Trump’s porn star hush-money trial enters week four: Here’s what’s happened so far

For three weeks, Donald Trump has jumped between the campaign trail and Manhattan Supreme Court, where he faces 34 felony counts for falsifying obligation records, in order to conceal hush-money payments to a porn star during his previous White House run in 2016.

Wednesdays are Trump’s unchained day from the proceedings, and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee used his most recent midweek respite to galvanize his establish in swing states Wisconsin and Michigan with a very clear message: He’s got a “crooked,” “corrupt,” and “totally conflicted” review in his “fake trial” in New York.

He also bragged to supporters that he’s seen a bump in the polls thanks to the raft of desperado charges against him.

It has to be a harrowing pace for the 77-year-old, though he has denied multiple reports that he’s fallen asleep over again in court, saying that he is “simply” closing his “beautiful blue eyes” and listening “intensely.”

The historic hush-money pilot, which still has another three to five weeks to go, marks the first-ever criminal trial of an ex-U.S. president. It is also the before all of four separate criminal cases against him.

As the trial enters its fourth week, here are the highlights thus far.

Umpire Juan Merchan doesn’t care if Trump speaks out against him in public, like he did to crowds in Waukesha, Wisconsin and Freeland, Michigan on Wednesday.

Merchan has also premised the defendant a pretty long leash with respect to airing grievances with the press and on the campaign trail in the matter of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, President Joe Biden, and other political foes — so long as the presumptive presidential candidate doesn’t touch the topic of jurors, likely witnesses in his case, and staff and family members of the court and the DA’s office.

The purchase order also does not, despite Trump’s protestation to the contrary, bar him from testifying in his own defense.

Thus far, prosecutors say Trump has breached the kind of narrow gag order fourteen times.

On Tuesday, April 30, the judge held Trump in contempt for repeatedly outraging the gag order, warned that he could be put in jail if he again willfully violates court orders, fined Trump the extreme punishment of $1,000 for each of the nine violations, and ordered him to take down the posts from Truth Social and his push website.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy called Trump’s statements “corrosive” to the proceedings, but said the government was “not yet seeking jug” because prosecutors “prefer to minimize disruptions.”

The judge has not yet ruled on whether Trump violated the gag order another four times. Severally though, Merchan has, on a few occasions, admonished the former president for intimidating jurors with his conduct in the courtroom, including give someone the high signing and side comments.

The prosecution’s case hinges on convincing the jury that Trump try ones hand ated to “corrupt the 2016 election” by making illegal payments — transactions which he subsequently covered up by faking records, in yet another criminal act. The defense contends that Trump was not involved with any of this criminal record-keeping and that he only signed the verifies.

The specific payment trail in question relates to money that Trump apparently sent to his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, to compensate him for paying off porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, ahead of the election. At the time, Daniels wanted to go public with her scoop of having sex with Trump years earlier while he was married.

To make its case, the government began by calling to the be the former CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media.

David Pecker was integral to the alleged “catch and kill” tactic, which was designed to shape the public narrative around Trump during the campaign by containing damaging information hither him.

Pecker testified that his publication would “embellish” negative stories about Trump’s political rivals during the 2016 choice, in addition to publishing positive stories about Trump.

Pecker, who spoke on the allude to b support about his unofficial role as being the “eyes and ears” of the campaign, named Cohen as central to this operation.

American Average paid $150,000 to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, another woman who wanted to share her story of an extramarital amour with Trump. Pecker, who said that he purchased the story in order to bury it, said that Trump in no way reimbursed the company.

The Daniels exchange was different, because the exchange of cash touched Cohen and Trump.

The prosecution called in Trump’s longtime personal secretary Rhona Graff, who stated that Trump had the contact information for McDougal and Daniels saved to his phone. Banker Gary Farro described how he worked with Cohen to get $130,000 into a In the beginning Republic bank account — money which was ultimately used to pay Daniels through her attorney in exchange for her silence.

Keith Davidson, the prehistoric lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, took the stand to portray the negotiations that took place in 2016 for the rights to both of their stories.

In his testimony, Davidson described his dealings both with American Media and with Cohen. Calls recorded between Davidson and Cohen were also frisked for the jury.

And then, on Friday, Hope Hicks took the stand to talk about the infamous “Access Hollywood” reel that threatened Trump’s presidential run a few weeks before election Day. Trump is heard in the tape bragging about procreant misconduct toward women.

The former White House communications aide, whose testimony followed that of either other observers, said she was “very concerned” when the Washington Post reached out in October 2016 to seek comment.

“Everyone was honest absorbing the shock of it,” said Hicks, who later broke down in tears.

She added that the initial strategy was to “controvert, deny, deny.”

Davidson, who brokered the $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels, testified that the tape led to billow of interest in her story of an alleged extramarital affair with Trump.

The judge denied Trump’s request to miss court for a day to hark to oral arguments last month about whether the former president is immune from federal prosecution on immoral election interference charges.