Prosecutors also asked the judge to hold Trump in criminal contempt of court for continuing to post comments about witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, including a post where Trump attacked Cohen as a liar and a “sleazebag.”

Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy said Trump should be fined $1,000 for each Truth Social post in violation of the order. Merchan said he’d weigh the violations at a hearing set for next Tuesday.

And then the trial was off to its official start, with the first batch of jurors sworn in just after lunch. By the day’s end, the group was down to just around 30 who said they could be fair and impartial toward the former president.

Tuesday

The first jury members were sworn in, establishing the first Manhattanites who will determine whether Trump is convicted as a felon. The three women and four men included an oncology nurse, a corporate attorney; an English teacher who respected that Trump “speaks his mind"; an IT worker who said he found Trump’s ability to walk into a room and set everyone off was “fascinating”; and a software engineer and recent college grad.

The day also saw the first — but almost certainly not the last — more contentious moment between Trump and Merchan.

The judge said he spotted Trump acting up as a woman was summoned for further questioning.

“He was gesturing, and he was speaking in [their] direction,” the judge said, scolding Trump through his lawyer. “I won’t tolerate that — I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom.”

Wednesday

Trial’s day off. As is standard practice during longer trials like this one, which is scheduled to last six weeks, judges often reserve one day per week to work on other cases. Judge Merchan chose Wednesday to preside over Manhattan’s Mental Health Court.

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