Can there be impartial jurors when it comes to Trump?

On Monday, jury selection for the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president begins in Manhattan. Former President Donald Trump, who has previously been found liable in civil trials, is now set to face charges that could land him in prison.

Trump is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, made to adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to cover up an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election. (Trump has pleaded not guilty.)

The verdict may well depend on whether the jury of 12 understands the gravity of the matter: Far from being about sex or small-time fraud, it is about Trump’s alleged attempt to win the 2016 presidential election by burying a last-minute story that could have cost him votes. The case will require jurors to focus on the actual charges and not become distracted by the tawdry sexual details surrounding the case.