Donald Trump hush money case: First criminal trial of an ex-president ... trends now
Donald Trump stood and gave a group of 96 potential jurors a smirk as the selection process finally began in the hush money trial.
The first batch of Manhattan residents were brought into the court and sworn in to see if they qualified for the first panel in history that will decide the fate of a former president in a criminal trial.
As they walked in they strained to catch a glimpse of the high-profile defendant and one woman appeared to giggle.
Those chosen will ultimately decide if the 77-year-old is guilty or not guilty of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels over their alleged affair.
More than 500 potential jurors are in the court waiting to see if they are needed for the trial that could last up to six weeks.
They will have to answer 42 questions - including what news networks they watch and whether they have supported QAnon - if they want to qualify.
Several of the potential jurors seated appeared to frequently stare at Trump while the judge introduced the case and read out a list of witnesses that could testify, including Melania Trump.
Donald Trump stood and gave a group of 96 potential jurors a smirk as the selection process finally began in the hush money trial
However Merchan made it clear that not all those on the list would take the stand.
Many prospective panelists sat in the back rows stretched their necks to get a look at Trump once in their seats.
One woman in the second row from the back on the right giggled and put her hand over her mouth, looking at the person seated next to her with raised eyebrows.
There was no discernable reaction from potential jurors when Merchan said the name of the case.
They were sworn in at 2:34 p.m.
Judge Merchan told them that the case was ‘the People of the State of New York versus Donald J Trump’.
‘The defendant is Mr Donald Trump, who is seated to my right,’ Judge Merchan said before introducing the
