Shortly after the lunch break, after the first batch of about 100 prospective jurors filed in and Merchan began to explain the process to them, Trump closed his eyes several times. He then abruptly caught himself and stiffened his posture.
His attorneys, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, refilled his drink and gave each other an awkward look at the defense table.
The trial is not televised, and photos are only permitted before court gets underway. But a small group of reporters are observing jury selection from inside the courtroom, and scores more are watching a video feed in an adjacent courtroom. Different reporters have different views of Trump at different times.
Trump’s most animated moments in court Monday morning came when the judge was not on the bench; he chatted with his lawyers at the defense table, sometimes making them laugh or smile.
He also watched closely as the prospective jurors entered the room and while they were questioned.
In the hallway outside the courtroom, where Trump is permitted to speak to a stand of television cameras, he was openly contemptuous of the case, in which he is charged with falsifying business records to try to conceal a hush money payment during the 2016 presidential election.
“This is an assault on America,” Trump declared. He called the case a “political prosecution … that should never have been brought.”
