Nine additional prospective jurors from the second group of 96 were excused after they signaled they could not serve for other, unexplained, reasons.

Fifty-seven of the 96 in the second pool of prospective jurors have now been excused.

The remaining 39 are now giving their responses to the seven-page questionnaire.

Following the departure of Juror No. 2 this morning after she expressed concerns about her ability to serve, the court must now seat six jurors and six alternates. The court deferred dealing with the potential issue over Juror No. 4.

Addressing the new group of 96 prospective jurors, Judge Merchan asked for a show of hands "if you believe you cannot be fair and impartial."

Forty-eight people -- half the pool -- raised their hands.

Those potential jurors were then excused from the courtroom as Trump turned around to stare at those behind him.

A new group of 96 prospective jurors has entered the courtroom for the next round of jury selection.

Several in the group registering surprise upon seeing Trump at the defense table.

As Judge Merchan delivered his opening remarks, Trump’s eyes often remained closed. He appeared more attentive when Merchan ticked through the names of potential witnesses, which read like a Who’s Who of the Trump family, campaign and administration.

Following the loss of Juror. No. 2, attorneys are now discussing an issue with yet another juror -- Juror No. 4 -- after Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said the the DA's team did research that "possibly called into question the veracity" of the answers he gave on the jury questionnaire.

Steinglass said a person with the same name as Juror No. 4 -- the Puerto Rican man who said he found Trump "fascinating and mysterious" -- had been arrested in the 1990s in Westchester for "tearing down political advertisements."

“I actually believe the propaganda that was being ripped down was political posters that were on the right -- the political right," Steinglass said.

He suggested that Juror No. 4's answer to question 19 on the questionnaire -- if you have ever been accused or convicted of committing a crime -- then "was not accurate."

Steinglass added they discovered the juror's wife had been embroiled in a "corruption inquiry" that resulted in her "entering in a differed prosecution agreement ... with the Manhattan DA's office."

Steinglass said they felt they were "ethically and legally obligated to bring this information to the court."

Judge Merchan said he instructed Juror No. 4 to be in court at 9:15, but he still has not shown up.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche said he did not consent to dismissing the juror without first hearing from him. They will revisit the issue later.

"Do you know someone by the same of Stephanie Clifford?"

The question, by assistant district attorney Josh Steinglass, was the jury's introduction during the evidentiary phase of the trial to the woman whose long-denied claim of a sexual tryst with Donald Trump set in motion the alleged falsification of business records.

"Stormy Daniels is, or was, a porn star," former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker replied, using Clifford's stage name.

Pecker was having dinner with his wife on a Saturday night in early October 2016 when he said he received an urgent call from National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.

"He said that she, she being Stormy Daniels, is trying to sell a story that she had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump, and Dylan can acquire the story for $120,000 from Keith Davidson if we made a decision right now," Pecker recalled.

In a series of text messages the jury saw, Howard told Pecker, "I know denials were made in the past but this story is true."

Pecker replied to Howard, "We can't pay 120k." The company had already paid $30,000 for the Dino Sajudin story and $150,000 for the Karen McDougal story, and Pecker recalled thinking, "I am not a bank."

In the text exchange, Howard responded, "Perhaps I call Michael and advise him and he can take it from there, and handle."

Pecker texted back, "Yes a good idea."

Pecker recalled having "a number of conversations" with Michael Cohen about Stormy Daniels. Cohen wanted Pecker to catch and kill the story.

"I said, 'I am not purchasing this story, I am not going to get involved with a porn star,'" Pecker testified he told Cohen. "He was upset and said the boss would be furious with me."