NEW YORK, April  16, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Prosecutors began grilling
prospective jurors in Donald Trump's historic criminal trial Tuesday, kicking
off a grueling process in which both sides will look to weed out biased
panelists.

No other US ex-president has faced a criminal trial and the pressure is
high on defense attorneys and prosecutors to get a dozen jurors able to sit in
judgement on a man running to return to the White House this November.

After a preliminary phase in which prospective jurors could opt out if they
felt unable to be impartial, the prosecution began detailed questioning of an
initial panel of 12, with Trump's defense team to follow.

The high bar in a criminal trial means that to convict Trump of his alleged
fraud in a scheme to cover up an embarrassing alleged extramarital encounter
with a porn star will require a unanimous jury. Even one dissenting voice would
see him walk free.

The painstaking process was expected to take as long as two weeks before
arguments can even begin, eating deep into the presidential campaign.

Trump, 77, has been ordered by Judge Juan Merchan to attend daily and on
arrival Tuesday for the second day the Republican was fuming.

"I should be right now in Pennsylvania and Florida -- in many other states,
North Carolina, Georgia -- campaigning," Trump said, calling Merchan,
"Trump-hating."

Meanwhile, Biden was due to tout his economic policies in a visit to his
birthplace in Scranton, Pennsylvania on Tuesday -- a key swing state Biden
narrowly carried in the 2020 election.

- Trump 'undeterrable' -

Merchan has warned Trump against repeating his frequent past attempts to
turn hearings into impromptu campaign appearances with outbursts at witnesses
and staff, as well tirades on social media.

The judge has already scheduled a hearing next week to consider whether
Trump should be held in contempt for violating a partial gag order restricting
him from attacking individuals connected to the case.

"Trump is probably largely undeterrable because he believes he is advancing
his political agenda and will gain votes," Columbia Law School professor John
Coffee told AFP.

Illustrating the extraordinary tension, potential jurors have been told
they will remain anonymous to the public throughout. Merchan said this is to
protect them from possible bribery or physical harm.

But selecting 12 ordinary citizens to judge one of the most famous -- and
controversial -- figures in the country is no easy matter.

Of the first batch of 96 prospective panelists sworn in for screening on
Monday, at least 50 were quickly excused after they said they could not be fair
and impartial.

Nine others were allowed to leave after stating there were compelling
reasons they could not serve, while remaining prospective jurors were grilled
about their education, hobbies and news consumption.

- Political peril -

Trump faces three other criminal cases centered on his hoarding of
top-secret documents after leaving office and his unprecedented attempts to
overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.

Those trials are arguably weightier in content, but Trump has succeeded in
forcing continued delays, meaning they may not start before the November 5
election.

In New York, the Republican is accused of falsifying business records while
covering up an alleged extramarital sexual encounter with adult film actress
Stormy Daniels to shield his first election campaign, in 2016, from last-minute
upheaval.

Although the case is on relatively minor charges, the legal and political
peril is all too real.

If convicted in the hush money case, Trump would potentially face prison,
but legal observers say fines would be more likely. The maximum sentence would
be four years for each count.