Donald Trump has just re-entered the Manhattan courtroom, after the brief break.
The former president was shouldered in by his lawyers and did not answer any questions from reporters.
While he didn't say anything, Trump did wave and then raised a clenched fist at the cameras.
Jury is shrinking, not growing
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York
Jury selection is now into its third day, and we have actually
lost a juror rather than gaining any.
We are now down to six. Here is how we got here:
As my colleague Madeline Halpert reported earlier, Juror #2
asked to be excused because people in her life had started to figure out her
identity based on news reports.
It goes to show the extremely high stakes not just for Donald Trump,
his lawyers, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, but the 12 regular people
who will be swept up in the trial along with them.
The court went back and forth over the most revealing
questions – about employers and employment history. Justice Merchan ultimately agreed with Trump’s lawyers that
it was important to obtain information about prospective juror’s employers.
But he issued a caveat: those answers will be struck from
the court records, and he directed the dozens of reporters watching from an
overflow courtroom not to publicly report those answers.
Trump leaves courtroom
Donald Trump has just walked out of the courtroom. He did not speak to anyone as he left.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Juror with suspected criminal history back in hot seat
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
We're about to hear from juror number four, who prosecutors say may have lied about his criminal history.
This morning, a lawyer with the Manhattan District Attorney's office said they found evidence the candidate had committed a crime related to tearing down political advertisements.
And his wife may have been charged in a corruption case brought by the DA's office, the prosecutor added.
Earlier this morning, Trump's team declined to dismiss the juror immediately, but both sides will have a chance to question him now.
The laywers, judge and the juror are speaking privately. We can't make out what they are saying but can hear some laughter among them.
The potential juror who uses a flip phone
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Seat number nine, the most recent prospective juror we've heard from, is an old-school New Yorker through and through.
With a thick accent, he tells us he was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen and still lives there. He has season tickets to the New York Rangers, the city's ice hockey team who play nearby at Madison Square Garden, and he only reads the New York Post and Daily News.
And probably unlike nearly everyone else in the room, he still uses an old flip phone.
Art of the jury selection - Trump's book comes up again
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
So far we've heard from eight prospective jurors this morning and no one has been immediately excused.
That includes two people who've read Donald Trump's book, Art of the Deal, and one who read the first 10 pages of key witness Michael Cohen's memoir, Disloyal.
The prospective juror, a publisher, said she read the 10 pages for "business reasons", making those in the courtroom laugh.
Can we get a fair jury? New Yorkers have their opinions...
So many potential jurors, so many dismissals... BBC News asked New Yorkers if they thought the Trump trial could seat an impartial jury.
Watch the video below to hear what they had to say.
Video content
Video caption: Can Trump trial get an impartial jury? New Yorkers weigh in.Can Trump trial get an impartial jury? New Yorkers weigh in.
In pictures: this morning in court
A lot has happened already this morning including a selected juror dropping out and more than half of the new candidates being dismissed.
This is what it looks like inside the court in Manhattan as the former US president watches on.
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Donald Trump has spent most of the morning silent, looking sternly on as more jurors are vettedImage caption: Donald Trump has spent most of the morning silent, looking sternly on as more jurors are vetted
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
The trial is attracting a heavy media presence, with media crews stood outside all day as proceedings take placeImage caption: The trial is attracting a heavy media presence, with media crews stood outside all day as proceedings take place
EPACopyright: EPA
The former president's lawyer, Todd Blanche, also sports a stern expressionImage caption: The former president's lawyer, Todd Blanche, also sports a stern expression
EPACopyright: EPA
Flanked by his legal team, Trump is watching as more jurors are vetted. He was reprimanded yesterday by the judge for mumbling while questions were being askedImage caption: Flanked by his legal team, Trump is watching as more jurors are vetted. He was reprimanded yesterday by the judge for mumbling while questions were being asked
A speeding ticket and lawyer - potential jurors continue to be examined
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Once again, we're hearing from more than a dozen prospective jurors.
The first is a woman who works as an attorney and is engaged to an investment banker.
The second is from the Upper West Side who has no prior criminal history, except she notes, a speeding ticket - "I didn't enjoy that," she says, eliciting chuckles from the crowd.
A reminder of what this is all about
In case you’re coming to this case fresh, here’s a quick recap.
Donald Trump has been charged with business fraud over hush-money payments to ex-porn actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels claims she and Trump had sex, and that she accepted $130,000 (£104,500) from his former lawyer before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about the encounter.
Prosecutors allege Trump had his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, make the payments, and then fraudulently recorded the transaction in his company’s books as legal expenses when in fact he was paying Cohen back for the hush-money payments.
Since the allegations surfaced in 2018, the former president has denied any sexual involvement with Daniels.
He's facing 34 counts of fraud under campaign finance laws, and has pleaded not guilty to all of them.
Half of new potential jurors excused
The judge asks the new batch of 96 potential jurors if they can be fair and impartial in this trial.
They are asked row-by-row. At the end of it, 48 people say they can not be impartial and they are excused.
Nine more are then excused - we don't know why yet.
So we are down to 39 potential jurors in this group.
Prosecutor claims Trump broke gag order 10 times
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
The morning in court was also filled with arguments over a gag order that stops Trump from making comments about potential witnesses and others related to the case.
Prosecutors have already asked that the former president be fined $3,000 for three social media posts they say violate that order.
On Thursday, they said Trump had violated the order another seven times, including with a post attacking his former lawyer and key trial witness, Michael Cohen.
The District Attorney's Office also objected to Trump claiming in a social media post that his team was “catching undercover liberal activists lying to the judge in order to get on the Trump jury”.
Trump’s lawyers interjected to argue their client was not “wilfully” violating the gag order - and was only attacking Cohen because Cohen had attacked him.
Justice Merchan is set to hold a hearing on the issue on 23 April.
Trump subdued, but watching proceedings intently
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Justice Merchan is once again reading instructions to prospective jurors.
He tells them that Trump - like all other defendants in the US - has the right to a fair trial.
However, if prosecutors prove he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, jurors must convict him, he says.
Trump is subdued as he sits in court today in a blue tie and blue suit.
He has been hunched over with a stern expression for much of the morning's discussions.
Impartiality back on the agenda for next wave of potential jurors
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
After a rapid first hour in court, we're about to hear from a new batch of 96 prospective jurors.
They will first be asked whether they can be impartial in this high-profile case.
On Monday, more than half of prospective jurors left when asked that same question.
A dramatic start to court
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Court is off to a rough start this morning.
After speeding through jury selection on Tuesday, seating seven of 12 jurors, the court may have already lost two.
One woman - juror number two - was excused this morning after she told the judge friends and family had discovered she was a likely juror.
Information including her employer, how long she had worked there, and where she lived was shared in court earlier this week and reported by media.
“I don’t believe at this point that I can be fair and unbiased,” the woman said, adding it would be too difficult not to let outside opinions affect her decision in the courtroom.
She is not the only one who may be excused. Prosecutors say they uncovered research suggesting juror number four may have lied about his past criminal history.
They say he may have committed a crime tearing down political advertisements in the 1990s - and that his wife may have been involved in a corruption scandal charged by the same office prosecuting Donald Trump.
We don't have a decision yet on whether he will be excused.
Welcome to day three of the Trump hush-money trial
Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Donald Trump's hush-money trial in New York City.
The former president is in court, where the legal teams are selecting members of the jury.
There's already been some drama in the court room today, which my colleague Madeline Halpert will explain shortly.
Live Reporting
Edited by Brandon Livesay and Phil McCausland
All times stated are UK
Trump is back in the courtroom
Donald Trump has just re-entered the Manhattan courtroom, after the brief break.
The former president was shouldered in by his lawyers and did not answer any questions from reporters.
While he didn't say anything, Trump did wave and then raised a clenched fist at the cameras.
Jury is shrinking, not growing
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York
Jury selection is now into its third day, and we have actually lost a juror rather than gaining any.
We are now down to six. Here is how we got here:
As my colleague Madeline Halpert reported earlier, Juror #2 asked to be excused because people in her life had started to figure out her identity based on news reports.
It goes to show the extremely high stakes not just for Donald Trump, his lawyers, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, but the 12 regular people who will be swept up in the trial along with them.
The court went back and forth over the most revealing questions – about employers and employment history. Justice Merchan ultimately agreed with Trump’s lawyers that it was important to obtain information about prospective juror’s employers.
But he issued a caveat: those answers will be struck from the court records, and he directed the dozens of reporters watching from an overflow courtroom not to publicly report those answers.
Trump leaves courtroom
Donald Trump has just walked out of the courtroom. He did not speak to anyone as he left.
Juror with suspected criminal history back in hot seat
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
We're about to hear from juror number four, who prosecutors say may have lied about his criminal history.
This morning, a lawyer with the Manhattan District Attorney's office said they found evidence the candidate had committed a crime related to tearing down political advertisements.
And his wife may have been charged in a corruption case brought by the DA's office, the prosecutor added.
Earlier this morning, Trump's team declined to dismiss the juror immediately, but both sides will have a chance to question him now.
The laywers, judge and the juror are speaking privately. We can't make out what they are saying but can hear some laughter among them.
The potential juror who uses a flip phone
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Seat number nine, the most recent prospective juror we've heard from, is an old-school New Yorker through and through.
With a thick accent, he tells us he was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen and still lives there. He has season tickets to the New York Rangers, the city's ice hockey team who play nearby at Madison Square Garden, and he only reads the New York Post and Daily News.
And probably unlike nearly everyone else in the room, he still uses an old flip phone.
Art of the jury selection - Trump's book comes up again
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
So far we've heard from eight prospective jurors this morning and no one has been immediately excused.
That includes two people who've read Donald Trump's book, Art of the Deal, and one who read the first 10 pages of key witness Michael Cohen's memoir, Disloyal.
The prospective juror, a publisher, said she read the 10 pages for "business reasons", making those in the courtroom laugh.
Can we get a fair jury? New Yorkers have their opinions...
So many potential jurors, so many dismissals... BBC News asked New Yorkers if they thought the Trump trial could seat an impartial jury.
Watch the video below to hear what they had to say.
Video content
In pictures: this morning in court
A lot has happened already this morning including a selected juror dropping out and more than half of the new candidates being dismissed.
This is what it looks like inside the court in Manhattan as the former US president watches on.
A speeding ticket and lawyer - potential jurors continue to be examined
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Once again, we're hearing from more than a dozen prospective jurors.
The first is a woman who works as an attorney and is engaged to an investment banker.
The second is from the Upper West Side who has no prior criminal history, except she notes, a speeding ticket - "I didn't enjoy that," she says, eliciting chuckles from the crowd.
A reminder of what this is all about
In case you’re coming to this case fresh, here’s a quick recap.
Donald Trump has been charged with business fraud over hush-money payments to ex-porn actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels claims she and Trump had sex, and that she accepted $130,000 (£104,500) from his former lawyer before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about the encounter.
Prosecutors allege Trump had his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, make the payments, and then fraudulently recorded the transaction in his company’s books as legal expenses when in fact he was paying Cohen back for the hush-money payments.
Since the allegations surfaced in 2018, the former president has denied any sexual involvement with Daniels.
He's facing 34 counts of fraud under campaign finance laws, and has pleaded not guilty to all of them.
Half of new potential jurors excused
The judge asks the new batch of 96 potential jurors if they can be fair and impartial in this trial.
They are asked row-by-row. At the end of it, 48 people say they can not be impartial and they are excused.
Nine more are then excused - we don't know why yet.
So we are down to 39 potential jurors in this group.
Prosecutor claims Trump broke gag order 10 times
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
The morning in court was also filled with arguments over a gag order that stops Trump from making comments about potential witnesses and others related to the case.
Prosecutors have already asked that the former president be fined $3,000 for three social media posts they say violate that order.
On Thursday, they said Trump had violated the order another seven times, including with a post attacking his former lawyer and key trial witness, Michael Cohen.
The District Attorney's Office also objected to Trump claiming in a social media post that his team was “catching undercover liberal activists lying to the judge in order to get on the Trump jury”.
Trump’s lawyers interjected to argue their client was not “wilfully” violating the gag order - and was only attacking Cohen because Cohen had attacked him.
Justice Merchan is set to hold a hearing on the issue on 23 April.
Trump subdued, but watching proceedings intently
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York
Justice Merchan is once again reading instructions to prospective jurors.
He tells them that Trump - like all other defendants in the US - has the right to a fair trial.
However, if prosecutors prove he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, jurors must convict him, he says.
Trump is subdued as he sits in court today in a blue tie and blue suit.
He has been hunched over with a stern expression for much of the morning's discussions.
Impartiality back on the agenda for next wave of potential jurors
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
After a rapid first hour in court, we're about to hear from a new batch of 96 prospective jurors.
They will first be asked whether they can be impartial in this high-profile case.
On Monday, more than half of prospective jurors left when asked that same question.
A dramatic start to court
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Court is off to a rough start this morning.
After speeding through jury selection on Tuesday, seating seven of 12 jurors, the court may have already lost two.
One woman - juror number two - was excused this morning after she told the judge friends and family had discovered she was a likely juror.
Information including her employer, how long she had worked there, and where she lived was shared in court earlier this week and reported by media.
“I don’t believe at this point that I can be fair and unbiased,” the woman said, adding it would be too difficult not to let outside opinions affect her decision in the courtroom.
She is not the only one who may be excused. Prosecutors say they uncovered research suggesting juror number four may have lied about his past criminal history.
They say he may have committed a crime tearing down political advertisements in the 1990s - and that his wife may have been involved in a corruption scandal charged by the same office prosecuting Donald Trump.
We don't have a decision yet on whether he will be excused.
Welcome to day three of the Trump hush-money trial
Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Donald Trump's hush-money trial in New York City.
The former president is in court, where the legal teams are selecting members of the jury.
There's already been some drama in the court room today, which my colleague Madeline Halpert will explain shortly.
Madeline's in court, following proceedings.
Stick with us.