Donald Trump’s Stormy Daniels hush money trial: first six jurors selected

The jury selection process began on Monday, but ended with the removal of dozens of candidates after they acknowledged they would struggle to be fair and impartial.

Things looked ominous again on the second day, when two prospective jurors arrived late, leaving Trump unimpressed as he sat with his defense team in the sheltered 15th-floor courtroom of County Superior Court. New York.

A third juror also had to be excused due to illness, followed by three more dismissals on grounds of impartiality.

But shortly before noon, the first group of 18 potential jurors moved on to the opening round, a 42-part questionnaire designed to eliminate potential bias, and the second stage of direct questioning by attorneys.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Steinglass began by telling the group that the trial against the former president “wasn't a referendum on whether you like Donald Trump” or “who you're going to vote for in November.”

“We do not care. This case is about whether he broke the law,” he said.

But it was Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, who asked the inevitable question, given that “everyone knows President Trump.” So what did they think of him?

“I don't really have one,” said one prospective juror, insisting he was there for his “civic duty.”

“Especially in this courtroom, he will be treated like anyone else can be treated. No one is above the law.”

Another woman said she “obviously” knew Trump because she is a woman. Asked by Blanche what she meant, she replied: “I know there have been opinions about how he doesn't treat females right; things like that.”

However, he added: “Honestly, I don't know the story. So I don't have an insight.”

And a third person – a Democrat who ended up being impeached by the judge – responded: “If we were sitting in a bar, I'd like to tell you… But in this room what I feel about President Trump is not important. “

It was another surreal day, even for a man known for breaking the rules and making history.

Located in Lower Manhattan, the New York County Supreme Court has seen many high-profile defendants over the years, but perhaps none as well-known as a former reality TV star turned president, who is now campaigning to return at the White House.

And yet here, minus his usual bravado and swagger, and once again without his wife Melania by his side, Trump looked more like a tired, normal man.

On the first day of the trial, their alleged sexual encounters had been in full view of the court as lawyers argued over what evidence could be presented to the jury.

Trump's team scored a victory when Judge Juan Merchan ruled that during the long-awaited testimony of Karen McDougal, a former playboy model who says she had an affair with Trump, failed to mention that Melania was pregnant with their son Barron at the time, or that the affair continued when Melania was home with a newborn.

Nor would prosecutors be able to play the now infamous jury Access Hollywood tape in which Trump is heard bragging about grabbing women “by the p—-“.

The main part of the trial, however, will focus on allegations that she falsified three dozen business records in an attempt to cover up a payment of money to Daniels, who she says she had a brief sexual encounter with in 2006.

Trump's fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $US130,000 ($203,000) to keep quiet ahead of the 2016 election.

But, according to prosecutors, it was later reimbursed by Trump, who allegedly disguised the payment as a legal retainer, thereby violating campaign finance laws.

Trump, however, insists he is the victim of political persecution, telling reporters: “I was paying a lawyer and I wrote it off as a legal expense… That's exactly what it was. And you're being charged for that?”

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