More than two hours after the start of a rally for Trump in front of the courthouse, members of the media still outnumber participants who support the former president, according to press reports.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Trump remains seated next to his lawyers, looking at possible evidence on a computer monitor. The images include a videotaped statement he gave to journalist and writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit, a 2016 presidential campaign rally and several of his own social media posts.

“We believe it is important for the court to remind Mr. Trump that he is a criminal defendant and that, like all criminal defendants, he is subject to judicial supervision,” prosecutor Chris Conroy said at one point in the session.

Jury selection takes place this Monday -a process could take days. A group of ordinary citizens (Trump’s peers, in the eyes of the law), who will have to decide if the former president is guilty of a crime.

To do this, its members must guarantee that they are people willing to put aside their personal opinions and make a decision based on evidence and the law.

Judge Juan Merchán is the one who directs the selection that will conclude when they have reached 12 jurors and six substitutes.

Potential jurors must answer whether they have any political, moral, intellectual, or religious beliefs or opinions that could prevent them from following the court’s instructions about the law or that could bias their approach to the case; if they have worked for a Trump campaign or if they have attended his rallies, among others.

In the criminal trial that has just begun, Trump is accused of 34 counts related to falsifying business records to try to cover up his 2016 affair with an adult film actress.

Until now, Trump’s other three criminal trials (those in Washington, Florida and Georgia) remain with the brake button on, but despite the eventual Republican candidate, the process for the Daniels case began this Monday with the selection of the jury.

All media outlets maintain special coverage of this event, which for some observers will give free publicity to Trump, who for one reason or another has remained in the eyes of journalists and public opinion since he left office -without attending the transfer of power- in January 2021.

From this moment on and for six weeks, American voters will also have to see how the eventual Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States will dedicate more time to the courts than to his electoral campaign. ef/ro/dfm