First jurors sworn in after judge's stern warning to Trump
With Kayla Epstein, Madeline Halpert and Nada Tawfik reporting from court in New York
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With Kayla Epstein, Madeline Halpert and Nada Tawfik reporting from court in New York
Live Reporting
Edited by Brandon Livesay and Phil McCausland
All times stated are UK
Bomb threat reported at Alvin Bragg's home
Before Trump's trial began, there was a bomb threat called in at the home of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York police have recently told the BBC.
Someone called in the threat at around 08:48 local time (13:48 BST), but when officials went to check the scene, they found it was safe and did not pose a credible threat, a police spokesperson has said.
Court is resuming
Trump has just come back to the courtroom after a lunch break, giving a wave and a thumbs up to reporters in the hallway. Jury selection has yet to begin.
The three words Trump has said in court today
Donald Trump has been present, but he has remained largely silent during court so far.
The court record shows he has said the word "yes" three times, and that's it.
These barely audible words came when the judge was advising him that he is entitled to be present in court, but could be removed for reasons of misconduct.
A look inside the courtroom
We're still about 15 minutes away from court resuming, and one of the sketch artists has used that time to send in another image.
The newest sketch shows a stern Donald Trump walking to his seat at the front of the room.
'I will fight for him until the day I die' - Trump supporter
Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from outside court
We’ve been speaking to some of the protesters who have gathered here outside the court in lower Manhattan - most of them are supporters of Donald Trump.
Some are draped in the American flag and a few are waving placards with pro-Trump slogans.
“They are trying to put a president in jail. If they arrest him, there will be a civil war,” one protester named Julia tells me.
“I will fight for him until the day I die.”
A tale of two cities: Anti- and pro-Trump protesters stand guard outside
John Sudworth
Reporting from outside court
As we wait for the lunch break to finish, let's take a look at the scene outside the Manhattan courthouse.
The police have divided the park outside into two sections. One side for the pro-Trump group, while the other is designated for anti-Trump supporters.
The atmosphere is, in the main, good natured, but every now and then the odd protester or two tries to sneak into the wrong section.
One woman, holding up a number of signs including one that says, "We believe Stormy Daniels", was quickly surrounded by a heated MAGA-hatted crowd, shouting "lock her up!" and "Soros provocateur!".
She was then escorted back into the pro-Trump section by New York police officers.
Prosecutors want Trump to be fined $3,000 over gag order
Let's take a look at one of the courtroom skirmishes that happened just before lunch.
Prosecutors called for Trump to be fined $3,000 (£2,400) for allegedly violating the gag order imposed on him three times.
Justice Merchan imposed the order barring Trump from making public comments about those related to the case, including potential witnesses and the judge's family.
Defence attorney Todd Blanche argued the three social media posts prosecutors pointed to did not violate the gag order.
“He is responding to salacious, repeated, vehement attacks by these witnesses,” Blanche said.
Justice Merchan did not immediately issue a ruling, so we will find out his thoughts on the matter after the lunch break.
Judge warns Trump about conduct
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Just before the lunch break, Justice Merchan turned to speak to Trump directly.
He read him a standard warning about his conduct.
He had already issued the warning earlier in the trial, but repeated it.
“You have the right to be present during the trial,” he told Trump.
“It is an important right” as it permits you to assist in your defence, he said.
“You can, however, by your conduct lose that right to be present,” Merchan continues.
He warned Trump that if he disrupts the proceedings in any way, the law permits the court to exclude him from courtroom and continue the trial in his absence.
He asked if Trump understands.
Trump nodded, slowly and wordlessly.
Court breaks for lunch
Court has paused for a lunch break and will be back at 13:45 local time (18:45 BST).
As Trump walked out of the room he flashed a quick thumbs up to cameras.
And while the courtroom is breaking, we're not going anywhere. Stick with us as we bring you more updates and analysis from the trial of Donald Trump.
While lawyers argue, 500 potential jurors are waiting
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
We're still deep into haggling over evidence, and have not yet called in potential jurors.
There are 500 potential jurors waiting for the selection process to start.
Justice Merchan is clearly getting a little impatient with these hours of arguing over details of evidence.
“Please both of you, sit down and relax,” he tells prosecutor Joshua Steinglass and Trump attorney Todd Blanche, telling them to move on.
He notes there are "about 500 jurors awaiting us and to be honest with you, I'm not really interested in getting into this minutiae,” he said.
There are “more important” things awaiting the court, he said, and starts moving towards jury selection.
Justice Merchan next goes on to discuss ground rules over the trial, including how the lawyers and prosecutors can interact with witnesses.
Trump is watching a small screen on a desk, here's what it shows
Donald Trump is watching along on the computer screen at the defence table.
It is showing some of the evidence presented by the district attorney's team, which includes:
Michael Cohen seems to be a sticking point for team Trump
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
We're still deep into haggling over evidence, and have not yet called in potential jurors.
At the moment, Trump's lawyers are concerned about how the prosecution can talk about Michael Cohen’s guilty plea to campaign finance violations in 2018.
Justice Merchan has already decided that prosecutors can only talk about it in a very limited way; they aren’t allowed to imply or suggest that because Cohen pleaded guilty to these violations, that Trump is guilty as well.
Trump has not been charged with that crime.
An animated Todd Blanche presses the judge for more clarity about how the prosecution can bring this up, but Justice Merchan said he’s already outlined the parameters in a pre-trial ruling.
Justice Merchan notes that his decisions are a “roadmap” and that he is prepared to revisit them as the trial proceeds.
The judge appears to be tiring of the haggling and is trying to push on.
WATCH: Protests and security outside the Trump trial
Video content
We're getting a preview of how this trial will play out
It's more of the same in the courtroom, with legal teams still arguing about various evidence they either want, or strongly oppose being shown.
The latest mini-battle is over tweets Trump shared that attacked his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Justice Merchan has ruled the tweets can be admitted, so long as the defence intends to open the door by discrediting Cohen.
The judge says he imagines that they will do exactly that, and try to discredit Trump's ex-fixer - who is at the heart of the fraud allegations.
The back-and-forth also gives us a glimpse into how this trial could play out for the next six to eight weeks.
Courtroom sketches of Trump trial released
We've just received a sketch of Trump and the judge overseeing his case, which was drawn by an artist in the courtroom.
Sketch artists are a common feature of high-profile criminal trials, particularly when access to camera operators are limited by court rules.
Last year, the BBC's Sam Cabral spoke to three court artists about their different versions of the former president.
You can read his in-depth coverage here.
Court resumes
Donald Trump has returned to the courtroom and proceedings are about to resume.
Biden's approach to Trump? More of the same
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent
As Donald Trump and his lawyers discuss legal strategy, Joe Biden does not appear to be tweaking his political approach towards his opponent's legal entanglements.
The president's strategy has remained the same: He ignores them.
His plans has been to stay above the fray, lest his involvement make the prosecutions seem tainted by a political agenda.
Instead, it seems the White House has tried to draw an implicit contrast – with the current president focusing on issues and the obligations of office, while the former president rails against the legal system.
Biden's schedule this week includes meetings with foreign leaders and multiple trips to the key swing state of Pennsylvania for policy-related campaign events.
Recent polling shows Trump and Biden in a neck-and-neck race, so it is unlikely that the Biden campaign will dramatically shift course as Trump’s trial gets fully underway.
Given the historic nature of the legal proceedings, however, it may be difficult for anything Biden says or does to break through to a public that may be fixated on the New York courtroom.
Despite earlier theatrics, Trump remains quiet in court
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
We're fewer than two hours into the first day of Trump's criminal trial, and we're not seeing much in the way of reactions from the former president.
Despite the theatrics on Truth Social and outside the courthouse, Trump remains silent in the actual courtroom as lawyers hash out evidentiary issues with Justice Merchan.
His face tends to be set in a frown and he is somewhat fidgety.
At points, he watches the prosecutor and his defence attorney Todd Blanche go back and forth, or whispers to his counsel.
Otherwise, Trump assumes his typical slouched posture and stares straight ahead.
Court will be back from break shortly.
Court pauses for a short break
The court is pausing for about 10 minutes.
Trump and his lawyers followed his security detail out of the courtroom for the break.
So far the focus has been on what evidence can be shown to jurors, but we are yet to get to the actual jury selection.
As Trump left the courtroom for the break, he seemed to scan a row of pool reporters and purse his lips.
He and his lawyers followed the front of his security detail out to the hallway.
Stick with us, we have more updates and analysis on the way.
Prosecutor accuses Trump of violating gag order
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is now going after Trump’s recent attacks on potential witnesses, suggesting he violated the limited gag order in the case.
“The defendant himself has publicly embraced the public strategy of going after his perceived enemies,” Steinglass says.
As a reminder, Justice Merchan's gag order bans the 77-year-old from verbally attacking court staff, potential jurors and witnesses. It was also expanded to include family members of both Justice Merchan's and Bragg's.