Former president Donald Trump‘s criminal trial is off today for its recurrently scheduled weekly break, however the defense will proceed its intense cross examination of witness Stormy Daniels Thursday morning.
On Monday, the start of week 4 of the trial, prosecutors said they were roughly halfway through their case, in response to NBC News. Trump complained that the trial is taking too long while leaving the courthouse Monday, however the court, because the trial began, has estimated the proceeding will take six to eight weeks.
Trump is on trial for 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors try to point out that he covered up reimbursements to former lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid Daniels $130,000 in 2016 to remain quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Here’s what to know on the midpoint of the trial’s fourth week:
Make amends for the trial:From Hope Hicks to Karen McDougal, here’s a guide to the Trump trial witness list
Trump’s hush money trial transcripts, evidence and witnesses
Stormy Daniels is the thirteenth witness called to the stand. See the complete witness list.
The court is publishing transcripts and evidence from every day’s proceedings, which develop into available by the tip of the next business day.
The transcript of Daniels’ testimony to this point is more likely to be published on the Latest York State Unified Court System’s media website by the close of business on Wednesday.
Trump trial schedule
The hush money trial is anticipated to last six to eight weeks, in response to a court media advisory. Proceedings often start at 9:30 a.m. and run through the business day.
Court is out on Wednesdays, and Judge Juan Merchan has ruled that the next days will likely be off days:
- May 17 – Trump requested this day without work to attend his son Barron Trump’s graduation.
- May 24 – A juror has a scheduling conflict, so Merchan said court could break that day.
- June 3 – Proceedings will likely be canceled today on the defense’s request as long as the jury just isn’t deliberating at the moment.
Week 4 to this point focused on Trump’s checks, Stormy Daniels testimony
Much of Monday’s testimony was about accounting records for payments to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Jurors saw a series of checks purportedly from Donald Trump to Michael Cohen. They form a central a part of prosecutors’ narrative that Trump was reimbursing Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and falsifying records about it.
Tuesday took a dramatic turn when Daniels took the stand. She testified intimately about their alleged sexual encounter in 2006, saying Trump greeted her in silky pajamas, posed on the bed in his underwear while she was in the toilet, and that she was shaken after it was over.
Trump’s lawyer requested a mistrial after Daniels’ morning testimony, saying it might be “not possible to return back from.”
But Merchan denied that request, saying there have been “guardrails” in place for her testimony.
Daniels briefly discussed the hush money deal and the way the entire thing became public, before the prosecutor turned her over to Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheles.
Cross-examination seemed to be off to a combative start, as they discussed the cash Daniels was ordered to pay Trump in a lost defamation lawsuit. At one point, Daniels testified at Necheles’ prompting that she hates Trump. They may proceed questioning Thursday morning.
