Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Susan Hoffinger of the Manhattan District Attorney's office wants to make sure these jurors will render a verdict based on the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt".

It's a high standard to clear, and the prosecution has the burden of meeting it.

She asks if the evidence proves the case beyond a reasonable doubt, would they deliver a guilty verdict?

And if the evidence does not meet that standard, would they vote not guilty?

She makes them go down the line, one by one, and say they would vote "guilty" or "not guilty" based on that standard.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

One of the potential jurors, a woman, suddenly gets emotional during the questioning from Susan Hoffinger.

“I feel so nervous and anxious,” she tells the court. “I thought I could do this.”

Sounding as if she is about to cry, she said that the process has been “so much more stressful than I thought this was gonna be”.

Justice Merchan calls her up to the bench to talk privately. He then excuses her.

A different potential juror was brought to tears just before the short break and was also excused.

"Sorry for crying," she told the judge.

These moments underscore what a momentous task the selected jurors will face: weighing the guilt or innocence of a former US president who provokes extreme emotions from both supporters and detractors.

Though these alternate jurors will not deliberate unless they need to replace one of the main jurors, they will still hear the case.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

We are now back, and proceeding to the next phase of questioning the potential alternate jurors.

By law, the district attorney's office will go first - Susan Hoffinger will take the lead. After she questions them for about 25 minutes, it will be the Trump team's turn.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Donald Trump has walked back into the courtroom and we are up and running again.

Another potential juror has just been excused.

As she was walking out, she said loudly, "Good luck!"

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

We have finished the initial round of questioning for these potential alternate jurors.

Justice Merchan calls a short recess, and then prosecutors and defence lawyers will be allowed to ask them follow up questions.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York

This Manhattan courthouse has turned into something of a tourist destination.

I ran into two groups, who along with their family, wanted to see the scene here with their own eyes. Nouredine and friend Douma are visiting from France.

They snapped a few pictures, including one with the two regular pro-Trump protesters who are in the park in front of the courthouse.

They, along with another group, don’t consider themselves fans of Donald Trump, but feel this place is now a piece of history.

Doug is visiting his daughter in college and was struck by the extent of the security operation here.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

So far, we've moved quickly through the prospective jurors for the alternate seats.

There have been a few quips and funny moments here and there.

One woman said her schedule could accommodate the trial "as long as we get to eat," while a retired teacher appeared to address Trump directly when he said he had never read any of the former president's books.

Another man, asked about his hobbies, gave us a little too much personal information: “I try to find a wife in my spare time," he said. "It’s not working.”

Jurors seated on the Donald Trump trial are about to face an intense commitment - six to eight weeks in the courtroom.

That's why the judge needs to appoint alternates - potentially as many as six.

With a trial this long and high-profile, it's important for the court to have other jurors to turn to in the event of an illness, emergency or other conflict.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump has seemed relatively subdued, but engaged.

Earlier this week, the judge reprimanded him for muttering something in front of a juror.

Since then, he's been incident free inside the courtroom.

This morning he's been whispering in his lawyers' ears and passing things back and forth with his legal team.

Outside of court, he has complained about having to spend the day in the cold courtroom - which to be fair, is quite chilly.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

The next juror jokes with the court: "I'm an audio professional, so if you have a problem with a microphone I can give you tips on how to fix it.”

Justice Merchan thanks him. The rest of the questioning is uneventful.

Here are the first glimpses of Trump arriving in the Manhattan courtroom today.

Only reporters in the court can see what happens for the rest of the day. That's because video and photography is banned in the New York building after proceedings begin.

But we should get some court sketches later in the day.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

After two uneventful jurors, a woman just spoke up to say that after some "introspection" she did not think she could be impartial.

"I want to be, and I had every intention after I first started," she continued.

But after hearing some of the more probing questions from the prosecutors and defence lawyers yesterday, she does not think she can be impartial.

Justice Merchan excuses her.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York

If there is time today, Justice Merchan says he may hold a Sandoval hearing.

The hearing is named after a 1974 criminal case, the State of New York vs. Augustin Sandoval.

The goal of the hearing is to decide whether a defendant's past criminal history or bad acts can be brought up if they take the stand, former Manhattan prosecutor Diana Florence tells me.

Donald Trump has no previous criminal convictions. But prosecutors are asking whether they can bring up some of his civil cases, including the New York Attorney General's lawsuit that saw him fined hundreds of millions of dollars.

Bringing up these cases are not about proving Trump is guilty in this case - but more about establishing a "pattern of behaviour", Florence says.

"You can’t say just because he did this five years ago, he’s now guilty," she explains.

"It’s about credibility."

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

We begin by continuing jury selection to find the remaining alternates.

The first potential juror up says she has "really bad anxiety", and the fact that people in her life had figured out she was being considered for the jury would make it hard for her to be fair.

Justice Merchan asks her a few follow up questions about her anxiety, before excusing her.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Justice Juan Merchan is at the bench, and court is now in session.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Donald Trump has taken his seat at the defence table, flanked by his lawyers, Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, and Susan Necheles.

A pool of photographers swoop in to take his picture before the session begins.

Meanwhile, prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney's office watch from across the aisle.

Former US President 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 (£104,300) 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.

Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York

Donald Trump has arrived at court and just spoke briefly with members of the media.

Most of his statement was directed at the gag order Justice Merchan has ordered.

"I'm not allowed to speak and I want to be able to speak," Trump says.

"The judge has to take off this gag order."

The gag order was initially imposed to stop Trump from verbally attacking court staff, potential jurors and witnesses.

It was then widened to include any criticism of the judge’s family members and relatives of Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg.

Justice Merchan has previously acknowledged Trump’s right to speak freely to Americans, but says such attacks “serve no legitimate purpose”.

Trump's statement just now also touched on the trial lasting "another four or five weeks". He told media it was not fair for him to be stuck in court when he could be campaiging.

Image source, Reuters

The former president's motorcade has left Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan and is on the way to the courthouse downtown.

Trump may give a statement to media when he arrives at court, which you will be able to watch live by pressing the play button at the top of this page.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's where things stand with Donald Trump's criminal trial over hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels:

• A full jury has been confirmed - that’s 12 people.
• But it was not an easy process to get here, two jurors who had earlier been seated were dismissed yesterday
• One of the dismissed said she was worried about her privacy, after friends and family were able to work out she had been selected from details they heard in the media
• It prompted the judge to advise journalists to restrict what was being reported about the jurors - potential and confirmed
• Now the court must find alternate jurors who act as a backup - Justice Merchan is hoping for six of them
• The prospective jurors have spent days answering a lengthy questionnaire on topics such as which news channels they prefer and what podcasts they listen to
• Many have already been dismissed when they said they could not be impartial
• There were also arguments in the courtroom over Donald Trump's gag order, which prosecutors said he had broken 10 times