The court will take a lunch break
The court adjourns for lunch until 2:15 p.m.
Juror dismissed for linking Trump and Berlusconi
One juror was recently dismissed for disclosing that he was born and raised in Italy and comparing President Trump to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Berlusconi, who died last June, was a notorious womanizer and was convicted of tax evasion in 2013.
Potential juror says she’s just a few credits short of her college degree.
One prospective juror said he had graduated from high school but was a few credits short of a college degree and “this is going to kill my parents.”
cold court
Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, had just asked if the courtroom could be made warmer, saying it was “freezing cold.”
Machan agreed: “It’s cold here, that’s for sure.”
Mr. Machan excuses Juror #4
After meeting with the jurors, Marchand announced that Juror No. 4, who had been seated and sworn in earlier, would be excused. His previous arrests were questioned by the prosecutor’s office.
Juror “expresses displeasure” over disclosure of personal information
Seated jurors were called in for questioning, and prosecutors questioned whether they answered truthfully to questions about their past criminal history.
After the juror’s meeting with Mr Marchan, the judge said the juror “expressed discomfort that so much information about him was out in the public domain”.
Machan then sealed portions of the transcript in which he said jurors discussed “highly personal” information.
Trump leaves courtroom while Juror 4 makes decision
Trump left the courtroom at 11:45 a.m. and returned about eight minutes later.
One potential juror works in law enforcement.
One potential juror said he has worked in law enforcement for 34 years, has season tickets to New York Rangers games and enjoys going to Yankees games in his spare time.
Rejected juror ‘frequently lampoons Trump’ online
Another dismissed juror, Mark, told NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard in an interview outside the courthouse that he was fair and impartial because “I have often lampooned Trump in my work.” He said he had determined that he could not do so.
Mark added, “There’s no way Blanche would allow me to be on a jury because I’m not going to rely on the kindness of strangers… after my presence online… they should consider me to be a juror.” Not fit to serve. ”
Mark’s online comedy hadn’t yet come into the process when he raised his hand and suggested he couldn’t be fair and impartial, but he was confident Trump’s lawyers would figure it out.
“For me to disrupt this process is a waste of their time and frankly a waste of our money as taxpayers,” he added.
Juror 4 has arrived
A former juror enters the courtroom. He will be questioned about crimes allegedly committed by him or his wife after being exposed by the prosecutor’s office.
