Donald Trump was back in court for day three of his hush money trial in New York on Thursday, where jury selection continued and the day ended with 12 jurors and one alternate selected to hear evidence in the historic criminal trial brought against him by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.
The day began with a step backwards as two of the seven jurors confirmed on Tuesday had to be excused by Judge Juan Merchan over concerns regarding the possibility of their being identified and their impartiality.
Five more alternates are needed on Friday and another panel of 96 potential jurors has been sworn in for the session while day four will also feature an all-important Sandoval hearing in which the prosecution will lay out what questions it proposes to ask Mr Trump should he choose to take the stand and testify in his own defence.
The Republican presidential candidate, who complained the case has become a “mess” yesterday, faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election to stay quiet about an alleged affair.
The defendant has pleaded not guilty.