Day 1 of Trump New York hush money trial

Judge Juan Merchan says he will allow testimony of Karen McDougal, but he said it is not necessary for the jury to hear that Donald Trump continued his affair with McDougal while his wife Melania Trump was pregnant and after she gave birth.

"At this moment, the prejudicial value of that exceeds the probative value," Merchan said.

Remember: The judge allowed a lot of this testimony when he made his decisions on "motions in limine" but he said how far they could go would be determined later. Prosecutors are now asking the judge to say how far they can go into the details.

McDougal is a model and actress who has said she had a monthslong affair with Trump in 2006 and was paid $150,000 to keep quiet about it by the National Enquirer. Trump has denied the affair. Prosecutors may use the payoffs as evidence that the schemes were aimed at protecting Trump's electoral chances.

Judge Juan Merchan says he will allow the a series of stories the National Enquirer ran that were attacking Trump's opponents into evidence. He noted that the district attorney's office has demonstrated there was an understanding that certain things would be done and wouldn't be done at AMI, which owned the National Enquirer.

"I believe this is necessary to complete the narrative of what took place," Merchan says.

The DA's office and Trump's attorneys are now debating allowing testimony of Karen McDougal and Dino Sajudin.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche argues that including discussion of McDougal's arrangement with AMI, which owned the National Enquirer, is not part of the charges against Trump.

Telling the McDougal story to the jury is “unfair prejudice is through the roof," he argues.

Trump's attorneys have tried unsuccessfully to block testimony involving an agreement between Karen McDougal and AMI. The district attorney's office has argued that the AMI deal shows a pattern along with the Stormy Daniels hush money payments.

Prosecutors are now asking Judge Juan Merchan whether they can introduce testimony at the trial relating to a series of stories the National Enquirer ran that were attacking Donald Trump's opponents, including articles about Ted Cruz.

The stories were the result of a August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower between David Pecker, Trump and Michael Cohen.

"Many of these headlines and the stories behind them were shown to Mr. Trump before they were published so he could approve, reject or suggest changes," prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the judge.

Steinglass said the articles are the "concrete manifestation of the deal struck" at the meeting.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche objected, saying that this would "confuse" the jury and it was not a crime.

Prosectors will need to be hyper aware of how they present the case to the jury in court during the criminal hush money case against former President Donald Trump, CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates said.

"If you're the prosecutor, you know the second those jurors come in the room, it is performance mode," Coates noted.

She said the prosecutors presentation holds a lot of weight when it comes to the case and speaking to the jury.

Coates added, that the jury will analyze the prosecutors and look at many variables in court, such as:

She continued, "You have to really be present and aware of how you present to a jury because you're looking at each one of them, looking at you, wondering, 'Do I trust this person? Can this person persuade me?'"

Judge Juan Merchan is now considering instructions for the jury and said he would ask the jury two questions.

A district attorney's office attorney says it agrees to ask jurors two separate questions: Are jurors unable to serve because of conflicts, and then secondly, asking if they do not believe they can serve in an impartial way.

Merchan said this is "already by far the most exhaustive questionnaire this court has ever used" and said he will not make additional changes.

Judge Juan Merchan said there will be no court on Monday, April 29.

He also said that while there will be no court on Wednesdays, he could change that schedule if there are excessive delays.

For Passover: "The court will work through lunch until 2 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, April 22 and 23 and Tuesday, April 30 to allow counsel sufficient time to allow counsel to arrive at their holiday destination," Merchan said.

Merchan said that he cannot yet rule on two requests from Trump and an attorney to adjourn the trial for a day so they can attend the high school graduations of their children, saying it depends on how the schedule is going.

The name "Sandoval" is expected to be heard often during today's proceedings in the Donald Trump hush money trial.

CNN legal analyst Karen Friedman Agnifilo explains that it is "a little mini hearing that happens before every trial."

During a Sandoval hearing, a judge is asked whether previous bad acts can be brought up and the judge is expected to weigh the probative value versus prejudicial effect of doing so, according to Agnifilo.

CNN's Paula Reid previously reported that Trump's lawyers expect to have a Sandoval hearing today before jury selection gets underway.

Judge Juan Merchan denied the motion for recusal and says he won't consider it again until the appellate court rules.

Merchan says it's the opinion of the court that Trump is using a "series of inferences, innuendos and unsupported speculation" to make his claims for recusal.

Trump appeared to be looking straight ahead, at a screen, biting his bottom lip as the judge rejected the recusal motion.