Trump sits in Manhattan court as jury selection in the Stormy Daniels hush money case begins

Donald Trump's blushes were spared at the start of his hush money trial on Monday as the judge refused to allow mention of evidence his wife Melania was pregnant with son Barron during his alleged affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal 

Judge Juan Merchan allowed prosecutors to enter evidence Trump's 2016 campaign coordinated with the National Enquirer before the election, but stopped of letting attorneys bring up salacious details of the alleged affair.

McDougal claims she had an affair and was in a loving relationship with Trump between 2006 and 2007.  Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked the jury to allow in evidence describing their relationship and the fact the former first lady was due to give birth.

Steinglass said: ‘We intend to elicit evidence Karen McDougal was a former Playboy model who claims to have had a romantic and sexual relations with Mr Trump including while Mr Trump’s wife Melania was pregnant with their child’.

Steinglass said that the National Enquirer thought the story was ‘true’ after looking into it. But he said that they have ‘no intention of describing sexual acts or locales’ where it happened.

But the ‘fact this occurred while Melania was pregnant and after the birth of his son speaks directly to the extent to which the defendant believes the story could be damaging to his campaign’, Steinglass said.

Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche aid that the ‘only value is to embarrass President Trump’

He said that there is ‘no scenario a jury won’t take a negative view’ of Trump’s behaviour and that it was ‘salacious with no value’

Judge Merchan said that the evidence should come in except for ‘bringing up that the defendant’s wife was pregnant and this went on and even after she gave birth’

‘At this moment the prejudicial value excuses the probative value’, he said.

The former president, 77, is facing 34 felony charges of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels over their alleged affair. 

Each count he has strenuously denied carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, but if found guilty he could face a fine or probation as a first-time offender.

Trump's day got off to a bad start as Merchan rejected a request from the his legal team to recuse himself and claimed the former president was using a 'series of inferences, innuendos and unsupported speculation'.

He slapped down suggestions that posts on X by his daughter should cause him to recuse because it wasn’t her account, and didn't impact his ability to oversee the proceedings.

Merchan also said he wasn't ready to say whether the high-profile defendant could attend his 18-year-old son Barron's high school graduation on May 17, which falls in the middle of the case.

The judge said: ‘If everything is going according to schedule then I’m sure we’ll be able to adjourn for one or both of those days. But if we’re running behind schedule we will not be able to’.

As the judge spoke Trump folded his arms and looked unimpressed.

Trump walked into court wearing a dark blue suit and a red tie after telling reporters the case was 'outrageous' and an 'assault on America'. 

'This is a persecution like never before. It is an assault on America and that’s why I'm very proud to be here,' he said.

He then sat at his desk with his lawyer with his hands together on the desk.

Trump entered behind his lead attorney Blanche, paused for a split second, licked his lips, then began walking up the courtroom's center aisle.

'Good morning, Mr. Trump', Judge Juan Merchan said cordially as he officially called the case and invited the lawyers to introduce themselves.

Trump has frequently targeted Merchan with criticism and sparked a gag order after slamming his daughter's links to the Democratic party. 

The presumptive Republican nominee for president looked defiant as he left Trump Tower on Monday morning and waved to waiting fans and photographers as he got into his motorcade.

Before he departed he went on a rant on his social media platform, Truth Social, about the 'rigged' case and the 'corrupt' charge.

'When I walk into that courtroom, I know I will have the love of 200 million Americans behind me, and I will be FIGHTING for the FREEDOM of 325 MILLION AMERICANS!' he wrote.

Trump and his team of lawyers claim the prosecution is political and the trial is a 'witch hunt' meant to stop him running for president again. 

The court was surrounded by protesters and photographers as he made the four-mile journey downtown to 100 Centre Street.

Attorneys from both sides now have the arduous task of picking a panel of 12 impartial jurors from a pool of hundreds of Manhattan residents.

Experts believe the selection process could last anywhere between five days and two weeks.

The trial itself - set to last between six and eight weeks - will be full of bombshell testimony and drama that are the results of years of scandal.

Witnesses will testify about lurid allegations of hotel suite encounters, blockbuster TV interviews and backroom deals involving the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

The case revolves around the payment made to Daniels by Trump's then-fixer Michel Cohen ahead of the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

She claims it occurred less than four months after Melania Trump gave birth to the couple's son , Barron.

Since then there have been legal twists and turns at every corner, while Trump has spent four years in the White House and is now in the middle of bid for another term.

Journalists and members of the public had to go through two sets of airport style security before they could get into the overflow courtroom to watch jury selection - the main courtroom was to be full of potential jurors.

The second set of security involved a fingertip bag search and all glass bottles or containers were removed.

Nobody was allowed to leave the courtroom when Trump arrived on the 15th floor. One member of the public protested that he couldn't leave, had a verbal altercation with court staff and asked for one of their names.

The overflow room had three large TVs beaming a live stream from the main courtroom. The trial is not televised to the wider public.

The TV screens showed the table where Trump and his lawyers would be seated, the prosecution table and the judge.

The jury was not shown to avoid identifying them.