Seven jurors were seated on Tuesday for the trial of former President Donald Trump in the New York hush money case, marking progress in what promises to be a challenging process of jury selection.

Trump’s legal team engaged in thorough scrutiny of potential jurors’ social media activity in an effort to detect any bias against the former president. This approach led to tense exchanges in court, prompting Judge Juan Merchan to sternly warn Trump’s team against attempts to intimidate jurors.

The jury currently comprises four men and three women, including a man from Ireland working in sales in New York City who was appointed as the jury foreperson. Notably, five of the selected jurors hold a college degree or higher education, with two being lawyers themselves.

Throughout the selection process, Trump’s lawyers focused on scrutinizing jurors’ opinions of Trump, particularly through their social media activity. However, Merchan dismissed some of Trump’s challenges to jurors, underscoring the complexity of the process.

Trump faced admonishment from the judge for his conduct during the examination of a juror’s social media posts. Merchan warned against any attempts to intimidate jurors and expanded a gag order barring Trump from discussing certain aspects of the case.

Prosecutors and Trump’s legal team took different approaches during the voir dire process. While prosecutors focused on outlining the case and discussing witness credibility, Trump’s lawyers primarily centered on jurors’ perceptions of Trump himself.

The court aims to conclude jury selection this week, although the fluid nature of the schedule leaves room for potential delays. Despite progress, only seven jurors were selected from the initial pool of 96, indicating the possibility of a prolonged selection process.