Trump trial live: Prosecutors need two more weeks to make case as judge threatens jail over gag order breaches
LIVE – Updated at 21:45
Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has resumed at Manhattan Criminal Court with Judge Juan Merchan finding the former president in contempt of court for a tenth time, fining him another $1,000 and warning the next violation of his gag order will result in jail time.
Last week’s session ended with emotional testimony from the former president’s one-time White House communication director Hope Hicks, who recounted her experiences serving his presidential campaign in October 2016 when the notorious Access Hollywood tape emerged and said Mr Trump “knew” Michael Cohen had paid off adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
On Monday the jury heard in great detail about how payments were made and records were kept at the Trump Organization as Mr Trump moved to the White House and Cohen had to be repaid for his services — the alleged falsified business records on which the criminal charges were made.
As the day drew to a close the prosecution told Judge Merchan that they expect to be able to wrap up their case in about two weeks — an extensive list of witnesses remains to be called.
The Independent’s Alex Woodward is covering the trial at Manhattan Criminal Court.
Key Points
- Judge Merchan rules on gag order, next violation will result in jail
- New York hush money trial: What did we learn from this morning’s testimony?
- Key takeaways from second week of testimony
- Former president compares Biden to ‘Gestapo’ in 75-minute tirade to Republican donors
- Trump’s possible VP picks take to Sunday shows to jostle for position
Watch: Trump says ‘he’ll do that sacrifice any day’ regarding threat of jail
21:45 , Oliver O’Connell 21:22 , Alex Woodward
Judge Merchan asks, “generally speaking,” whether the prosecution is on schedule.
“Well,” Steinglass says.
Merchan: We’re doing well? Not gonna give me anything more than that?
Steinglass: Are you asking how much time?
“I would say about two more weeks. … This week and next week and then maybe a bit the week after … Very, very rough estimate. I would say two weeks from tomorrow.”
A couple of days were recently knocked off the calendar this month, so they think their time might spill over a bit after next week.
Next week and the week after are three-day trial weeks.
21:16 , Alex Woodward
The defence has had the prosecution’s witness list “for months,” lead prosecutor Joshua Steinglass argues, concerning complaints from team Trump that they don’t know who will be up on the witness stand next.
Steinglass doesn’t want to be accused of “sandbagging” them by not telling them what order they would be called in, reiterating that the reason prosecutors haven’t is to protect them from Trump’s public attacks.
21:07 , Oliver O’Connell
Judge Merchan has excused the jury for the day a little early.
The trial will resume tomorrow with a new witness.
Standby for our key takeaway from the day.
21:03 , Alex Woodward
Only a few questions from Blanche and no follow up from the prosecution.
Ms Tarasoff is off the bench.
20:59 , Alex Woodward
Trump was hovering around the defence table with his hand in his pocket, talking to Todd Blanche before they took their seats and the judge came in.
Ms Tarasoff is back on the stand. Going through the second half of 2017’s invoices.
After only a few more questions from the prosecution, it’s over to the defence for cross-examination.
Blanche is now questioning Ms Tarasoff.
Trump returns to courtroom for final session of day
20:46 , Oliver O’Connell
Per the pool report:
Trump walked into the courtroom at about 3:42 p.m. and gave a fist pump with his right hand.
He did not responded to shouted questions:
- Does this witness have anything to do with the case?
- Did you sign the checks?
Trump campaign fundraising off judge’s jail time threat
20:45 , Oliver O’Connell
The latest Trump 2024 campaign fundraising email blast is leaning heavily on the threat of jail time for Donald Trump if he violates his gag order again.
It reads: “Breaking from Trump: Judge just threatened me with jail time.”
“This is all hands on deck,” it continues. “The liberal judge in New York just threatened to THROW ME IN JAIL for violating an unconstitutional ‘gag order’ that should NEVER be in place!”
It goes on to claim “they” want him handcuffed, incarcerated, and “THEY WANT ME SILENCED FOREVER SO THEY CAN WALK ALL OVER YOU!”
“A MASSIVE pushback is needed — right here, right now — to let the whole WORLD know we will NEVER SURRENDER!”
The campaign asks for “ONE MILLION Pro-Trump Patriots to chip in”.
20:36 , Alex Woodward
On Cohen’s invoice from July 2017, which didn’t have an amount, Tarasoff wrote “PAY SAME AMOUNT PER JEFF + ALLEN”
The court is now taking its afternoon recess.
20:25 , Alex Woodward
For posterity we’re looking at the “stop report” from Capital One to confirm that the check was indeed cancelled.
This is getting tedious but jurors are being constantly reminded that Cohen’s payments were listed everywhere – across accounting software, pay stubs and invoices that landed on Trump’s own desk – as a “legal expense” or for his “retainer” for “services rendered.”
Prosecutors have argued that those payments were Trump’s reimbursements to Cohen for paying off Stormy Daniels, not for payments that had anything to do with his work as an attorney, but as work done to boost Trump’s chances of winning by hiding compromising stories from voters.
We also get to see Trump’s massive Sharpie signature on these checks.
20:20 , Alex Woodward
The process for each check is described.
Tarasoff gets the email with the invoice, she stamps it for approval, the invoice gets entered into the company software, the check is cut, and it gets sent out for signature.
Cohen’s April payment, which was the first of the remaining payments to be cut from Trump’s personal account, was voided after the check appeared to get lost in the mail. It was cut again in June.
20:07 , Alex Woodward
We’re seeing invoice vouchers that Tarasoff entered into the accounting software based on Cohen’s invoices. They are all named as “legal expense.”
Now we see Cohen’s paystubs, which name in the description that the attached checks are for “RETAINER.”
That first check, which encompassed January and February 2017, totaled $70,000.
The check, from the Donald J Trump – Revocable Trust Account, is dated 14 February 2017. It is signed by Eric Trump and Allen Weisselberg.
20:02 , Alex Woodward
Did Trump have to sign the check?
“If he didn’t want to sign it he didn’t sign it.”
Then what would happen?
“He would write void on it and send it back. … It was signed in Sharpie. It would be black. That’s what he uses.”
Tarasoff confirms McConney’s testimony, that she cut the checks for Cohen and processed payments just as he described.
After Trump moved into the White House, checks from Trump’s personal account were sent from the Trump Organization to Washington, DC by FedEx. “We would send them to the White House for him to sign.”
The court is shown the chain of emails mentioned in this morning’s testimony concerning payment to Cohen.
19:45 , Alex Woodward
ADA Christopher Conroy asks whether the dollar amount would impact who could approve it payments.
“If it was under a certain amount, Allen [Weisselberg] would approve, and it was over, it would have to be someone higher up.”
That meant Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr or Donald Trump himself.
Again, more paper trail:
What happens once a check is printed out?
“Before he was president or after?”
Let’s say before.
Tarasoff would cut the check, “put the check on top of the invoice, staple it and bring it over” to Rhona Graff, Trump’s executive assistant. Then it would be signed by Trump and returned to her with the check still stapled on top of the invoice.
19:38 , Alex Woodward
Tarasoff is wearing a loose blue and white plaid shirt. She has white hair and glasses.
She still works with the Trump Organization. She’s been there for 24 years.
Like McConney, she is here under a subpoena and the company is paying for her legal representation.
She is the Trump Organization’s accounts payable supervisor. She started as accounts payable 24 years ago.
Asked who is the owner of the company, she said: “Correct me if I’m wrong but Mr Trump.”
Here’s what Tarasoff does: “I get approved bills, I enter them into the system, and I cut the checks.”
What was Allen Weisselberg’s management style?
“He had his hands in everything.”
She did not interact with Trump at all, though she recalls seeing him around the office in 2016-2017.
New witness: Deb Tarasoff
19:25 , Oliver O’Connell
The next witness up on the stand is Deb Tarasoff.
Ms Tarasoff was mentioned during this morning’s testimony regarding her role at the Trump Organization as an accounts payable supervisor and how Michael Cohen was paid.
This underlines that at the heart of this case is paperwork and not an alleged affair with a porn star as it is often framed.
Ms Tarasoff also testified at the civil fraud trial.
Court resumes after lunch
19:16 , Oliver O’Connell
Court is getting back underway after lunch.
Per the pool report: “Trump did not speak when he walked back into the courtroom moments ago. He looked in the direction of the cameras and gave a thumbs up.”
Judge Merchan has returned to the bench.
19:12 , Oliver O’Connell 19:05 , Oliver O’Connell
Trump responds to Columbia University canceling commencement: ‘That shouldn’t happen’
What happened in court this morning?
18:29 , Oliver O’Connell
Alex Woodward summarises what we learned from this morning in court:
For the first time, jurors got to see the Trump Organization’s paper trail behind the 34 falsified records related to paying back Michael Cohen for paying off Stormy Daniels, including invoices and ledger entries that prosecutors say Trump had falsely approved as “legal expenses”.
In a remarkable moment at the very end of the prosecution’s questions, former Trump Organization comptroller Jeffrey McConney confirmed that he was “in the dark” about arrangements between Trump, Cohen and former CFO Allen Weisselberg.
“This was all happening above your head?” ADA Matthew Colangelo asked: “You were told to do something and you did it?”
McConney said yes to both.
We still don’t know who is left on the witness list. But as I mentioned before, the star of this trial, other than Trump, has been Michael Cohen, whose name and actions are central to nearly every witness’s testimony.
McConney was the trial’s 10th. We’ll find out who is No 11 when the trial resumes at 2.15pm.
Trump also has to delete any Truth Social content related to his gag-violating comments about the jury by then.
Leaked audio reveals Trump discussing his possible running mates
18:25 , Oliver O’Connell
New audio recorded at a private lunch reveals Donald Trump’s thoughts about his potential picks for a running mate in the 2024 election.
The audio, obtained by Axios, was recorded during Mr Trump’s high-profile GOP event at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday. Attendees included major Republican donors and his many contenders for vice president. Mr Trump’s top picks for a running mate include several senators, representatives, governors and former presidential candidates.
Katie Hawkinson reports:
Leaked audio reveals Donald Trump discussing his VP picks
18:03 , Oliver O’Connell
Court will resume at 2.15pm.
Expect a new witness to take the stand…
17:55 , Alex Woodward
Assistant District Attorney Colangelo is back for a few questions in redirect.
Did McConney later become aware that there were “conversations that Weisselberg left you in the dark about?” Yes.
“This was all happening above your head?” Yes.
“You were told to do something and you did it?” Yes.
That’s it for McConney as a witness.
Judge Merchan excuses the jurors for lunch.
17:54 , Alex Woodward
Bove notes that the 1099 form doesn’t offer space to note whether Cohen’s paid “legal expenses” were for expenses incurred while working as a lawyer, and that it wasn’t up to them to tell Cohen “how to account for those personal payments on his taxes”.
“You don’t know what he did with that, right?” he asks.
Basically, if Cohen didn’t note what he did with his money elsewhere, that’s not on Trump.
Bove concludes cross-examination. He also noted an agent signed off on government ethics forms.
17:48 , Alex Woodward
Bove: “Retainer agreements can be verbal, correct?”
Bove notes that McConney’s instruction for Cohen’s first invoices to be paid from the Trust was an attempt to “try to figure out how to pay President Trump’s expenses while he is in DC.”
Don Jr and Eric could sign off on them. McConney agrees.
Bove says that an attempt to “get around that practical issue.” McConney agrees.
17:38 , Alex Woodward
Bove asks McConney if he believed the ledger-generating software “was a bit antiquated, was it not?”
“These categories there was a level of rigidity to them, right?” he said. “When you’re talking about payments to an attorney, ‘legal expenses’ is the category you would use, right?”
Bove’s style of questioning is evident again — leaning heavily on yes or no answers.
I should’ve kept a counter for the number of yes or no questions Bove has asked throughout this trial so far. It’s pretty much every single one. I can’t recall any open-ended ones.
17:29 , Alex Woodward
Bove is suggesting that Cohen’s email signature (“personal attorney to President Donald J Trump”) would lead McConney to believe that Cohen was being paid for legal work.
In January 2017, the Trump Organization was in “flux” and in “chaos,” Bove says, using McConney’s prior testimony.
“That’s putting it mildly,” McConney says. Things were “drastically” changing.
For the first time, Trump was “hundreds of miles away,” according to Bove.
“I don’t remember seeing him in New York at all,” McConney says.
Cross-examination of McConney begins
17:21 , Alex Woodward
The prosecution concludes the direct examination of McConney and Trump defence attorney Emil Bove begins to cross-examine the former Trump Organization executive.
In 2017, “Michael Cohen was a lawyer, right?” Bove asks.
McConney, smiling: “OK.”
Fair to say that McConney is not a fan.
Bove is asking whether McConney ever talked to Trump about any of this and whether Trump ever asked him to do “anything” that he just testified about. He says he did not.
McConney also never talked to Cohen about it.
17:18 , Oliver O’Connell
Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney is questioned by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo before Justice Juan Merchan during former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records (REUTERS)
17:16 , Alex Woodward
Colangelo asked McConney to read the line above the signature: “I certify that the statements I have made in this report are true, complete and correct to the best of my knowledge.”
The report notes the following: “In the interest of transparency, while not required to be disclosed as ‘reportable liabilities’ … in 2016 expenses were incurred by one of Donald J Trump’s attorneys Michael Cohen. Mr Cohen sought reimbursement of those expenses and Mr Trump fully reimbursed Mr Cohen in 2017. The category would be $100,001 – $250,000 and the interest rate would be zero.”
17:12 , Alex Woodward
We’re about to look at Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure forms, but Trump defence attorney Emil Bove objects.
McConney said he helped assemble these reports, which include “all of the entities you own, positions under those entities, interest, assets, value of assets, income from that asset, retirement funds, spouse’s assets, stock holdings, bank accounts, liabilities, gifts” and things of that nature.
He said he’d work through until 4am filling these out with other accountants, which “might be normal for you” but “not normal for my life”.
Merchan overrules the objection, and the document is now on the screen.
It’s an “annual” report for 2017. Trump signed it in Sharpie on May 15, 2018.
17:07 , Alex Woodward
Now we see the 2017 1099-MISC for Cohen from the Trust account, noting $105,000.
And the 2017 1099-MISC for Cohen from Trump’s personal account, totaling $315,000.
16:57 , Alex Woodward
We see 2018 ledgers for accounts for both the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust and Trump’s personal account.
We see dozens of entries under LEGAL EXPENSE for both, marking down payments to various firms that year.
Neither shows any payments to Cohen.
And now we see the 2017 ledgers, which note the payments to Cohen, under LEGAL EXPENSE.
Each of the payments to Cohen is noted in the ledgers as “RETAINER.”
16:50 , Alex Woodward
We see a table listing each of Cohen’s invoices and when they were paid. Each entry under Vendor Name / Invoice Date noted they were for “MICHAEL D ESQ RETAINER.”
Handwriting on the side notes that the first few entries total 105,000, with the remainder highlighted as 315,000, noting which came out of the trust and from Trump’s personal account.
16:44 , Alex Woodward
In opening statements, defence attorney Todd Blanche referred to the payments we just saw, arguing that they were merely “for legal services rendered.” The invoices were processed, “somebody at Trump Tower” signed off, and they were recorded as such in a ledger.
“What on earth is a crime? What is a crime about what I just described?” Blanche said last month. “The 34 counts … are really just 34 pieces of paper.”
Those 34 counts include not just the checks but the invoices and the ledger entries.
16:42 , Alex Woodward
After a short break, McConney is back on the stand and ADA Colangelo resumes questioning.
As he sat back down, Trump was chatting with his lawyer Emil Bove and waved his hand around while speaking into his ear.
16:25 , Alex Woodward
The final invoice for 2017 was sent on December 1.
Cohen wishes Weisselberg a happy holiday.
Once again, no amount was requested, but they knew it was for $35,000.
16:21 , Alex Woodward
All of this is evidence of federal campaign finance violations to which Cohen previously pleaded guilty.
Throughout 2017, COHEN sent to one or more representatives of the Company monthly invoices, which stated, “Pursuant to the retainer agreement, kindly remit payment for services rendered for” the relevant month in 2017, and sought $35,000 per month. The Company accounted for these payments as legal expenses. In truth and in fact, there was no such retainer agreement, and the monthly invoices COHEN submitted were not in connection with any legal services he had provided in 2017.
During 2017, pursuant to the invoices described above, COHEN received monthly $35,000 reimbursement checks, totaling $420,000.
16:18 , Alex Woodward
At some point. McConney stopped telling Tasaroff how much to pay Cohen when he forwarded invoices to her, where they all seemingly know the drill.
In September, Cohen’s invoice didn’t even have a number, but McConney says he knew it to be $35,000.
Cohen’s email signature in his invoices to Weisselberg:
Michael D. Cohen Esq.
Personal Attorney To President Donald J Trump
30 Rockefeller Plaza
23rd floor
New York, New York 10112
The chain of these emails goes like this: Cohen sends an invoice to Weisselberg, Weisselberg forwards that to McConney, and then McConney forwards that to Tasaroff with a note to pay Cohen.
16:02 , Alex Woodward
We see another Cohen email to Weisselberg on March 16, 2017:
Dear Allen,
Pursuant to the retainer agreement, kindly remit payment for services rendered for the month of March 2017:
March 2017 – $35,000
Then McConney
Deb,
Please pay. Post to same g/l as last month
Thanks
Jeff
Colangelo: “So you were asking Ms Tarasoff to pay this as legal fees?”
McConney: Yes
At this point, Trump was in office. They switched from paying Cohen the Trump trust account to from his personal account.
That meant Trump had to sign them from the White House. “A whole new process for us,” McConney says.
Cohen emailed later that month asking whether McConney received the invoice. McConney replied, saying:
DJT needs to sign check.
Trump and Republicans line up to praise frat boys as they wade into campus Gaza protests
16:00 , Oliver O’Connell
As we await today’s commencement of proceedings in Manhattan, here’s Josh Marcus on Trumpworld’s attempts to make political capital out of the recent protests on America’s college campuses against events in the Middle East.
Trump and Republicans line up to praise frat boys as they wade into campus protests
15:53 , Alex Woodward
(McConney said he never saw a retainer agreement)
McConney then emailed Deborah Tarasoff:
Deb, Please pay from the Trust. Post to legal expenses. Put “retainer for the months of January and February 2017” in the description. Thanks Jeff
McConney confirms that Cohen submitted similar invoices for every month for the rest of the year.
15:52 , Alex Woodward
Cohen followed up that email, saying who the Trump Organization can make the checks out to.
On 14 February, McConney reminded him to send an invoice.
Cohen responded:
Jeff,Please remind me of the monthly amount?
McConney’s reply: $35,000 per month
Then Cohen sent an invoice addressed to Allen Weisselberg “pursuant to the retainer agreement,” for $35,000 for January and another $35,000 for February.
Weisselberg then emailed McConney, subject line RE: “$$”
“Ok to pay as per agreement with Don and Eric” – referring to Trump’s sons.
15:40 , Alex Woodward
ADA Colangelo asks to clarify what we’re seeing, that Cohen received 360,000 on an 180,000 expense.
The bottom of the note adds “Mike to invoice us”. McConney states that the “Mike” is Michael Cohen, and that he would need to submit invoices to get paid.
We see an email from Feb 6 2107 from McConney’s Trump Organization address with the subject line: “$$”
Mike,Just a reminder to get me the invoices you spoke to Allen about.ThanksJeff
15:37 , Alex Woodward
Now we see McConney’s notes from that conversation, written on a notepad with Trump Organization letterhead:
Michael Cohen 27thPay thru Jan 26th 2017
Bonus $50,000180,000180,000 x 2 for taxes
230,000410,000Use 420,00 divided by 12 = 35,000 per month effective 2/1/2017
WIRE MONTHLY FROM DJT
Start 35,000 month Jan 2017
15:36 , Alex Woodward
The court is shown a copy of a First Republic Bank account statement for the period of October 26-31 2016, with handwritten notes on the bottom
There’s an entry for withdrawal of $130,000 for “domestic wire funds-debit, Keith M Davidson Associates PLC” on October 27 with a $35 processing fee.
At the bottom, Weisselberg made some handwritten notes: “$180,000″ is underlined, followed by “Grossed out to 360,000” and “add add’l bonus”, then notes “35,000 per month effective 2/1/2017”.
It notes “plus $50,000 paid to Red Finch for tech services” with a total of “$180,035”.
In pictures: Trump in court for start of week four of criminal hush money trial
15:34 , Oliver O’Connell
Clutching print outs of news articles, Donald Trump arrives at court on 6 May 2024 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Supporting the former president at his trial today are Eric Trump and legal adviser Alina Habba, seen alongside defence lawyer Susan Necheles (EPA)
Photojournalists take pictures as the former president takes his seat at the defence table (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Donald Trump looks serious for the cameras as he awaits the start of the day’s proceedings (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
15:23 , Alex Woodward
Mr McConney is asked about Michael Cohen: “Michael was employed by the Trump Organization for a number of years … I had conversations with him by the coffee machine. I was there as long as he was. I dunno how long he was there, five years, 10 years.”
What was his position?
“[sighs] He said he was a lawyer.”
Allen Weisselberg [former CFO of the company] told McConney about Cohen’s expenses and at that point, McConney “started taking notes.”
“That’s how I found out about it,” he said.
The conversation involved how to pay him, as he moved his final employment date from January 20 to January 27, 2017, and there was also the matter of his “complaint about his bonus – he wanted to get paid for that.” After “adding everything up, we came up with the amount we had to pay him.”
Full story: Trump threatened with jail over gag order violations
15:15 , Oliver O’Connell
Alex Woodward reports from the courthouse in Lower Manhattan:
The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money trial will consider putting the former president in jail if he continues to violate a gag order intended to protect witnesses, jurors, court staff and their families.
New York Justice Juan Merchan warned Mr Trump on Monday that jail remains “truly a last resort” that would disrupt the proceedings, court staff and law enforcement.
“The magnitude of such a decision is not lost on me,” the judge said to Mr Trump inside a criminal courtroom in Manhattan on Monday.
Continue reading…
Trump could see jail for gag order violations: ‘Fines are not serving as a deterrent’
New witness: Jeffrey McConney
15:10 , Oliver O’Connell
The next witness for the prosecution is Jeffrey McConney, former controller for the Trump Organization.
Regular readers of this blog will remember Mr McConney from the New York civil fraud trial against the company and its executives including Donald Trump and his two eldest sons.
Mr McConney testified in that trial as well and was also a defendant. Judge Engoron’s ruling barred him from serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business in the state, as well as serving as an officer or director of any business in the state for three years.
In that trial, the defendants were fined hundreds of millions of dollars for fraudulently inflating the value of assets in order to obtain favourable terms on loans and insurance from financial institutions in New York.
He retired from the Trump Organization in February 2023. During his testimony in the civil case, he broke down in tears saying that the investigations into the company had been too much for him and forced him to leave the place he had enjoyed working at for 35 years.
Mr McConney is being questioned by prosecution attorney Matthew Colangelo.
Watch: Trump (again) rails against fairness of trial
14:59 , Oliver O’Connell
On his way into court this morning Donald Trump was bombarded by questions about whether Michael Cohen is a liar and whether he would be testifying.
The former president responded that he was not able to answer the first question because of the gag order imposed on him by Judge Juan Merchan.
Mr Trump went on to yet again falsely claim that Joe Biden was behind the criminal indictments against him. There is no evidence to suggest that.
The former president also commented on the news that Columbia University has cancelled its commencement ceremony due to unrest on campus stemming from protests against Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
Holding up a stack of printouts he said: “That shouldn’t happen.” Mr Trump also claimed the protesters were “backed by Biden donors” and added: “Are you listening, Israel? I hope you’re listening.”
Judge Merchan rules on gag order, next violation will result in jail
14:38 , Alex Woodward
Judge Juan Merchan begins the day by handing down a ruling on the additional violations of the gag order imposed on Donald Trump.
The former president was previously fined $9,000 for nine violations.
Judge Merchan says: “It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent. … therefore this court will have to consider a jail sanction … It’s important you understand that the last thing I want to do is put you in jail.”
It’s “truly a last resort” and “to take that step would be disruptive to these proceedings” and concerning for all court staff, officers, Secret Service, among others.
“The magnitude of such a decision is not lost on me … But that the end of the day I have a job to do, and part of that job is to protect the dignity of the justice system … Your continued violations … threaten to interfere with the administration of justice, and constitute a direct attack on the rule of law.”
Judge Merchan does not read the full order out but hands it to the defence team.
Mr Trump is fined an additional $1,000 for another violation of the gag order and has until 2.15pm today to remove the offending post from his Truth Social account.
“Defendant is hereby put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration…”
Read the judge’s full ruling here
Senator on Trump’s ‘Gestapo’ attack: ‘Out of bounds and completely unfounded’
14:30 , Joe Sommerlad
Here’s Democratic senator Chris Coons this morning hitting back against the Republican presidential candidate’s latest ludicrous attack on his White House successor.
14:29 , Alex Woodward
Donald Trump is seated at the defence table wearing a big red tie.
He is chatting with lead attorney Todd Blanche.
Judge Juan Merchan enters the room.
Who might testify next?
14:27 , Oliver O’Connell
That is anyone’s guess as the prosecution has been keeping their cards very close to their chest so as to not subject any potential witnesses to online harassment ahead of their testimony.
Here’s who we’ve heard from so far:
- Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker
- Form Trump Organization executive assistant Rhona Graff
- Michel Cohen’s former banker Gary Farro
- CSPAN’s Robert X Browning
- Philip Thompson, who recorded Trump’s deposition in the E Jean Carroll case
- Keith Davidson, a former attorney for Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels
- DA forensic analyst Doug Daus
- DA paralegal Georgia Longstreet
- Longtime Trump communications director Hope Hicks
It doesn’t seem likely that the court will hear from a big ticket witness such as Stormy Daniels or Michael Cohen to kick off the third week of testimony — though you never know — there is speculation it might be someone from the White House or Trump Organization who can talk about administrative issues and processes to build the falsification of business records case.
New York hush money trial: Judge could issue latest ruling on gag order violations
14:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Here’s more from Alex Woodward inside the courtroom:
“The judge could at some point today issue another bench decision about the gag order after prosecutors’ latest contempt motion. Last week he wasn’t convinced by the defense and was particularly impatient and frustrated with lawyer Todd Blanche’s arguments defending Trump’s comments about David Pecker.
“At one point Judge Merchan snapped while Blanche was talking. ‘Did he violate the gag order? That’s what I want to know,’ he said. ‘He spoke about the jury, right? And he said the jury was 95 per cent Democrats and the jury had been rushed through, and the implication that this was not a fair jury?’”
With that in mind, here’s Alex’s report on last week’s hearing.
Trump blames Cohen for breaking gag order as judge fires back at jury comments
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill drops by White House to visit ‘Joe-B-Wan Kenobi’
13:30 , Joe Sommerlad
In case you missed this one late last week, here’s Luke Skywalker himself dropping in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to endorse the president and tell him “May the Fourth be with you” (no I didn’t spell that wrong – it was 4 May on Saturday, you see).
‘Star Wars’ actor Mark Hamill drops by White House for a visit with ‘Joe-bi-Wan Kenobi’
Trump waves to crowd and visits McLaren garage at Miami Grand Prix
13:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Here’s more on the former president’s Sunday campaign stop from our F1 correspondent Kieran Jackson.
Donald Trump waves to crowd and visits McLaren garage at F1 Miami Grand Prix
Live: Trump’s criminal trial continues over hush money payment
12:51 , Joe Sommerlad
Here’s your latest look at the scene in Manhattan as the former president prepares for court once more.
Lara Trump: ‘You cannot have ballots counted after elections are over’
12:30 , Joe Sommerlad
Also on TV yesterday threatening more election aggravation in November was the new RNC co-chair, Trump daughter-in-law and would-be country music star Lara Trump, apparently prepared to contest the delayed counting of mail-in ballots posted by American soldiers serving overseas.
New York hush money trial: What to expect in court today
12:05 , Joe Sommerlad
Here’s the very latest from Alex Woodward, courtside for us once more in Manhattan:
“It’s a wet and gray morning by the courthouse for the start of the third week of witness testimony.
“On Friday, we heard from Hope Hicks, whose testimony went behind the scenes of the Trump campaign’s response and damage control to the Access Hollywood tape, and how Trump told Hicks that Michael Cohen paid Stormy Daniels “out of the kindness of his heart.”
“But Hicks didn’t believe that, she said, moments before she broke down in tears on the stand under a brief line of questions from Trump’s defense.
“That moment gave jurors a crucial detail: a key member of Trump’s team, while he was president, confirmed that he knew that Cohen paid Stormy Daniels.
“We are moving at a relatively quick pace, with only a handful of higher-profile prosecution witnesses left, though we don’t know who they are or when they’re coming. This could take a couple more weeks, and then defense attorneys will have their turn before we get to closing statements and deliberation.
“Justice Juan Merchan, however, is expected to issue another decision on gag order violations, facing another potentially $4,000 fine or other more sever sanctions. He could rule from the bench as early as today.”
Kristi Noem walks back claim she met Kim Jong-un and threat to kill Biden’s dog
12:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Also appearing on Sunday morning television hoping to rekindle the dying flame of her vice presidential aspirations was the embattled South Dakota governor, for whom things only got worse when Margaret Brennan confronted her with lying about meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and with her threat to kill a second dog!
How she can ever have thought animal extermination was a vote-winning message, I will never understand.
Here’s Josh Marcus on her efforts to firefight another preposterous claim.
Kristi Noem walks back claim that she met Kim Jong Un as memoir comes under scrutiny
Trump’s possible VP picks take to Sunday shows to jostle for position
11:30 , Joe Sommerlad
Governor Burgum was not the only potential Trump veep going to bat for him on the Sunday shows yesterday.
South Carolina senator Tim Scott, New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Florida senator Marco Rubio were all prepared to get out there and “kiss the ring”, as Ron DeSantis memorably put it.
Scott’s refusal to commit to honouring the 2024 election results in the exchange below with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press was particularly worrying.
Here’s Kelly Rissman on Rubio refusing to rule out moving house to secure the nod.
Marco Rubio refuses to say whether he’d leave Florida if Trump picks him as VP
Truth Social: Trump hypes Miami Grand Prix appearance, celebrates two reundancies and promotes ally’s book
11:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Trump’s other big engagement in the Sunshine State over the weekend was his appearance at the F1 Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, where he saluted the crowd and appeared to enjoy his freedom from the judge’s chilly courtroom.
He’s been heavily posting about it on Truth Social, in addition to celebrating two redundancies, attacking President Biden over the indicment of Texas Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar and promoting an ally’s book, which he has definitely read from cover to cover.
Here’s Mike Bedigan on Cuellar, for context.
Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar protests innocence ahead of potential indictment
Trump compares Biden to ‘Gestapo’ in 75-minute tirade to Republican donors
10:30 , Joe Sommerlad
Over the weekend, the Republican 2024 presidential contender returned to Florida to attend the Republican National Committee’s Spring Donor Retreat at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palm Beach, where he hobnobbed with influential conservatives, including many in contention to be his running mate, and delivered a scathing speech in which he said of Joe Biden’s Cabinet: “These people are running a Gestapo administration.
“It’s the only thing they have. And it’s the only way they’re going to win, in their opinion, and it’s actually killing them. But it doesn’t bother me,” he told his audience, according to The New York Times, which obtained the audio.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates responded to Trump’s remarks by saying: “Instead of echoing the appalling rhetoric of fascists, lunching with neo-Nazis, and fanning debunked conspiracy theories that have cost brave police officer their lives, President Biden is bringing the American people together around our shared democratic values and the rule of law – an approach that has delivered the biggest violent crime reduction in 50 years.”
On Sunday, North Dakota governor and prospective Trump running mate Doug Burgum attempted to downplay the significance of the attack when he spoke to Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union.
Here’s Josh Marcus’s report.
White House: Trump Gestapo comment echoes ‘appalling rhetoric of fascists’
Key takeaways from the second week of Trump’s hush money trial
10:00 , Joe Sommerlad
For a more extended recap of all of last week’s proceedings in Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom – much of which was taken up by the appearance of Stormy Daniels’ ex-lawyer Keith Davidson on the stand – here’s a more complete wrap courtesy of Alex Woodward, Oliver O’Connell, Mike Bedigan and Gustaf Kilander.
Key takeaways from the second week of testimony in Trump’s hush money trial
Trump hush money trial to resume after emotional testimony from Hope Hicks
09:35 , Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial will resume at Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday morning for a fourth week, with prosecutors inching closer to introducing their star witness, the defendant’s former personal attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen.
Last week’s session ended with emotional testimony from the former president’s one-time White House communication director Hope Hicks, who recounted her experiences of serving his presidential campaign in October 2016 when the notorious Access Hollywood tape emerged, requiring damage limitation efforts from Mr Trump’s inner circle.
Here’s Oliver O’Connell and Alex Woodward’s recap of the key takeaways from Friday.
Trump hush money trial: Top takeaways as Hope Hicks testifies
Hello!
09:27 , Joe Sommerlad
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of all the latest developments from Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial.
Our very own Alex Woodward will be back at Manhattan Criminal Court this morning to bring us all the news as week four gets underway with further witness testimony.