighteen potential jurors made it through the questionnaire phase in which they were questioned by the district attorney’s office and Trump’s lawyers.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked the potential jurors whether they thought it was possible to not hold witnesses to “unrealistic standards.” Trump attorney Todd Blanche said he was going to test whether the potential jurors could be fair and impartial, since this was unlike any other case.

Trump was asked to leave the room, and his team said they needed more time to discuss with the former president whom they would strike from the jury.

Separately from jury selection, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Trump’s social media posts violated the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan. The prosecutors are asking the court to fine Trump $1,000 per violation. Merchan scheduled a hearing on the district attorney’s motion on April 23 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Court will resume at 2:15 p.m. ET.

What comes next: Merchan said attorneys for both sides will begin to use their peremptory strikes on potential jurors they believe will not help their case. Both sides have 10 strikes they are allowed to use for the entire jury selection process. After those jurors are excused, the judge said they will move on to the six jurors who have not been questioned among this group. After they are questioned, Merchan said he wants to bring in a second panel of prospective jurors today.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche said they need more time, so Judge Juan Merchan said they will go through the list of potential jurors and remove some after lunch.

Court will be back at 2:15 p.m. ET, Merchan said.

Merchan said he’ll use the last six potential jurors who’ve been sitting in the gallery listening to backfill whoever is dismissed.

There are still six potential jurors in this group who have not been questioned. After they are questioned, Merchan said he wants to bring in a second panel of prospective jurors today.

The jurors exited the courtroom.

Former President Donald Trump is back inside the courtroom.

He gave a thumbs up and is now whispering with his attorney Todd Blanche.

A prospective juror said that as a person of color, she has friends who have strong opinions on former President Donald Trump, but she does not consider herself not a political person, according to pool reporters.

She said she tries to avoid political conversations and doesn’t really care for the news.

She added that she appreciates Trump’s candor. “President Trump speaks his mind and I’d rather that than someone who’s in office who you don’t know what they’re thinking,” she said.

Most of the jurors in the box raised their hand when Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked if they are aware Trump is charged in other criminal cases. This juror was the only person to raise her hand to say she is just now learning that for the first time, according to the pool.

A prospective juror who works with seniors said Donald Trump “speaks his mind” and “stirs the pot.”

“You can’t judge him because he speaks his mind. I mean the way everyone wants to judge him for speaking his mind. … I know what’s right and what’s wrong,” she said.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche pressed her to explain what she thought of that behavior.

“I mean, he speaks his mind, come on, what can you say about that? If I told you all the time what I thought about people — I want to say some things to people, but my momma said be nice.”

Susan Necheles, part of Donald Trump’s legal team, said they need more time to go over the juror strikes with the former president.

She wanted to wait until after lunch to strike the jurors, saying by the time they get to their room across the hall, it will be lunchtime. Judge Juan Merchan reiterated their room is right across the hall and said, “you’re wasting time right now” and “why don’t you go get started?”

Former President Donald Trump has exited the courtroom.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche has finished questioning this batch of potential jurors.

Now, the jury pool is exiting the courtroom while both parties consider which prospective jurors they want to strike.

One potential juror said she has lived in New York for 50 years and acknowledged that Donald Trump has been a notable figure in real estate.

“There is very little we probably agree on policy-wise,” the juror said. “Sometimes I get frustrated with it like anybody does. I have family members that support him. We manage to have decent conversations about that.”

She said that she hasn’t been following this case closely.

She also said she sympathized with Trump attorney Todd Blanche and how he is trying to get his client a fair shake. “I understand your dilemma. I truly do,” she said.

Former President Donald Trump is watching the potential jurors intently as they answer questions from his lawyer Todd Blanche.

Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche noted that it’s hard to read the New York Times or watch CNN — media outlets many prospective jurors said they consume — without hearing about Trump’s other cases.

He asked whether the jurors have heard about the other charges and if they have an opinion on them.

When Trump attorney Todd Blanche said it could be difficult to speak about the former president while he’s sitting in the room, one woman responded, “I don’t think it’s difficult, not to cut you off.”

“I’m not into politics, don’t really care for the news,” she says, adding that as a person of color, she was around people who had an opinion of Trump.

“To be completely honest with you, my response was always President Trump was speaking his mind,” she says, comparing him to other politicians who don’t do that.

Another potential juror, who was previously an attorney, said he’s followed the news around Donald Trump.

“I was a big fan of the Apprentice when I was in middle school,” the man said, according to pool reports. People laughed in the courtroom.

As far as Trump’s presidency goes, the man said “some things I agreed with, some things I disagreed with.”

Defense attorney Todd Blanche connected his questioning of each prospective juror about their views on Donald Trump, noting the jury will see tweets from the former president that they may remember back from when he was first campaigning for president in 2016.

He told the jury pool they are “trying to make sure that President Trump is starting out at square zero with you, literally square zero.”

One juror went back and forth with Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche, largely refusing to share his views on the former president, according to pool reports.

He repeatedly said his views about Trump don’t matter and said that he can compartmentalize.

“I’ll say, I’m a Democrat so there you go, but I walk in there and he’s a defendant and that’s all he is,” the juror said.

Another potential juror says he finds former President Donald Trump “fascinating,” with his voice rising in a crescendo.

“He walks into a room and he sets people off one way or the other, and I find that really interesting. Really, this one guy can do this?” the juror says.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche seems amused by the response.

A potential juror from Mexico who became a US citizen the first year Donald Trump was president said his views about Trump are “truly inconsequential to this trial.”

“Feelings are not facts,” the man said, drawing a laugh from Trump attorney Todd Blanche.

Trump’s attorney asked whether becoming a citizen while Trump was president would affect him at all in this trial, and he said it would not.

A woman in the jury pool says she “disagreed with several policies” of former President Donald Trump, while noting that her social media contains “a diverse collection of friends and family, and they all post things in favor of or opposed to previous presidential policies.”

Another potential juror who was an attorney says that he follows former President Donald Trump “like anyone else,” while noting that he “was a big fan of ‘The Apprentice.’” When Trump became president, the juror said there were some policies he agreed with and others he disagreed with.

Trump Attorney Todd Blanche tried to elicit one potential juror’s views about Donald Trump, but the man responded: “My view doesn’t matter.”

Blanche asked for a little more from the juror. He said his political views are like comparing “apples and oranges” while inside the courtroom, but he also volunteered: “I’ll say I’m a Democrat, so there you go.”

Blanche said that his side just wants to make sure Trump gets a fair shake, and the man said he is sure he can do that.

The prospective juror who works for the Bronx district attorney says he knows that the Manhattan district attorney will have to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. He notes he has “a lot of friends in law enforcement who are pro-Trump,” but says that he doesn’t have an opinion about national politics.

Another potential juror says that her social media is about former President Donald Trump, while noting that she’s a woman and there have been opinions that he “doesn’t treat females correctly.”

Asked for more details about that, the juror says: “Honestly, I don’t really know the stories.”

Donald Trump’s attorney began questioning the potential jurors by asking a woman about her opinion of the former president.

“I don’t really have one, especially in this courtroom,” she responds. “I think he will be treated as anybody else, and no one is above the law. So I’m here just to hear the facts on both sides.”

Former President Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche says he’s going to test whether jurors can be fair and impartial, because this isn’t like any other case.

“This is extraordinarily serious, and it’s extraordinarily important to President Trump that we know we’re going to get a fair shake,” Blanche says.

Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche is now addressing the potential jurors.

Blanche said he wants to talk about people’s opinions of Trump. “You’re not going to offend me or the court or even President Trump,” Blanche said .

Judge Juan Merchan is on the bench and the potential jurors are returning.

Trump gave a thumbs up as he entered the courtroom following a short break.

Donald Trump’s lawyers told the court that former president changed his mind about wanting to be at sidebars.

He signed a form waiving his right to do so and confirmed that audibly to Judge Juan Merchan answering, “yes.”

Judge Juan Merchan says there will be a 10-minute recess.

Potential jurors are exiting for a break.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked each of the potential jurors to think about if they would be able to look defendant Donald Trump in the eye and return a guilty verdict if the case is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

He asked each juror to “take a moment to look at the defendant and look inside yourself” to ensure they can do that.

According to pool reports, Trump appeared to be looking at the prospective jurors as they each answered “yes” to Steinglass’ question. Trump tilted his head once or twice as they were answering.

Judge Juan Merchan stopped the prosecutor at one point, asking: “Mr. Steinglass, are you just about done?”

“Am I,” Steinglass asks, seemingly surprised.

“Just about,” Merchan responds, and Steinglass says he’ll move to his final question.

Jurors will be asked “to determine the defendant’s intent,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says.

“You’re going to need to decide what Mr. Trump’s intent was” in making or causing the false business entries, Steinglass says, adding that while juries can’t get into a defendant’s head, they are able to determine intent in other ways using clues.

Juries do that all the time, he says.

One male juror says in response to Steinglass’ questions: “No, I don’t think I need to read someone’s mind to determine their intent.”

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass noted that jurors may not like all witnesses in the case.

“Can you all separate believability from likability?” he asks the jurors.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said while jurors can consider a witness’ background in assessing their credibility, it’s not the only thing they should consider.

“The question really is, as I keep saying, can you wait until you hear not only the witness testimony but the rest of the evidence of the case?” he asks.

No one in the jury pool says that’s an issue.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass noted some witnesses who will testify in the trial “have some edge,” describing them a tabloid publisher, an adult film star and former lawyer Michael Cohen.

He noted that Cohen was convicted of federal crimes, including lying to Congress.

Steinglass also said that some witnesses have written books, made podcasts and participated in documentaries.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is questioning the jury pool, but he’s also signaling how they’ll appeal to the jury at trial, noting that not all witnesses will remember events in the past the same and that witnesses might remember small details differently.

Steinglass also noted that jurors will not learn why these charge are going to trial now and that jurors are not allowed to speculate.

“Can you be realistic and not hold witnesses to unrealistic standards?” he asks the jury pool, telling any to say if they can’t accept that.

Former President Donald Trump shook his head in court as prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said that the alleged crimes in the hush money case took place in 2017 and the conduct goes back to 2015.

A potential juror said she doesn’t know what this case is about at this point, noting that she was unplugged in February when she deferred her jury service until mid-April.

The woman said that if more knowledge is necessary, “then maybe I’m not the person you want sitting here,” the woman said.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass responded that it didn’t matter one way or the other whether jurors had heard about the case.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass notes all of the media attention on the case, but says they haven’t yet seen the evidence in this case.

“It seems that everyone and their mother has an opinion about this case, and what the right outcome may be, however uninformed that opinion may be,” he says, noting that “unlike the masses,” the jurors on this case will have access to all of the evidence and the judge’s instructions on the law.

One male juror told prosecutor Joshua Steinglass that this case didn’t have anything to do with his political inclinations.

“I can judge this case on the merits of the case,” the juror said.

“That’s exactly what we want,” Steinglass responded.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is calling on prospective jurors now to ask their feelings about being on the jury.

“I think that the job of the jury, like the judge said yesterday, is to understand what’s the facts are. I don’t think it matters what my political beliefs are,” said one woman in the jury pool.

Steinglass asked another woman who said yesterday she had views on campaign finance limits. The potential juror said she didn’t think those views about the need for candidates to raise money would affect her views on this case.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said “this defendant is just like any other defendant in any other criminal case.”

“There’s no special formula that applies to him simply because of who he is,” Steinglass continued.

“Does anyone feel they’re able to question the law as the judge gives it simply because the defendant is Donald Trump?” he asked the jury pool.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is addressing the prospective jurors for the prosecution.

Steinglass began by telling the prospective jurors that they want them to be honest, and that they’re looking for jurors who can be fair to both the prosecution and the defense.

“We need jurors who can set aside any strong feelings they can have one way or the other and focus on the evidence,” he said. “This case has nothing to do with your personal politics.”

The 18 prospective jurors in the jury box will now be questioned for 30 minutes, first by the district attorney’s office and then by former President Donald Trump’s lawyers.

Judge Juan Merchan is now explaining the rules and how lawyers can object during the questioning.

Another potential juror, an older woman, has been dismissed after she said she wasn’t 100% sure she could be fair.

She said she believes Trump is being treated fairly and said, “I believe no one’s above the law, so I guess that’s a strong opinion.”

Kara McGee, a juror dismissed from the hush money criminal trial, told CNN she wasn’t sure if she was being considered for the case against Donald Trump until she walked into the courtroom and saw the former president.

“So yeah, it was when we walked into the courtroom and saw him that it was —that I was sure, that it was definitely this case,” McGee said. She said that Trump made eye contact with her, which she said was “odd.”

McGee said that it was a fascinating experience because on the one hand, she was aware that “this is history in the making and whatever the outcome of this is, everything going forward will be affected by it” and at the same time she walked into the courtroom and saw Trump sitting there and realized, “Oh it’s just a guy … he’s just a dude.”

McGee said that she believes she was dismissed because of her answer to a question regarding additional things that may impact her ability to serve on the jury. McGee said she mentioned her work schedule conflicting with her being able to be in court from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for an extended period of time. She said she was dismissed right after that question, even though they did not specify why she was dismissed.

Once there are 18 potential jurors who have made it through the first round of questions, the lawyers will have 30 minutes to question them. Judge Juan Merchan outlined this process yesterday.

Judge Juan Merchan last week released the questionnaire that is being presented to potential jurors in court. It contains multiple questions that could signal political views to the lawyers on both sides.

A panel of 12 New Yorkers and six alternates will ultimately be selected to decide whether to convict Donald Trump

Here’s a look at some of the topics of the questions:

Those in the jury pool will also be asked if they have views on whether a former president can be charged in state court and how Trump is being treated in this case.

The questions are being used for the judge to strike jurors at the outset, if they don’t believe they can render a verdict fairly. They are also being used by lawyers for both sides to strike jurors for any reason — a key part of the jury selection process.

Donald Trump’s legal team is frustrated after one juror was dismissed for having a pro-Trump bias, CNN’s Kristen Holmes reports.

The former president’s attorneys have been concerned about the political makeup of Manhattan and worried that they were not going to get anyone sympathetic to Trump, according to Holmes.

The defense team is not optimistic that they are going to win this case outright, Holmes says, but they are trying to get at least one sympathetic juror to try and aim for a hung jury.

Remember: A unanimous verdict is required for conviction.

As the jury selection process continues in the hush money trial against Donald Trump, attorneys are trying to narrow down the pool so they can weed out people, CNN’s Kara Scannell said.

“We’re in the heart of this jury selection process here, and they’re still trying to get to the point where they fill the jury box with enough, that they could really drill down into their questions,” she noted.

On Monday, attorneys were able to get up nine in the jury box, but today some jurors are saying that they are not sure if they can be impartial, Scannell said, “Others are saying they’ve been excused because they have a scheduling conflict.”

We’re also finding out more about who the jurors are. So far, there is a bookseller, a prosecutor from the Bronx District Attorney’s office and an oncology nurse. They could still be dismissed but “it gives us a sense of who’s in there now,” she said, a cross-section of Manhattan.

Seat number one is being refilled after that juror was excused earlier. Once that juror is through questioning, there will be 18 jurors that made it through the questionnaire.

There’s still a long way to go before we get a jury, however, as this is just the first step in jury selection.

Another prospective juror asked whether a wedding in September could pose a problem.

Judge Juan Merchan said jokingly that if we’re still here in September it’s a “big problem.”

Another potential juror is an older woman with white hair who said she is “happily retired” from the MTA, according to pool reports.

She said she has grandchildren and has done some work for a dog training program.

The woman said she “loves the theater, loves music” and went to a pro-choice rally in 2017.

With regards to her political views about campaign money, she said “there could be better use for that money.”

Another potential juror is a man who has lived on the Lower East Side for more than 40 years and is originally from Puerto Rico, according to a pool report. He said he’s a self-employed IT consultant who has been is married “a long time,” according to pool reports.

He said he has one child and two grandchildren. He joked, “I have no spare time” and then said, “I guess my hobby is my family.” He participates in some community nonprofits, and he said he once served on a jury in a civil case but he doesn’t remember the outcome because it was so long ago.

He said he gets his news from the Daily News and New York Times. He also said, “I do Google. I do X,” and he listens to podcast on YouTube, according to the pool report.

A male potential juror got former President Donald Trump’s attention as the first to say he read some of Trump’s books.

As he named “Art of the Deal” and tried to remember two others, Trump nodded along as he listed off the titles.

The juror said he was concerned that he would discuss the case with his wife. Judge Juan Merchan told him he could say that he was here but not discuss the substance of the case.

“That would be tough,” the juror said.
“Can you do that?” Merchan asked.
“Yeah,” he said. 

He cited Passover, which starts Monday, as a potential scheduling conflict.

So far today, seven potential jurors have been excused. Jury selection is ongoing.

As prospective jurors begin answering questions, former President Donald Trump has looked over at them.

As they continue on with the responses to the 42 questions, he sat back in his chair, appearing to close his eyes from time to time as the answers are being read.

Another potential juror who expressed concerns about her job in cybersecurity has been excused.

“I feel a sense of duty with my job and worry about how thinking about that would affect how present I was for the case,” she said.

Before being dismissed, she said she’d at one point subscribed to anti-Trump newsletters and followed anti-Trump groups on social media.

Judge Juan Merchan asked the jurors moving forward to voice concerns before answering the entire questionnaire to save time.

A prospective juror reading her questionnaire said she lives on the Upper West Side and has worked for a senior living company for about 16 or 17 years, according to pool reports. She finished high school, has attended some college, was never married and has three children. One of her children is an adult postal worker. She said she likes to spend time with her two granddaughters.

She said she had a court date April 30 “across the street,” according to the pool.

Judge Juan Merchan inquired briefly about the schedule of that and said, “We can work around that.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has filed a motion on Tuesday to show cause that Donald Trump violated the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan.

“This Court should again admonish defendant to comply with his obligations under the order. And finally, this Court should warn defendant that future violations of this Court’s restrictions on his extrajudicial statements can be punished not only with additional fines but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days. It is absolutely critical that defendant immediately halt any conduct that would violate the April 1 order’s narrow restrictions to protect the integrity of the ongoing trial,” prosecutors wrote in their filing.

The prosecutors are asking the court to fine Trump $1,000 per violation. Merchan scheduled a hearing on the district attorney’s motion on April 23 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

On Monday, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass brought up some of Trump’s recent Truth Social posts and said they violated the gag order to not make statements about potential witnesses. Among the posts, prosecutors cited one from last Wednesday when Trump references “two sleazebags,” which, in the context, are Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.

More: Earlier this month, Merchan expanded a gag order on the former president ahead of his hush money trial, following searing social media attacks by Trump against the case, prosecutors, the legal system and even the judge’s daughter.

The judge warned that Trump’s behavior represented a threat to anyone involved in the case and was even tantamount to an attack on the rule of law.

CNN’s Stephen Collinson contributed to this report.

As prospective jurors speak in the courtroom, former President Donald Trump is frequently leaning back in his chair.

He’s got the jury questionnaire in his hand and is flipping through it.

The judge last week released the questionnaire that will be presented to potential jurors, which contains multiple questions that could signal political views to the lawyers on both sides.

There are questions about news consumption, affiliations with groups like the Proud Boys, QAnon and Antifa, and whether prospective jurors or anyone in their circle attended a Trump rally or an anti-Trump event.

Another juror has been excused after saying that he does not think he can be impartial. “I don’t think I can be as impartial and unbiased as I thought I could be,” he said.

A fourth prospective juror has been excused due to a scheduling conflict.

A second juror was dismissed after she said she was thinking yesterday and did not think she could be fair and impartial.

A third juror has been excused this morning by Judge Juan Merchan after saying he was concerned about the strain that serving on the jury would place on his work.

A male juror is now in seat 10 of the jury box. He’s a lawyer working in the Social Security Administration.

When asked by Judge Juan Merchan on whether he can serve as a juror, the man said his position as a government employee wouldn’t affect his ability to be fair and impartial.

According to pool reports, the man is in his early 30s, is a native New Yorker and has lived in uptown Manhattan for 14 years.

He has reviewed disability benefits for the Social Security Administration for 12 years. His wife is a graphic designer, and he has no kids. He likes to hike and garden. He watches primarily local news, including NY1. He he occasionally reads The New York Times.

One potential juror was excused after he said he has concerns about his unconscious bias. He noted he is from Texas and has lots of friends who are Republican.

Judge Juan Merchan asked if he thinks he could be impartial, and the man replied: “It’s probably going to be tough for me to be impartial.”

“We appreciate your candor,” Merchan said as he excused the juror.

According to pool reports, he said in the accounting world, “a lot of people tend to intellectually slant Republican … so there could be some unconscious bias.”

He also said his background from Texas could make him have bias, but he was “not sure.”

According to the pool, he works at a partner in an accounting firm, is unmarried and has no children.

He said in his free time he likes to play golf, watch sports, hang out with friends and travel. He participates with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and he gets his news from The New York Times, Google,X, TikTok, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Fox News and Yahoo.

When the prospective replacement jurors take their seats in the jury box, former President Donald Trump turns his head and checks out the new arrivals, according to pool reports.

Day two of jury selection is underway, and the court has started questioning more jurors.

While the panel of prospective jurors filed into the courtroom, former President Donald Trump appeared to be motionless in his seat, staring straight ahead, according to pool reports.

Jurors are now entering. The two late jurors will be replaced in the box now.

Judge Juan Merchan said they will sit in the audience if they eventually show up and can then be used in the next round. He went on to welcome the jury pool and apologized for the late start.

The prospective jurors are being walked to the courtroom now.

Judge Juan Merchan says he’s asking the sergeant to get the prospective jurors ready to continue to be questioned.

Two of the three missing jurors are here, Merchan says. They are confirming whether they are the two in the box or not.

Judge Juan Merchan is waiting for two prospective jurors who were questioned yesterday to arrive this morning. He said he’d give them a few more minutes to see if they show up.

The judge had said they can either wait for the two jurors or replace them.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche said they’d like to excuse them and get started because they’re already 15 minutes behind schedule.

Another juror who arrived today was excused after she said she felt sick.

As he headed into the courtroom on Tuesday, Trump repeated his familiar claim that the Manhattan criminal case against him has been secretly orchestrated by President Joe Biden’s administration.

“This is all coming from the Biden White House,” Trump told reporters, claiming that the White House is “using this in order to try and win an election.”  

Facts First: Trump’s claim is baseless. There is no evidence that Biden or his White House has had any role in launching or running the case that was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg is a locally elected official who does not report to the federal government.  

Trump has regularly attempted to support such claims by asserting that the Biden administration placed a senior Justice Department official, Matthew Colangelo, in Bragg’s office. But there is no evidence that Biden or his team had any involvement in Colangelo’s 2022 decision to leave the Justice Department and take a job as senior counsel to Bragg. 

Before Colangelo worked at the Justice Department, he and Bragg were colleagues in the office of New York’s state attorney general, where Colangelo investigated Trump’s charity and Trump’s financial practices and was involved in bringing various lawsuits against the Trump administration.

The court is in session. Prosecution and defense will continue to vet prospective jurors to select a jury of 12, along with six alternates. 

Judge Juan Merchan is back on the bench and apologized for starting late.

The court is waiting for the prospective jurors to enter.

About 32 prospective jurors were left from yesterday.

Former President Donald Trump is talking with attorney Todd Blanche and held up his thumb and forefinger as he spoke.

He’s pointing his finger while they continue to converse as if he’s making a point to his attorney. Blanche is whispering in his ear as Trump sits back in his chair.

Donald Trump entered the courtroom at 9:30 a.m. ET, according to pool reports. While he walked down the aisle, he winked at one of the court officers and mouthed, “How are you?”

He looked straight ahead as he walked, then took a seat at the defense table.

Seated in the back row of the courtroom is Trump aide Jason Miller.

Former US President Donald Trump has spoken outside the courtroom ahead of the second day of his hush money trial, where he claimed he should be campaigning instead of attending court.

But Defense Attorney Misty Marris has told CNN Trump’s comments “could come back and haunt him.”

Marris said it appears Trump has been laying out what his defense could be on the courtroom steps, which could be a problem if he testifies.

“It’s always dangerous to make those types of broad statement since outside the courtroom, when we don’t know what the evidence is going to be, when it’s actually before the jury.”
“So anything that’s sent outside the courtroom can ultimately come back to haunt him when the case is underway,” she said.

Trump has taken his seat at the defendant’s table, chatting with his attorney Emil Bove who is standing over him before things get underway.

He’s seated again between Bove and attorney Todd Blanche.

Trump turned his head toward the pool photographers while they took photos of him before the judge entered.

Former President Donald Trump railed against the trial as he spoke to reporters ahead of entering the courtroom.

He claimed he should be campaigning in Pennsylvania instead of attending the court proceedings. Trump also slammed the judge overseeing the trial.

Trump has been using the trial and his many legal challenges to boost his campaign and fundraising.

Choosing a jury for Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial in New York is shaping up to be no easy task when the defendant is a former president who has been at the center of the US political world for nearly 10 years now and a figure in the New York tabloids going back decades.

The jury of 12, along with six alternates, will be chosen from hundreds of New Yorkers after an exhaustive jury selection process that could stretch beyond the first week of the trial.

“The problem for both Donald Trump’s attorneys and the prosecution’s attorneys is they’ve got to figure out how to pick a jury for the case who are neutral — and good luck,” said Steve Tuholski, a partner at Delphi Litigation Strategies who works on witness training and jury selection. “I can’t imagine there are many people, especially in New York, that haven’t made up their mind one way or the other about whether he’s a snake or the Messiah. There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.”

What Trump attorneys would be looking for: They will be looking for jurors who are sympathetic to Trump, of course — but also for anyone who might be an “independent thinker,” willing to stand alone and let a jury hang, said Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a CNN legal analyst and former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. A unanimous verdict is required for conviction.

What the District Attorney’s office would look for: They will be trying to find jurors who are productive, constructive people who have to make decisions regularly and are capable of judging credibility, Agniflio said, criteria that could cover both office managers as well as parents.

CNN’s Kara Scannell, Kristen Holmes and Lauren Del Valle contributed reporting.

Prosecutors are now entering ahead of the second day of Former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money criminal trial.

Jury selection is expected to continue this morning.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday continued bashing the judge presiding over his New York criminal hush money case over the gag order he imposed on Trump. 

“This conflicted, Trump Hating Judge won’t let me respond to people that are on TV lying and spewing hate all day long. He is running rough shod over my lawyers and legal team. The New York System of “Justice” is being decimated by critics from all over the World. I want to speak, or at least be able to respond. Election Interference! RIGGED, UNCONSTITUTIONAL TRIAL! Take off the Gag Order!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social. 

Trump is not barred from speaking at the trial.

The gag order prevents Trump from making statements about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff and family members of the prosecutors, court staff and Manhattan district attorney. 

Former President Donald Trump’s motorcade has arrived at the Manhattan courthouse where jury selection will continue for his hush money criminal trial. 

Jury selection — which got underway in the afternoon Monday — could last one or two weeks.

Court generally gets underway at approximately 9:30 a.m. ET.

The identities of the jurors will remain anonymous, but will be known to the attorneys on both sides.

On Monday, former President Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche asked Judge Juan Merchan how attorneys will get the names of the jury pool. Merchan said he will give them copies of jury lists with just numbers and a single copy with names and numbers. He told the lawyers the jurors are not to be photographed.

Former President Donald Trump’s first criminal trial began Monday, with the jury selection.

The whole process is expected to take six to eight weeks from start to finish.

This trial, related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, is the first of four ongoing criminal cases that are expected to head to trial for the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee.

Read more about the stages of the case, and what they mean here.

Donald Trump’s motorcade departed Trump Tower, and is now en route to a second day of jury selection in his historic criminal case.

After a morning of lengthy discussion over what evidence would and would not be allowed in court Monday, potential jurors were sworn in just after 2:30 p.m. ET to be questioned.

More than half of the prospective jurors in the first batch of 96 people were excused after saying they couldn’t be fair and impartial. The pool estimates at least 50 people were let go for that reason. Several others were excused for various reasoning.

When court ended Monday, nine jurors remained in the jury box and will return to be questioned before another panel of jurors will be brought in for further questioning.

Court is expected to get underway around 9:30 a.m. ET.

Judge Juan Merchan will have a Sandoval hearing today at 9:30 a.m. ET.

About a Sandoval hearing: During a Sandoval hearing, a judge is asked whether previous bad acts can be brought up and the judge is expected to weigh the probative value versus prejudicial effect of doing so, according to CNN legal analyst Karen Friedman Agnifilo.

The jury of 12, along with six alternates, will be chosen from hundreds of New Yorkers after an exhaustive selection process that could stretch beyond the first week of the trial of former President Donald Trump.

Here is the breakdown of what happened on Monday:

Upon questioning:

What’s next: Around 32 potential jurors remained after Monday’s session, according to a pool reporter in the courtroom. They included those who were already questioned and not excused along with those who still face questioning by Merchan on Tuesday.

Another panel of potential jurors will be brought in after the first group is completed, the judge said.

CNN’s Laura Dolan contributed reporting to this post.

Former President Donald Trump was first indicted in March 2023 by the Manhattan district attorney on state charges related to a hush money payment to an adult film star in 2016.

As the case goes to trial, catch up on the key people in the case below:

Judge Juan Merchan gave Donald Trump’s lawyers 24 hours to identify what exhibits they intend to use at the trial, after prosecutors allege the defense has stalled in providing prosecutors with the documents they want to use in their case.

That means the attorneys must have an answer today.

The jury of 12, along with six alternates, will be chosen from hundreds of New Yorkers after an exhaustive jury selection process that could stretch beyond the first week of the trial.

The judge released the questionnaire that will be presented to potential jurors, which contains multiple questions that could signal political views to the lawyers on both sides.

Here’s what potential jurors could be asked about:

Why does this matter: The questions will be used for the judge to strike jurors at the outset, if they don’t believe they can render a verdict fairly. They will also be used by lawyers for both sides to strike jurors for any reason — a key part of the jury selection process.

Donald Trump has been inside a half-dozen courthouses over the past year, but he had a new experience walking into a downtown Manhattan courtroom Monday morning: a half-empty room.

The former president slowly walked through the cavernous and dingy courtroom, past six empty rows of benches – set aside for prospective jurors – giving a quick glance to the six reporters sitting in the back row before sauntering to the front of the room and taking his seat at the defense table.

The vacant rows served as a reminder to Trump that he’s in a different setting now that he’s a criminal defendant for the first time. By the afternoon, the courtroom was packed full with 96 jurors – some of whom may be on the jury who will hear the hush money trial against the Republican presumptive presidential nominee.

Trump only spoke three times during Monday’s session, acknowledging to the judge he understood his rights as a criminal defendant. Throughout the day Trump often engaged with his attorneys, whispering to them and sharing notes as they debated motions with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Trump also sat back at times and closed his eyes as Judge Juan Merchan slogged through the jury pool and asked up to 42 questions of each prospective juror.

While Trump didn’t have a platform inside the courtroom, he didn’t take long to make his feelings known when he left for the day, speaking to the camera right outside the courtroom after pulling out his iPhone from his suit pocket and handing it to an aide.

“It looks like the judge does not allow me to escape this scam. It’s a scam,” Trump said, complaining that the judge said he could not attend next week’s Supreme Court arguments on presidential immunity and his son’s graduation, though Merchan did not rule one way or the other on whether Trump would be excused for the graduation.

Read more about Day One of Trump’s criminal trial

Here are the key takeaways from day one of “The People of the State of New York vs Donald Trump.”

The difficulty in picking a jury: Merchan brought in 96 New Yorkers as prospective jurors. More than half were quickly dismissed because they said they did not think they could be fair and impartial. Among the other nine potential jurors who were questioned, none said they had read any books written by either Trump or Michael Cohen. And none had said they’d worked or volunteered for Trump.

Defense wants to slow things down: Sources told CNN that there will likely be many objections and sidebars during the trial because the defense is completely focused on preserving every issue for appeal. These tactics fit the larger Trump legal strategy, which included months of appeals to delay the start of the trial, which was successful on separate grounds. The defense now hopes legal proceedings, which are expected to last six to eight weeks, move at a slow pace with the 2024 election just months away.

Trump accused of violating gag order: Prosecutors asked Judge Juan Merchan to sanction Trump and fine him for violating the gag order prohibiting him from talking about witnesses in the case, the DA’s office or court staff. Merchan scheduled a hearing on the district attorney’s motion for next Tuesday.

“Access Hollywood” tape can’t be played, but actress can testify: Merchan sided with prosecutors in allowing Karen McDougal, an actress and model who alleged she also had an affair with Trump, to testify. Prosecutors can also introduce National Enquirer stories slamming Trump’s opponents as evidence. Trump has denied the affair. A key victory for Trump, meanwhile, was Merchan’s ruling that the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape can’t be played in court, saying it was prejudicial. Prosecutors also will not be allowed to bring up other sexual assault allegations against Trump that surfaced after the “Access Hollywood tape” was made public in October 2016.

Former President Donald Trump railed against the criminal case against him in New York after the first day of jury selection concluded on Monday. He called it a “scam trial” and a “political witch-hunt” in remarks outside the courtroom.

Trump also complained that he would not be able to attend his son’s graduation from high school because of the trial.

Facts First: Judge Juan Merchan hasn’t ruled yet on Trump’s request to be excused from court so he can attend Barron Trump’s high school graduation.

Criminal defendants like Donald Trump are typically required to attend their case proceedings in person. Trump’s lawyers asked Merchan on Monday about whether their client could be excused for some events, including the graduation and the upcoming arguments in front of the US Supreme Court in one of Trump’s other criminal cases. While Merchan didn’t let Trump attend next week’s Supreme Court hearing – because Trump has to be in New York for the trial — he said it was too early to rule on the graduation. “It really depends on if we are on time and where we are in the trial,” he said.

Here’s what Merchan actually said in court, according to the official transcript of the proceedings: “Regarding counsel’s request that the court adjourn on Friday, May 17th for Mr. Trump to attend his son’s high school graduation and Friday, June 3rd to allow a member of the defense team to attend their son’s graduation, I cannot rule on those two requests at this time. It really depends on how we are doing on time and where we are in the trial. If everything is going according to schedule without unnecessary delays, then I am sure we will be able to adjourn for one or both of those days, but if we are running behind schedule, we will not be able to.”

So, it’s possible that Merchan will eventually deny the request. (It’s worth noting that countless other criminal defendants have had to miss important life events because of their trials.) But the judge certainly hasn’t denied the request yet. 

Lawyers on both sides are working to select a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates in the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump.  

On Monday, 96 prospective jurors were brought into Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom to be vetted. More than half were excused after saying they couldn’t be fair and impartial, and at least nine others were excused after raising their hand when Merchan asked whether they could not serve for any other reason. 

Before the selection process began, Merchan made several rulings on evidence that could be included in the trial.  

How the process will work:  

Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled a hearing on Donald Trump’s social media posts that prosecutors allege violate the gag order against the former president.

The hearing will take place on April 23, at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Here’s what evidence is allowed:

Here’s what evidence is NOT allowed: