NEW YORK — Former top Trump aide Hope Hicks became emotional and teary-eyed upon the beginning of her cross-examination by Donald Trump‘s attorney Emil Bove on Friday afternoon. Judge Juan Merchan excused her for a brief break, after which she returned to the witness and cross-examination resumed.
Hicks was called by the prosecution to testify on the 11th day of Trump’s New York hush money trial. The then-campaign spokesperson was in close contact with Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen in 2016 after the emergence of the “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump boasted of grabbing women by their genitals.
Her initial advice to the campaign when a reporter reached out about the tape: “Deny, deny, deny.”
Trump is on trial for 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen made the Daniels payment and, according to prosecutors, Trump falsely recorded his reimbursement of Cohen as legal expenses. Trump’s lawyer denied that allegation in an opening trial statement.
On Friday, Hicks testified that Donald Trump was “concerned” about how a Nov. 4, 2016 Wall Street Journal story on a separate hush money deal involving former Playboy model Karen McDougal would be viewed by his wife, Melania Trump.
Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide
Keep up with USA TODAY’s live updates from inside and outside the Manhattan courtroom:
Trump: ‘They’ve been after us for years’
Trump capped his week in court by telling reporters he could not comment on the proceedings, including Hope Hicks’ testimony, because of the gag order issued by Judge Juan Merchan, which prohibits him from attacking witnesses. Trump was found earlier this week to have repeatedly violated that order and he was fined $9,000.
But Trump did claim that political opponents have tried for years to get him and the people around him.
“They’ve been after us for years,” Trump said as he departed the courthouse.
Throughout the day, Trump − or his aides − also posted statements on social media criticizing the trial.
“THIS ISN’T A TRIAL, IT’S A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN,” he said in one all-caps Truth Social post.
– David Jackson
Court adjourned for the weekend
Judge Merchan has called an end to the day’s proceedings. The trial will start back up on Monday.
– Aysha Bagchi
Judge rules Trump can’t be cross-examined on gag order violations if he testifies
Judge Juan Merchan ruled that, if Trump chooses to testify, the prosecution can’t cross-examine Trump over Merchan’s determination that Trump violated the gag order in the case. Merchan has already determined Trump violated the order nine times, and he is considering an additional four instances that the prosecution has argued constituted violations. Merchan held Trump in criminal contempt and fined him $9,000 for the violations.
Merchan said the jury hearing that the judge in this case has held Trump in contempt would be too prejudicial. He said the prosecution had made a request to ask Trump about it, and he was denying that request.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump to testify? His lawyer is arguing over what prosecutors may ask
The jury has been dismissed for the weekend, but the lawyers are still discussing issues with Judge Merchan. Trump lawyer Todd Blanche just argued that, if Trump testifies in the trial, the prosecution shouldn’t be able to question Trump about being held in criminal contempt for re-posting language that Merchan determined violated his gag order.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo responded that Trump’s violation is relevant evidence when it comes to Trump’s credibility.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hope Hicks testimony ends
Trump lawyer Emil Bove ended his cross-examination of former top Trump aide Hope Hicks. The cross-examination had a gentle tone throughout, even though – or perhaps, even slightly, because – Hicks seemed to start crying near the beginning of Bove’s questions. The judge took a break for some minutes so Hicks could leave the courtroom and regroup, before she resumed her testimony.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo didn’t have any more questions for Hicks after Bove’s cross-examination. She has been dismissed from the courtroom.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump slouched back, eyes slightly opening and then closing periodically
Former President Donald Trump is slouched back in his chair currently, with his eyes often closed for extended periods but sometimes opening slightly. While earlier today he didn’t seem to be watching Hope Hicks directly as she testified, he is now looking at her when he does open his eyes.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks: Cohen was only “Mr. Fix-it” because he first broke it
Trump lawyer Emil Bove has continued the critical line of questioning he has developed across witnesses when it comes to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
Responding to Bove’s questions, Hope Hicks confirmed Michael Cohen sometimes did things that were “frustrating” to the Trump 2016 campaign staff. She agreed Cohen “went rogue” sometimes. She said Cohen liked to call himself “a fixer” or “Mr. Fix-it,” but she used to say it was only because he first broke it that he was able to fix it.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump lawyer resumes questioning of Hicks
Trump lawyer Emil Bove has resumed questioning Hope Hicks. His tone is kind and respectful – significantly less aggressive than multiple other cross-examinations we’ve seen him conduct in the trial. Hicks is discussing her professional time with Trump before he ever ran for president. She just confirmed she felt she had Trump’s trust and respect when she worked for him.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks returns to courtroom after becoming emotional on stand
Hope Hicks re-entered the courtroom and again took the witness stand at 3:07 p.m. EDT, after she got emotional as cross-examination began and confirmed to Judge Merchan she would like to take a break. The jury is getting seated as we wait to get started again.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks gets emotional and court takes a break
Hope Hicks appeared to be starting to cry as Trump lawyer Emil Bove began asking her questions on cross-examination. The questions were introductory in nature, rather than aggressive. Bove had just asked her a question about the portfolio she once handled in a past role.
Judge Juan Merchan asked Hicks if she would like a break, and she said yes. Both Hicks and the jury have been excused from the courtroom.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks asked about whether she called Pecker after former Playboy model McDougal sued
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo showed jurors a text message Hope Hicks received in March of 2018 from former Trump aide Madeleine Westerhout. Hicks confirmed she received the text the day Karen McDougal sued to get out of her non-disclosure agreement. Westerhout said in the text that Trump wanted to know if Hicks called Pecker again.
McDougal ultimately settled her lawsuit with American Media Inc., which had paid her $150,000 in a deal that required her to stay quiet about her alleged affair with Donald Trump. Trump denies the affair. The settlement allowed her to discuss the alleged affair.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump allegedly asked Hicks to keep McDougal news story from wife Melania
Hicks testified that Donald Trump was “concerned” about how the Nov. 4, 2016 Wall Street Journal story on the Karen McDougal hush money deal would be viewed by his wife, Melania Trump. He wanted to make sure that newspapers weren’t delivered to his and Melania’s residence the morning the article ran, Hicks said.
Asked by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo if Trump asked whether the news article was likely to affect the campaign, Hicks said “everything” discussed at that time was about whether there was an impact on the campaign.
– Aysha Bagchi
‘We have no knowledge of any of this’: Hicks asked about 2016 statement
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo asked Hope Hicks about a statement she gave to The Wall Street Journal for its Nov. 4, 2016 article about the hush money deal involving Karen McDougal. Speaking as a Trump campaign spokesperson, she told the publication: “We have no knowledge of any of this.”
Hicks said she doesn’t remember whether Trump told her directly he had no knowledge about the McDougal deal. Prosecutors have already played an audio recording between Michael Cohen and Trump in which they seemed to be discussing the deal.
Colangelo asked Hicks to privately read testimony she previously gave to a grand jury, in case that would refresh her recollection. Jurors and the audience weren’t shown that earlier testimony. After reading it, Hicks said that she sees what she said then, and she’s not saying Trump didn’t tell her he had no knowledge, but she doesn’t “have a strong memory” that he said it.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks asked about call between Trump and Cohen on Nov. 4, 2016
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo resumed questioning former Trump aide Hope Hicks about a Nov. 4, 2016 Wall Street Journal story on a hush money deal involving former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Hicks said she believes she observed a phone call between Cohen and Trump shortly after the story was published, although she doesn’t remember what was said. Reince Priebus, who would eventually become White House chief of staff, was also in the car when she observed the phone call, Hicks said.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump team arrives for more questioning of former aide Hope Hicks
Donald Trump and his legal team entered the courtroom at 2:14 p.m. EDT. Judge Merchan has also returned and called in former Trump aide Hope Hicks. We are waiting for the jury.
– Aysha Bagchi
Prosecution arrives for more questioning of Hope Hicks
The prosecution team entered the courtroom at 2:06 p.m. EDT, as we near the end of the court’s lunch break. We are still waiting for the Trump team and Judge Merchan.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hope Hicks’ testimony may include conversations with Michael Cohen in NY trial
In the month before the 2016 presidential election, as Donald Trump’s campaign scrambled to contain the fallout from a recording of him lewdly discussing grabbing women, Trump’s campaign press secretary Hope Hicks was in frequent contact with his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen.
Now that she is on the witness stand, Hicks could testify about those conversations in the former president’s New York criminal business fraud trial because Cohen says he paid two women on Trump’s behalf to stop more salacious stories from emerging.
Experts believe her testimony could be intended to bolster Cohen’s credibility, as his reliability as a witness is questioned by Trump and his defense team.
–Bart Jansen
How is Trump Media stock performing?
At open on May 3, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp share price fell to $47.47, down 2.49% from previous close.
–Kinsey Crowley
Court breaks for lunch
Judge Juan Merchan announced a lunch break just before 1 p.m. EDT. The defense and prosecution teams have left the courtroom.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks reached out to Michael Cohen, David Pecker after Wall Street Journal inquiry
Hicks said, in addition to reaching out to Jared Kushner, she contacted Michael Cohen and David Pecker about the Wall Street Journal’s comment request on the Karen McDougal story. She said she called Cohen because she knew he had a relationship with Pecker. And she called Pecker’s office to let them know about the inquiry.
Pecker told Hicks the contract with McDougal was for paying the former Playboy model for magazine covers and fitness columns, Hicks testified.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks asked Jared Kushner about asking Rupert Murdoch for more time on damaging Karen McDougal story
After Hicks was contacted for comment about The Wall Street Journal’s planned story on a hush money deal involving former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Hicks reached out to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. She testified that she asked Kushner if it was worth reaching out to the Journal’s publisher, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, to see if the campaign could buy some extra time.
Kusher said he wasn’t going to be able to reach Murdoch, and the campaign should just work on responding and dealing with the story, Hicks testified.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks says she first heard Karen McDougal‘s name from a Wall Street Journal reporter
Hicks said she first heard Karen McDougal’s name from a Nov. 4, 2016, email from a Wall Street Journal reporter, who indicated the Journal was planning to publish a story on McDougal’s deal with the National Enquirer’s parent company to keep quiet about her account of a months-long affair with Trump. Trump denies McDougal’s story.
– Aysha Bagchi
Prosecution continues to focus on Trump campaign concerns
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo is continuing to focus his questions on how stories about Trump’s conduct with women were creating campaign concerns as the 2016 election day approached. Colangelo played a video for jurors of a rally in North Carolina, where Trump said that if only 5% or 10% of voters believed the stories, the campaign would lose.
Colangelo asked Hicks if it was fair to say Trump was concerned the reports could hurt his standing with voters. “Yes,” was Hicks’ quick reply.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hope Hicks was one of the first Trump political aides
Hope Hicks isn’t just any Trump political supporter − she is one of the originals.
Hicks was part of the very small campaign staff − less than a half-dozen people − that served the New York businessman when he announced his first presidential run in June of 2015.
The former Trump Organization employee worked mainly with the media, a duty she continued to perform in the Trump White House; she was known as someone who had a good relationship with Trump, who was known to refer to as “Hopey.”
Hicks managed an often fractious relationship between the volatile president and an aggressive media.
Although she left the White House in 2018 to become a communications executive with the Fox Corporation, Hicks returned to the Trump administration in 2020 to help with that year’s presidential campaign.
She won praise from Trump for exhibiting such loyalty.
−David Jackson
Female voter concern is a potentially key point in hush money trial
When they ultimately deliver closing arguments in this trial, the prosecution may return to Hicks’ comments about the Trump campaign’s concern about women voters after the Access Hollywood tape release. Here’s why:
For Trump to be convicted of felonies, prosecutors must show not only that he falsified business records, but also that he did so in order to commit or conceal another crime.
One of the prosecution’s ways to try to prove that is to show Trump was attempting to hide that campaign finance laws were broken through the $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump, on the other hand, could argue the hush money wasn’t about the campaign, but instead about sparing his family from embarrassing stories.
Hicks’ testimony could be used to bolster the prosecution’s argument that the hush money was about the campaign, and the alleged cover-up was about hiding a campaign finance violation.
– Aysha Bagchi
Access Hollywood tape caused Trump campaign concern about female voters
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo asked Hicks if the release of the Access Hollywood tape caused concern about its effect on female voters. “Not in that moment, but certainly eventually that was something that was raised,” Hicks said.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump felt the Access Hollywood comments were ‘pretty standard stuff’
Hicks said she thinks Trump felt like his comments on the Access Hollywood tape were “pretty standard stuff” for two men having a private chat.
– Aysha Bagchi
‘Deny, deny, deny’: Hicks message after learning of Access Hollywood tape
The prosecution showed jurors an email Hicks sent to trump adviser Steve Bannon and others after The Washington Post emailed her for comment about the Access Hollywood tape, which included a recording of Trump bragging about kissing and grabbing women without their consent. The email to her included a transcript of Trump’s comments.
Hicks wrote in her email: “FLAGGING” and suggested a two-step process for approaching the issue: 1. “Need to hear the tape to be sure.” 2. “Deny, deny, deny.”
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks is asked about Access Hollywood tape
Hicks is currently describing when a Washington Post reporter reached out to her about the Access Hollywood tape of Trump saying he kisses women without waiting and gropes their genitals. The Post broke the story on the tape on Oct. 7, 2016.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks overheard Trump praising Pecker’s hit piece on Ben Carson during 2016 presidential campaign
Hope Hicks said she overheard a conversation between Trump and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker about Ben Carson, who was a rival to Trump for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
Trump was congratulating Pecker on the “great reporting,” Hicks said. The article accused Carson, a neurosurgeon, of medical malpractice. Hicks remembers Trump congratulating Pecker on a “great investigative piece.” She said she “vaguely” recalls that Trump would sometimes say things like “this is Pulitzer worthy” during the call.
The Enquirer savaged Trump’s political rivals, including Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz, with fabricated stories during the 2016 campaign.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks asked: How did you know tabloid executive David Pecker?
Hicks’ testimony may be moving into the hush money deals at issue in the case. Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo just asked how she knew David Pecker, the former executive for the parent company of the National Enquirer.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump watching Hicks testimony on screen
Trump appears to be watching Hope Hicks’ testimony on a screen attached to a wall in front of him. There are four large screens attached to walls in the front half of the courtroom, showing a live video stream of proceedings. That video feed also plays into an overflow room down the hallway, where more reporters and members of the public are seated.
Trump has often had his eyes closed during the trial, but when they are open, he has typically looked directly at the witness who is testifying.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hicks says Trump may have ‘been joking’ the first time he suggested her as press secretary
Hope Hicks testified she thinks Trump might have “been joking” the first time he suggested she would be the 2016 Trump campaign’s press secretary. “I didn’t take it very seriously,” she said.
But later, Hicks took on that role. She is continuing to discuss her background with Trump, including her role broadening out the communications staff for the 2016 Trump campaign.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump averts his eyes from former trusted aide Hope Hicks
Trump’s eyes are open and he appears to be listening to Hicks’ testimony, which right now is focusing on her work with different people at the Trump Organization. Trump is looking straight ahead, whereas Hicks is pretty far to Trump’s right.
– Aysha Bagchi
Who is Hope Hicks?
Hope Hicks was the Trump 2016 presidential campaign press secretary and later the communications director in Trump’s White House starting in September 2017. She was the fourth person in the Trump administration to hold the position before resigning in February 2018. She was 29 years old when she resigned.
Hicks may have been in touch with Cohen about preventing Stormy Daniels from going public. Court records show Hicks spoke with Trump and Cohen on the phone on Oct. 8, 2016. That day and those conversations have become key in Cohen’s federal conviction for campaign finance violations related to the hush money payments. Hicks has said she was not present for discussions about Daniels, and only learned about the upcoming scandal through reporters, CNN reported.
“Again, I had no knowledge of Stormy Daniels other than to say she was going to be mentioned in the story amongst people that were shopping stories around,” Hicks previously testified before the House Judiciary Committee, according to CNN.
Hicks first came into Trump’s orbit while working for Ivanka Trump’s fashion line.
−Kinsey Crowley
Hope Hicks describes Trump as ‘multitasker’ and ‘hard worker’
Hicks said Trump is a very good multitasker and hard worker. She said he’s always doing multiple things at once and would sometimes come to meetings with information to advance his interests. If it’s a political meeting, he might want to provide poll numbers, she said. If it’s a real estate meeting, he might come with examples of positive press about the value of a property.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hope Hicks last communicated with Trump in 2022
Hope Hicks has been describing her background, including working with Ivanka Trump and later with the Trump Organization, before assisting the 2016 Trump campaign.
The last time she was in communication with Donald Trump was “sometime” in the summer or fall of 2022, she said.
– Aysha Bagchi
Hope Hicks called to witness stand
Former White House communications director and 2016 Trump campaign press secretary Hope Hicks has been called to the witness stand.
– Aysha Bagchi
Jurors see Trump response to Access Hollywood tape release
The prosecution showed jurors an Oct. 8, 2016 Twitter post by Trump that included a video of him responding to the Oct. 7, 2016 release of the Access Hollywood tape. Trump said in the video that he has said and done things he regrets, but his words on the tape don’t reflect who he is.
“I said it,” “I was wrong,” and “I apologize,” Trump said in the video. “I pledge to be a better man tomorrow, and will never, ever, let you down.”
Trump started talking about American jobs in the video and the safety of the country. He attacked Hillary and Bill Clinton, and drew a distinction between words and actions.
– Aysha Bagchi
Judge will allow jury to see Trump social media posts
The jurors just returned from a short break. Before they returned, Judge Merchan ruled that multiple Twitter posts by Trump, as well as a Truth Social post, will be permitted to be shown to the jury. The posts haven’t been displayed in court yet.
– Aysha Bagchi
Paralegal from Manhattan District Attorney’s office begins testifying
Paralegal Georgia Longstreet from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has begun testifying. She is discussing her familiarity with Trump’s social media posts on Twitter, which is now referred to as “X,” as well as on his Truth Social media platform.
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Who is Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg? Prosecutor has battled Donald Trump in court before
Questioning of Daus ends with back-and-forth on Cohen’s phone
On re-direct questioning, prosecutor Christopher Conroy got computer forensic analyst Douglas Daus to confirm he hadn’t found any evidence of tampering when it came to evidence the prosecution admitted yesterday that was extracted from Michael Cohen’s phone.
Re-direct questioning of a prosecution witness is a chance for the prosecution to rehabilitate the witness on any issues for which they think the defense might have struck blows during cross-examination.
Conroy passed Daus off to the Trump team again as a witness, and Trump lawyer Emil Bove then got Daus to confirm that Bove’s earlier cross-examination wasn’t about actually observing evidence tampering, but instead about gaps that created risks of such tampering.Questioning of Daus has now concluded.
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Freezing temps and colorful characters: Trump’s hush money trial from the inside
Cross-examination of Daus ends on Michael Cohen note
After asking forensic computer analyst Douglas Daus a series of questions about technical issues that could come up from Michael Cohen’s handling of his phone − the source of secretly-recorded audio of Donald Trump discussing a payoff to former Playboy model Karen McDougal −Trump lawyer Emil Bove ended his cross-examination by targeting Cohen’s trustworthiness.
“In many ways,” Bove asked, we’re just going to have to “take Michael Cohen’s word for it?” Daus said that’s true.
Prosecutor Chistopher Conroy is now asking Daus some additional questions.
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Who is Karen McDougal? What to know about the potential witness in Trump’s hush money trial
Trump eyes again closed for extended period
Trump again has his eyes closed for an extended period in this trial. I just counted to 40, with a “Mississippi” in between each number, before Trump opened his eyes.
Yesterday, the former president claimed on social media he doesn’t fall asleep at his trial, but instead simply closes his “beautiful blue eyes” sometimes as he listens “intensely.”
It’s true Trump sometimes has his eyes closed when he doesn’t appear to be asleep. But I also saw him on April 19, during jury selection, clearly appear to be falling asleep. He repeatedly dropped his head down before lifting it back up and, at one point, he had his mouth agape while his eyes were closed.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump lawyer asking about handling of Cohen-Trump audio recording
Trump lawyer Emil Bove is questioning computer forensic analyst Douglas Daus about the handling of the audio recording we heard yesterday in which Michael Cohen and Trump appeared to be discussing a hush money deal. Daus confirmed to Bove that news media reported on the contents of the recording in 2018. Daus also confirmed that, because Cohen and his legal team sent it to the media, they must have handled the audio file.
– Aysha Bagchi
Computer forensic analyst re-takes witness stand
Computer forensic analyst Douglas Daus re-took the witness stand at 9:47 a.m. EDT, and the jury has been called in.
– Aysha Bagchi
Weinstein decision doesn’t impact rulings in Trump case, judge says
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche argued that a New York appeals court’s decision to toss out the New York rape conviction against Oscar-winning movie producer Harvey Weinstein should cause Judge Merchan to re-think some of his pre-trial rulings about the evidence that can be introduced in Trump’s current trial. Merchan, for example, has allowed in testimony of Trump’s infamous comments on the Hollywood Access tape about kissing women without waiting and groping their genitals, although Merchan isn’t allowing the tape to actually be played in court.
However, Merchan said the New York court of appeals didn’t announce new legal standards – it simply applied existing legal standards to the facts in Weinstein’s case. Merchan used the existing legal standards when ruling on evidence in Trump’s case, so there’s no cause for changing his rulings, he said.
– Aysha Bagchi
Judge tells Trump gag order does not restrict his testimony
Judge Juan Merchan opened proceedings this morning by addressing the Trump team to clear up any “misunderstanding” about whether the gag order impacts Trump’s right to testify. This was likely a response to Trump’s comments in the courthouse hallway after proceedings yesterday, when he said: “I’m not allowed to testify; I’m under a gag order … I guess, right?”
“I want to stress, Mr. Trump, that you have an absolute right to testify,” Merchan said this morning. “That is a constitutional right” and a “fundamental right that cannot be infringed upon.”Merchan told Trump he also has the right not to testify, but if he chooses to testify, the gag order doesn’t limit or minimize what he can say from the witness stand. As the order indicates, it only applies to “extrajudicial statements” – meaning statements made outside of court, Merchan noted.Merchan advised Trump to tell his lawyer if had has any lingering questions.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump talks jobs report before attacking the trial
Trial? What trial?
Trump devoted the start of his pre-trial address to Friday’s disappointing jobs report, claiming “our economy is bad” and blaming President Joe Biden.
Trump then turned to his daily diatribe against the legal proceeding, saying “there is no crime” and again blaming Biden, as well as the judge and New York prosecutors.
The angry former president also expressed a bit of optimism, saying “we are winning this trial.”
−David Jackson
Trump defense team arrives in courtroom
Former President Donald Trump and his defense team entered the courtroom at 9:25 a.m. EDT. Trump is wearing a blue tie today. Photographers have just entered for their typical small window of time to take photographs inside the courtroom. We are still waiting on Judge Merchan.
– Aysha Bagchi
Prosecution team arrives in courtroom
The prosecution team entered the courtroom at 9:13 a.m. EDT. We are still waiting for the defense and the judge.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump arrives at the courthouse
Former President Donald Trump arrived at the Manhattan criminal courthouse at about 9:00 a.m. EDT. We are still waiting for his team and the prosecution to arrive in the courtroom.
– Aysha Bagchi
Famous faces in the courtroom
The main courtroom isn’t large, but we’ve still seen some famous media faces during this trial. Anderson Cooper is here for CNN today. I also saw CNN anchor Erin Burnett earlier in the trial.
MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell was here yesterday and is here again today. MSNBC has been using its spot in the main courtroom for a handful of hosts. Rachel Maddow was here during opening statements, and Joy Reid attended the following day.
About 65 seats are reserved in the main courtroom for reporters, with American news outlets each getting one seat and foreign news outlets sharing a handful of additional reserved seats. Other reporters are able to watch the proceedings live through a video stream in an overflow room down the hallway.
A small handful of members of the public are in the main courtroom each day, and more get spots in the overflow room.
– Aysha Bagchi
Who are Donald Trump’s lawyers?
Trump’s defense team is led by Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles.
Blanche was a federal prosecutor for nine years in the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan. As a prominent white-collar defense lawyer he has defended Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn and Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.
Necheles is ranked among the top criminal defense lawyers in New York by the legal rating and head-hunting firm Chambers and Partners. She was also a former counsel to Venero Mangano, the former Genovese crime family underboss known as Benny Eggs.
–Josh Meyer
What did we learn Thursday on Day 10 of hush money trial?
The testimony of Keith Davidson, the lawyer for Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels in each of their hush money deals tied to Trump, wrapped up yesterday. Jurors saw a text from Davidson to the National Enquirer’s editor on 2016 Election Night: “What have we done?”
Davidson characterized the message as humorous, but also said it reflected his belief that his activities when it came to the hush money deals – one of which was made directly with the National Enquirer’s parent company – assisted the Trump campaign.
We also heard an audio recording that prosecutors say shows Trump himself was involved in the McDougal hush money deal. “So, what do we got to pay for this? 150?” Trump asked Michael Cohen. That, according to the prosecution, was a reference to the $150,000 hush money that ultimately was paid in McDougal’s deal.
– Aysha Bagchi
Could Trump go to prison?
Trump could theoretically face a couple decades in prison if convicted on all 34 felony counts. However, several legal experts told USA TODAY a more realistic sentence, assuming that worst-outcome for Trump on the 34 counts, ranges from merely probation to up to four years in prison.
– Aysha Bagchi
What is Donald Trump on trial for?
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors say he falsified records to cover up unlawfully interfering in the 2016 election through a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Daniels has alleged she had sex with Trump in 2006, a claim he denies.
– Aysha Bagchi
