Testimony continues in former President Donald Trump s criminal trial this week in New York.
Trump is facing 34 felony charges related to his purported efforts to conceal claims of extramarital affairs that emerged during his 2016 presidential campaign. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs case centers on $130,000 in hush money paid to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. It also focuses on the role of Trump and his team in a catch and kill scheme whereby the National Enquirer, then run by David Pecker, buried negative stories about Trump, including one regarding an alleged affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Daniels is testifying in the trial. Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who spent time behind bars over his role in the hush money scheme, is also expected to take the witness stand.
Judge Juan Merchan is presiding over the trial. Trumps legal team is led by Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and Susan Necheles, while the prosecution is led by Susan Hoffinger, Joshua Steinglass, Christopher Conroy and Matthew Colangelo.
Read live updates from the trial below:
Pinned
Day 15 Has Concluded After A Shorter-Than-Usual Agenda. Heres What Happened.
- Madeleine Westerhout, Trumps former personal secretary at the White House, continued her testimony from Thursday. Westerhout told jurors Trump was very busy and often signed documents in the Oval Office without reviewing them first.
- An AT&T compliance officer and a Verizon representative both separately testified. Prosecutors used their testimony to enter call logs into the record.
- Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal who testified earlier in the trial, once again took the stand to introduce social media records into the record, including a handful of Trump tweets.
- A second paralegal, Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, who reviewed call records, also testified.
- Next week will start with a big name: Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal attorney, is expected to take the stand Monday.
Trump Reads Headlines In After-Court Comments, Rambles Extensively
Trump addressed reporters in the hallway of the Manhattan courthouse Friday, where he complained that Michael Cohen isnt under a gag order, wondered why the charges hes facing in the criminal trial werent brought seven years ago when he (allegedly) committed the crime, called Judge Merchan corrupt, complained about inflation, misstated the rate of inflation when he was in office, accused President Biden of lying about his golf game, accused Bidens donors of being against Israel, misconstrued his own gag order, and said hed be very proud to go to jail for our constitution.
He ignored the pool reporters questions about whether hed testify in his own defense, as hes previously pledged to do.
He ignored the pool reporters questions about whether hed testify in his own defense, as hes previously pledged to do.
Trump Leaves With One Last Signal To Pal Jeanine Pirro
The former president has left the courtroom, gesturing to Fox pundit Jeanine Pirro once more by way of greeting.
Prosecutors Nearing End Of Their Case-In-Chief
Steinglass told the judge that prosecutors have two more witnesses to call (one of them being Cohen) and may be done presenting their case by the end of next week ahead of schedule. The defense would then get to make their case, and Trump will need to make a call on whether he wants to testify.
Jurors Let Go For The Weekend After Paralegal Wraps Up
The logs that Jarmel-Schneider organized include calls between Michael Cohen and Keith Davidson, Hope Hicks, Dylan Howard, David Pecker, Keith Schiller and Allen Weisselberg; Keith Davidson and Gina Rodriguez; Dylan Howard and Keith Davidson, David Pecker and Gina Rodriguez; and Trump and Michael Cohen.
The jury has now been dismissed. We are ending court early today.
The jury has now been dismissed. We are ending court early today.
Paralegal 'Honestly ... Kind Of Enjoyed' Boring Record-Keeping Work
Asked by Bove whether he found his work organizing the call logs in the case "tedious," Jarmel-Schneider said it could be.
"Honestly, I kind of enjoyed it," added the paralegal, prompting laughs from the room on a dry day of testimony.
"Honestly, I kind of enjoyed it," added the paralegal, prompting laughs from the room on a dry day of testimony.
Trump Marks Documents With Yellow Highlighter During Testimony
Paralegal Jaden Jarmel-Schneider is going over the day and time of calls between key figures in the case, like Howard and Rodriguez, and Cohen and Weisselberg.
As he does so, Trump sits at the defense table with his small stack of documents, highlighting some parts in yellow.
As he does so, Trump sits at the defense table with his small stack of documents, highlighting some parts in yellow.
Theres Always A Tweet
Trumps lawyers tried to keep the below tweet out of evidence. Its just been admitted.
The missive in question appears to show Trump discussing the scheme conceived to reimburse Cohen for making hush money payments on his behalf.
The missive in question appears to show Trump discussing the scheme conceived to reimburse Cohen for making hush money payments on his behalf.
Next Witness: Another Paralegal
Now on the witness stand is Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, who helped review the phone records pulled in the course of the investigation.
He is the last witness for today, as Merchan is allowing court to adjourn by lunchtime.
He is the last witness for today, as Merchan is allowing court to adjourn by lunchtime.
Trump Attorney Tries To Cast Doubt On Tweets And Texts
Blanche elicited from Longstreet the simple fact that the selection of Trump's tweets shown to the jury was just a few out of many and was handpicked by the prosecution.
Longstreet also affirmed that she has "no personal knowledge" regarding the accuracy of the text exchanges between Rodriguez and Howard.
Longstreet also affirmed that she has "no personal knowledge" regarding the accuracy of the text exchanges between Rodriguez and Howard.
Texts Detail How Stormy Daniels Nearly Went Public Before 2016 Election
Longstreet read more text exchanges for the jury that began Oct. 9, 2016 just after the Access Hollywood tape dropped and rocked Trumps campaign. Rodriguez was trying to negotiate a deal in which the National Enquirer would pay Daniels for an interview about her alleged Trump affair.
A long string of texts shows Rodriguez and Howard negotiating over the details. While Rodriguez initially proposed $250,000, warning that other outlets were also interested in the story, they settled at $120,000. Then she said that the Daily Mail was offering $200,000.
Daniels, of course, did not end up speaking with any outlet before the election. She signed a nondisclosure agreement with Trump attorney Cohen for $130,000. But for a moment in October 2016, when it appeared that Cohen was not going to pay up, Rodriguez signaled in texts to Howard that Daniels was prepared to go public right away.
A long string of texts shows Rodriguez and Howard negotiating over the details. While Rodriguez initially proposed $250,000, warning that other outlets were also interested in the story, they settled at $120,000. Then she said that the Daily Mail was offering $200,000.
Daniels, of course, did not end up speaking with any outlet before the election. She signed a nondisclosure agreement with Trump attorney Cohen for $130,000. But for a moment in October 2016, when it appeared that Cohen was not going to pay up, Rodriguez signaled in texts to Howard that Daniels was prepared to go public right away.
More Stormy Daniels-Related Texts Shown For The Jury
Longstreet read a few text exchanges between Daniels' former manager, Gina Rodriguez, and National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard, discussing whether Daniels was ready to talk about her alleged affair with Trump. Longstreet was responsible for redacting contact information on the texts, which date to April 2016.
By June 2016, Howard was still asking whether Daniels was willing to talk.
By June 2016, Howard was still asking whether Daniels was willing to talk.
On The Stand: A Paralegal (Again)
Georgia Longstreet, a Manhattan paralegal who testified earlier in the trial, is on the stand again. She is helping prosecutors introduce more social media evidence into the record, affirming that she has reviewed thousands of posts in connection with the case. (Lucky her!)
Displayed for jurors is an April 21, 2018, Twitter thread posted by Trump criticizing the New York Times and reporter Maggie Haberman, who quietly scoffed upon hearing her name read aloud in the courthouse. The Times and Haberman, Trump wrote, "are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will 'flip.'"
Another tweet, from May 3, 2018, is then read, claiming that Cohen "received a monthly retainer" from Trump.
Displayed for jurors is an April 21, 2018, Twitter thread posted by Trump criticizing the New York Times and reporter Maggie Haberman, who quietly scoffed upon hearing her name read aloud in the courthouse. The Times and Haberman, Trump wrote, "are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will 'flip.'"
Another tweet, from May 3, 2018, is then read, claiming that Cohen "received a monthly retainer" from Trump.
Trump Happy To See Former Judge Jeanine Pirro
On his way out of the courtroom, Trump gave Fox News pundit Jeanine Pirro several strong pats on the shoulder. He gestured toward her again upon returning.
Trump Ignores Questions About Daniels Daring Him To Testify
Trump ignored questions from reporters Friday morning about whether hed testify in his own defense. The query took on a slightly different meaning overnight after Stormy Daniels wrote on social media : "Real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court. Oh...wait. Nevermind."
The former president "[ignored] questions about whether he would accept Stormy's challenge to testify," according to a report from the press pool.
Trump proclaimed last year that he would "absolutely" testify in his own defense if any of his criminal cases go to trial but lately has been singing a new tune and falsely claiming he cant testify because of his gag order.
(Merchan explicitly told Trump last week the gag order "does not prohibit you from taking the stand.")
The former president "[ignored] questions about whether he would accept Stormy's challenge to testify," according to a report from the press pool.
Trump proclaimed last year that he would "absolutely" testify in his own defense if any of his criminal cases go to trial but lately has been singing a new tune and falsely claiming he cant testify because of his gag order.
(Merchan explicitly told Trump last week the gag order "does not prohibit you from taking the stand.")
A Slow Morning
Like Dixon, Tomlin helped us understand Verizon call logs, including one belonging to Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization. The jurors appeared attentive for all of this, somehow.
We've reached our morning break. With jurors out of the courtroom, Bove is bringing up a 1999 interview that Trump did fielding a question about campaign finance reform. He does not think it is relevant to the proceedings. For the prosecution, Mangold argues that it is obviously relevant.
Merchan says he will rule after the break.
We've reached our morning break. With jurors out of the courtroom, Bove is bringing up a 1999 interview that Trump did fielding a question about campaign finance reform. He does not think it is relevant to the proceedings. For the prosecution, Mangold argues that it is obviously relevant.
Merchan says he will rule after the break.
DA Alvin Bragg Is In The Courtroom
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who brought the case against Trump, has entered the courtroom and taken a seat near the jury.
The former president has repeatedly attacked Bragg over the past weeks, suggesting the case is politically motivated to hurt his election chances in November.
The former president has repeatedly attacked Bragg over the past weeks, suggesting the case is politically motivated to hurt his election chances in November.
Next Up: A Verizon Representative
Dixons testimony is over; his purpose appeared to be helping prosecutors introduce AT&T call logs into the record.
Next up: Jenny Tomlin, a Verizon representative.
Next up: Jenny Tomlin, a Verizon representative.
Trump Calls Judge Merchan 'Highly Conflicted' Prior To Trial Start
Trump called Judge Juan Merchan "highly conflicted" prior to entering the courtroom for another day of his criminal trial.
"This case is highly unconstitutional," Trump told reporters. "It's presided over by a very conflicted judge, conflicted like I've never seen before. He refuses to take himself off the case, and it should be a mistrial."
Merchan has already denied requests by Trump's team to declare a mistrial over Stormy Daniels' testimony.
"This case is highly unconstitutional," Trump told reporters. "It's presided over by a very conflicted judge, conflicted like I've never seen before. He refuses to take himself off the case, and it should be a mistrial."
Merchan has already denied requests by Trump's team to declare a mistrial over Stormy Daniels' testimony.
AT&T Representative Next Up On Witness Stand
The next witness called by the prosecution is Daniel Dixon, a compliance officer with AT&T. He is testifying about records kept by the phone company.
Dixons testimony is technical and tedious, going over how call records are displayed on a spreadsheet.
Dixons testimony is technical and tedious, going over how call records are displayed on a spreadsheet.
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