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NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The historic聽聽trial of聽聽got underway Monday with the arduous process of selecting a jury to hear the case charging the former president with falsifying business records in order to stifle stories about his sex life.

The day ended without any jurors being chosen. The selection process was scheduled to resume Tuesday.

The first criminal trial of any former U.S. president began as Trump vies to reclaim the White House, creating a remarkable split-screen spectacle of the聽聽spending his days as a criminal defendant while simultaneously campaigning for office. He’s blended those roles over the last year by presenting himself to supporters, on the campaign trail and on social media, as a target of聽.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a scam. It鈥檚 a political witch hunt. It continues, and it continues forever,鈥� Trump said after exiting the courtroom, where he sat at the defense table with his lawyers.

After a norm-shattering presidency shadowed by years of investigations, the trial amounts to a reckoning for Trump, who faces four indictments charging him with crimes ranging from聽听迟辞听. Yet the political stakes are less clear because a conviction would not preclude him from becoming president and because the allegations in this case date back years and are seen as less grievous than the conduct behind the three other indictments.

The day began with pretrial arguments 鈥� including over a potential fine for Trump 鈥� before moving in the afternoon into jury selection, where the parties will decide who might be picked to determine the legal fate of the former, and potentially future, American president.

A jury of his peers: A look at how jury selection will work in Donald Trump鈥檚 first criminal trial

After the first members of the jury pool, 96 in all, were summoned into the courtroom, Trump craned his neck to look back at them, whispering to his lawyer as they entered the jury box.

鈥淵ou are about to participate in a trial by jury. The system of trial by jury is one of the cornerstones of our judicial system,” . 鈥淭he name of this case is the People of the State of New York vs. Donald Trump.鈥�

Trump鈥檚 notoriety would make the process of picking 12 jurors and six alternates a near-herculean task in any year, but it鈥檚 likely to be especially challenging now, unfolding in a closely contested presidential election in the heavily Democratic city where Trump grew up became a celebrity decades before winning the White House.

Underscoring the difficulty, only about a third of the 96 people in the first panel of potential jurors remained after the judge excused some members. More than half the group was excused after telling the judge they could not be fair and impartial. At least nine more were excused after raising their hands when Merchan asked if they could not serve for any other reason.

A female juror was excused after saying she had strong opinions about Trump. Earlier in the questionnaire, the woman, a Harlem resident, indicated she could be neutral in deciding the case. But when asked whether she had strong opinions about the former president, the woman answered matter-of-factly, 鈥淵es.鈥�

When Merchan asked her to repeat the response, she replied, 鈥淵eah, I said yes.鈥� She was dismissed.

Merchan has written that the key is 鈥渨hether the prospective juror can assure us that they will set aside any personal feelings or biases and render a decision that is based on the evidence and the law.鈥�

No matter the outcome, Trump is determined to benefit from the proceedings, casting the case, and his indictments elsewhere, as a broad 鈥渨eaponization of law enforcement鈥� by Democratic prosecutors and officials. He maintains they are orchestrating sham charges in hopes of impeding his presidential run.

He鈥檚 lambasted judges and prosecutors for years, a pattern of attacks that continued Monday as he entered court after calling the case an 鈥渁ssault on America.”

鈥淭his is political persecution. This is a persecution like never before,鈥� he said.

The judge denied a defense request to recuse himself from the case after Trump’s lawyers claimed he had a conflict of interest. He also said prosecutors could not play for the jury the聽聽in which Trump was captured discussing grabbing women sexually without their permission. However, prosecutors will be allowed to question witnesses about the recording, which became public in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office also asked Merchan to fine Trump $3,000 over social media posts they said violated the judge’s gag order limiting what he can say publicly about witnesses. Last week, he used his Truth Social platform to call his聽聽and the聽聽鈥渢wo sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!鈥�

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche maintained Trump was simply responding to the witnesses’ statements.

鈥淚t’s not as if President Trump is going out and targeting individuals. He is responding to salacious, repeated vehement attacks by these witnesses,鈥� Blanche said.

Merchan setting a hearing for next week on the request.

聽of falsifying business records. Prosecutors say the alleged fraud was part of an effort to keep salacious 鈥� and, Trump says, bogus 鈥� stories about his sex life from emerging during his 2016 campaign.

The charges center on payments Trump鈥檚 company made to Cohen to reimburse him for $130,000 he paid to keep Daniels from going public, a month before the election, with her claims of a sexual encounter with the married mogul a decade earlier.

Prosecutors say the payments to Cohen were falsely logged as legal fees in order to cloak their actual purpose. Trump’s lawyers say the disbursements indeed were legal expenses, not a cover-up.

After decades of fielding and initiating lawsuits, the businessman-turned-politician now faces a trial that could result in up to four years in prison if he鈥檚 convicted, though a no-jail sentence also would be possible.

Trump’s attorneys lost a bid to get the hush money case dismissed and repeatedly sought to delay it, prompting a聽聽last week.

Among other things, Trump’s lawyers maintain that the jury pool in overwhelmingly Democratic Manhattan has been tainted by negative publicity about Trump and that the case should be moved elsewhere.

An appeals judge聽聽to delay the trial while the change-of-venue request goes to a group of appellate judges, who are set to consider it in the coming weeks.

Manhattan prosecutors have countered that a lot of the publicity stems from Trump鈥檚 own comments and that questioning will tease out whether prospective jurors can put aside any preconceptions they may have. There鈥檚 no reason, prosecutors said, to think that 12 fair and impartial people can鈥檛 be found amid Manhattan鈥檚 roughly 1.4 million adult residents.

The prospective jurors will be known only by number, as the judge has聽聽from everyone except prosecutors, Trump and their legal teams.

They’re being asked 42 questions about their backgrounds, hobbies and news habits, whether they hold strong beliefs about Trump that would prevent them from being impartial and about attendance at Trump or anti-Trump rallies.

Based on the answers, the attorneys can ask a judge to eliminate people 鈥渇or cause鈥� if they meet certain criteria for being unable to serve or can’t be unbiased. The lawyers also can use 鈥減eremptory challenges鈥� to nix 10 potential jurors and two prospective alternates without giving a reason.