The judge warned Traficant against granting media interviews that could have an influence on the jury selection process. About 100 potential jurors filled out personal information questionnaires as the trial began Tuesday. They are not due back in court until Thursday.

Traficant, Poland, D-17th District, and a team of prosecutors will have until then to review the written answers prior to asking the potential jurors direct questions.

He has been accused of accepting gifts and favors from constituents in exchange for using his political influence, forcing his staff to make cash kickbacks or do favors for him, tax falsification and racketeering.

If convicted, Traficant, 60, could be sentenced to 63 years in prison and fined $2.2 million. He would not automatically lose his congressional seat, but the House could vote to expel him.

Traficant sat alone at the defense table Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Lesley Brooks Wells while a team of government attorneys plus FBI and IRS agents sat along both sides of the government's table.

It quickly became apparent that Traficant prefers to be alone in his defense. An issue Tuesday was whether the congressman could have a notes taker who also is not a lawyer sit in the courtroom gallery rather than the defense table -- the court rule.

Wells reacted quickly and stood by the courtroom arrangements. "That's the way we do it," she told Traficant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Morford raised the issue of Traficant's media interviews Monday and Tuesday on CNN and ABC. Morford said allegations of a prosecution vendetta, an argument not allowed at the trial, were meant to influence potential jurors.

Traficant on Tuesday smiled at the prospective jurors and said, "Good morning." Several jurors said good morning in return.

Their 45-page questionnaire includes questions about family, jobs income, connections to anyone involved in the case, whether a juror had been audited by the Internal Revenue Service and whether they had an opinion, positive or negative, about Traficant.

It is the second time that Traficant has represented himself in criminal charges filed again him. He won acquittal in 1983 on charges that he took $163,000 in bribes from mobsters while Mahoning County sheriff.