Trump's criminal hush-money trial concludes jury selection after difficulties

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

52% : Despite his legal problems, Trump remains virtually guaranteed to win the Republican nomination for president and face off against Joe Biden in November once again.
49% : The court held a so-called Sandoval hearing - where Trump will be informed of the scope of questions prosecutors can ask him if he takes the stand as a witness - on Friday afternoon.
49% : I thought I could do this, but I wouldn't want someone who feels this way to judge my case, either.
48% : Prosecutors previously submitted documents indicating that they wanted the ability to ask Trump about a variety of past legal travails should he testify, to challenge his credibility as a witness.
43% : Trump insisted he should be on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina rather than inside court, and called for Juan Merchan, the judge, to free him from the gag order which bars him from commenting on witnesses, jurors, court staff and parties' family members in this case,The process of choosing jurors had proved complicated because of the polarizing and high-profile defendant.
40% : Earlier in the morning, questioning of potential alternate jurors got under way after Trump arrived and looked as if recent events had taken a toll on him, with his trademark brassy hair more messy than normal, but outside the courtroom the ex-president did what he typically does when facing scrutiny: complain.
38% : Trump tends to be narrowly ahead of Biden in head-to-head polling, particularly in the key swing states that will help determine who gains the White House.
36% : Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
34% : Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 and is set to be a star witness for the prosecution.
33% : Related: Trump's hush-money trial: here's what's happened so farIn an afternoon session it was discussed what sort of evidence might be brought into the case if Trump himself testified.
31% : Trump has denied an affair with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.
22% : Trump has been present throughout, sitting largely impassively in court, but his Truth Social media account has been posting up a storm, leading to multiple accusations by prosecutors that the former US president had violated a gag order and should be held in contempt of court.
21% : Trump's criminal hush-money trial: what to knowA guide to Trump's hush-money trial - so farThe key arguments prosecutors will use against TrumpHow will Trump's trial work?From Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels: the key playersOn Thursday one juror raised concerns that her identity had been discovered, especially after she had been described in the media.
14% : As the hearing progressed, Trump attorney Emil Bove said prosecutors' asking Trump about the verdict in Carroll's cases on cross-examination would be "unacceptable".
14% : The case centers on a $130,000 payment that Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, made during the 2016 election campaign to Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of an affair with Trump from becoming public.

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