Alexandria, Virginia (CNN) The trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort inched forward Tuesday as Judge T.S. Ellis broadly laid out the criminal charges against Manafort in front of a few dozen potential jurors.

The pool was convened as part of the process to find suitable jurors for trial. After Ellis' comments, potential jurors left to fill out questionnaires about their affiliations, personal experiences, and ability to serve on a jury for a three-week trial, the first of the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Manafort was in the courtroom Tuesday wearing a suit, unlike Monday, when he donned a green jail jumpsuit. As the potential jurors left the room, Manafort surveyed the pool before looking at his wife in the front row and offering a wink.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in federal court Monday, July 23, 2018. (Bill Hennessy)

Ellis told the potential jurors that their work represented a critical underpinning of the US legal system. He made it clear that if they heard of the case, they must to be able to "put it aside" and judge Manafort solely on the evidence at trial.

"Nothing you do as an American citizen is more important," Ellis said. "Together with voting, it is one of the two cardinal duties of being an American citizen."

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