New York, 16 April

More potential jurors were dismissed on Tuesday from Donald's Trump's hush money case as lawyers worked for a second day to find a panel of New Yorkers to decide whether the Republican will become the first former president convicted of a crime.

The first day of the historic trial in Manhattan ended Monday with no one yet chosen to be on the panel of 12 jurors and six alternates. In short order Tuesday morning, eight others were excused after saying they could not be impartial or because they had other commitments. Dozens of potential jurors have yet to be questioned.

It's the first of Trump's four criminal cases to go to trial, and it may be the only one to reach a verdict before voters decide in November whether the presumptive GOP presidential nominee should return to the White House.

The trial puts Trump's legal problems at the center of the closely contested race against President Joe Biden. It also presents a major test for the criminal justice system because the allegations are being viewed through a partisan lens, and Trump's attacks on prosecutors and the judge threaten to undermine the public's faith in the courts.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told would-be jurors they could still be fair if they knew about the case or discussed it with friends. They just need to keep an open mind. “This case has nothing to do with your personal politics … it's not a referendum on the Trump presidency or a popularity contest or who you're going to vote for in November. We don't care. This case is about whether this man broke the law," he said.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged effort to keep salacious — and, he says, bogus — stories about his sex life from emerging during his 2016 campaign.

Before entering the courtroom, Trump stopped briefly to address a TV camera in the hallway, repeating his claim that the judge is biased against him and the case is politically motivated. “This is a trial that should have never been brought," Trump said. After he went inside, reporters saw him wink at one of the court officers and mouth, “How are you?” while he walked down the aisle. Trump then took his seat at the defense table with his attorneys.

With the trial expected to last for six weeks or more, multiple jury pool members brought up plans they have for Memorial Day and beyond. One parent was excused Monday because of a child's wedding in late June. Another person was dismissed Tuesday because of a trip they have planned.

Several possible jurors were dismissed after saying they weren't sure they could be fair. They included a man who said he feared his ability to be impartial could be compromised by “unconscious bias” from growing up in Texas and working in finance with people who “intellectually tend to slant Republican.”

“I'm not sure that I can say beyond a reasonable doubt that I can be fair," another potential juror told the judge. “I can try. But I'm not 100 per cent sure I can be fair.” She was dismissed.