Trump trial: Jury selection to resume after potential jurors declared they couldn't remain impartial.

The second day of jury selection in former President Trump's Manhattan criminal trial is set to commence on Tuesday, following the dismissal of half of the potential jurors on the first day due to their inability to remain impartial towards Trump.

The trial of Trump will continue on the second day at 9:30 a.m., with jury selection resuming.

The former president was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree due to alleged hush money payments made prior to the 2016 election.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts last year.

Trump stated that it was a scam and a political witch hunt following the court's adjournment on Monday.

The questionnaire contained 42 questions about the prospective jurors' work history, political affiliation, and media consumption.

Almost immediately, over 50 prospective jurors were excused for admitting they could not serve as impartial jurors. Several were excused due to other issues.

Despite Trump's request for New York Judge Juan Merchan to recuse himself from presiding over the trial due to his alleged hostility towards the former president and his daughter's work with Democrat politicians, Merchan is still presiding over the trial.

On Monday, Merchan stated from the bench that he had "no grounds" to recuse himself.

The judge informed the former president that he has the right to attend the trial daily to aid in his defense.

If the former president disrupts court proceedings, he will be held in contempt and could be removed from the court. Additionally, if Trump fails to appear when required, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.

Trump did not verbally respond but nodded in agreement with the judge.

The trial is estimated to last around six weeks, with no court sessions on Wednesdays or Monday, April 29.

Trump was not excused from the trial next Thursday, as Merchan rejected a defense request for him to be excused to attend arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court.

On April 25, the high court will hear arguments regarding presidential immunity and whether Trump is exempt from prosecution in Special Counsel Jack Smith's election interference case.

"Being heard in the Supreme Court is significant, and I understand why your client would want to be there. However, a trial in the New York Supreme Court is also a major event," Merchan responded, rejecting Trump lawyer Todd Blanche's request.

Merchan added, "I will see him here next week."

The former president, Trump, requested to attend his son's high school graduation ceremony on May 17, but Merchan has not yet made a decision on whether to allow him to be present.

""The judge won't let me attend my son's graduation, despite his hard work and excitement for the event. It seems like I'm stuck in this unfair trial," Trump said after court adjourned Monday."

Last month, Trump was subjected to a gag order by Merchan because of his "prior extrajudicial statements." Merchan stated that there was a "sufficient risk to the administration of justice."

Trump is prohibited from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses regarding their potential involvement or counsel in the case, except for Bragg, as well as court, DA, and family members of staff.

Trump was instructed by Merchan not to make or direct others to make public statements regarding any potential or selected juror.

On Monday in court, Bragg's office prosecutors contended that Trump had breached his gag order three times on social media. They proposed that Trump be fined $3,000 for the three alleged gag order violations, with $1,000 allocated for each infraction.

Prosecutor Christopher Conroy stated that the defendant was aware of the April 1 order based on various posts he had made.

Conroy emphasized the significance of the court reminding Mr. Trump that he is a criminal defendant, as he may have violated the gag order again on Monday morning during court.

The three posts brought forth by prosecutors did not breach the gag order, as Blanche contended.

Blanche stated that the witnesses were making salacious, repeated, and vehement attacks, to which he was responding.

On April 23 at 9:30 a.m., arguments will be heard on whether Trump violated the gag order.

In April, Trump was accused of falsifying business records by Bragg, who alleged that the payments were made to cover up affairs during the 2016 campaign.

The DA claimed that Trump falsified New York business records multiple times in order to conceal his criminal activities, which were damaging to the public during the 2016 presidential election.

Under New York state law, falsifying business records in the first degree involves committing a crime of falsifying records with the intention to defraud, which implies an intent to commit another crime.

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York decided not to charge Trump for the alleged payments made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.

The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

Planet Chronicle' Grace Taggart contributed to this report.