Hush money trial day 11 highlights: Former Trump adviser Hope Hicks testifies

Before leaving for the week, Judge Merchan denied a request by prosecutors that they be allowed to ask Trump, should he choose to testify, about being held in contempt of court for gag order violations in the criminal trial.

Merchan said allowing questioning on a matter involving the very same trial would be "so prejudicial it would be very, very difficult for the jury to look past that."

Trump leaves court

On his way out, the former president spoke briefly to reporters, again decrying the prosecutors in this case and the other criminal and civil cases he's faced.

He was asked about Hicks' testimony but said he couldn't comment because of the gag order but did say the prosecutors generally "destroyed people's lives" and "I was very interested in what took place today."

Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom following a break in his trial Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/Pool Photo via AP)

Hicks wraps testimony and court ends for the day

Hicks left the witness stand after Trump lawyer Emil Bove spent just about 20 minutes questioning her. Bove treated the former White House communications director gingerly, calmly inquiring after she became emotional at the start of his cross-examination.

Bove used his brief questioning to underscore the defense's contention that Cohen was acting as a lone wolf, without the blessing of Trump or his campaign, when he paid $130,000 to buy Stormy Daniels' silence about her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

Bove elicited testimony from Hicks that Cohen sometimes went rogue in his service to Trump, that he wasn't officially part of his campaign — though he sometimes tried to insert himself into campaign matters — and that he was known as a "fixer" only because he was "fixing things" he'd already broken.

Hicks noted that Cohen wasn't in any of the Trump Tower meetings with Trump and campaign staff following the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape and, in fact, may have been out of the country at the time.

Defense says it is appealing judge's ruling on gag order violations

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche indicated in comments in court that the former president is appealing the judge's finding this week that he violated his gag order.

Blanche noted that they took particular issue with penalties for what are known as reposts — instances where Trump shared someone else's post with his followers.

"We're appealing but we accept the order of the court," Blanche said.

Hicks describes Trump's emotions in wake of 'Access Hollywood' leak

Trump lawyer Bove returned to the day of the "Access Hollywood" tape release, asking Hicks to characterize how Trump was feeling at that moment. She obliged, giving one of her longer answers of the day.

"President Trump really values Mrs. Trump's opinion and she doesn't weigh in all the time but when she does it's really meaningful to him," she said. "He really, really respects what she has to say. I think he was really concerned about what the perception of this would be and yeah I know that was weighing on him."

"I don't think he wanted anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed by anything happening in the campaign," she continued.

As she spoke, Trump appeared to nod slightly, his gaze fixed on the witness box.

Before cross-examination, Hicks recalled what Trump told her about Cohen paying Stormy Daniels

Before Trump's lawyers began their cross-examination, prosecutors concluded their questioning by asking Hicks to describe what Trump told her about a conversation he had with Michael Cohen in February 2018. That was right after Cohen told The New York Times that he — Cohen — had paid the $130,000 to Daniels out of his own pocket.

Hicks said Trump told her Cohen said he "felt like it was his job to protect him and that's what he was doing and he did it out of the kindness of his own heart and he never told anybody about it."

Under questioning by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, Hicks conceded that such an act would be "out of character" for Cohen. "I didn't know Michael to be an especially charitable person or selfless person," she said.

But, even as Trump claimed he never knew about the payments, Hicks said her old boss had eventually come to believe the decision to bury the story before the election was prudent.

"Mr. Trump's opinion was that it was better to be dealing with it now and it would've been bad to have that story come out before the election," she said.

Hicks is back on the witness stand

A recess was called after she started crying on the witness stand.

'Your honor, can we take a break?' Trump lawyer Bove asked

Merchan then asked Hicks if she needed time. Hicks had turned away from the microphone and appeared to be breaking down in tears.

"Yes," she said gently.

Merchan then sent the jury out of the room. Hicks left a moment later, still emotional as she slipped out a side door.

Cross-examination began, then recess called after Hicks started crying

Judge Merchan called a sudden recess as Hicks started crying on the witness stand when Trump lawyer Emil Bove started to ask her a question reflecting on her time at the Trump Organization.

Hicks says Trump was 'concerned' about wife Melania viewing article on McDougal's hush money deal

Hicks said she spoke with Trump on Nov. 5, 2016, the day after the Journal article was published.

She testified that he "was concerned about the story. He was concerned about how it would be viewed by his wife, and he wanted me to make sure the newspapers weren't delivered to their residence that morning."

Asked if Trump was also worried about the story's effect on the campaign, Hicks testified that everything they spoke about during that time was viewed through the lens of the campaign, with Trump often asking her, "How is it playing?" as a way of gauging how his appearances, speeches and policies were landing with voters.

Hicks testified that she was almost certain Trump used the phrase to express concern about how the Journal story would affect his election chances and the final days of his campaign.

Jurors see texts between Hicks and Cohen after the Enquirer' McDougal deal was revealed

Hicks was asked about text messages she exchanged with Cohen immediately after the publication of The Wall Street Journal's story about the National Enquirer's parent company buying the rights to McDougal's story.

One message, displayed for jurors, showed Hicks requesting Cohen share a phone number for David Pecker, the president of parent company AMI.

"Mr. Trump wanted to speak with him," she testified.

In another message, Cohen informs Hicks he has a "statement by Storm denying everything and contradicting the other porn stars." Hicks testified she didn't know what Cohen was referring to "and I didn't want to know."

Both Cohen and Hicks were initially pleased by what Hicks described as a "muted" reaction to the Journal story.

"It wasn't being picked up in the same way that something like the 'Access Hollywood' tape was," she said. "It wasn't wall to wall coverage."

Hicks says Trump told her to deny claims by Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels to WSJ

Hicks resumed testifying after a lunch break, with a prosecutor focusing his questions on the Trump campaign's response to a Wall Street Journal story published days before Election Day in 2016 that exposed the National Enquirer's $150,000 catch-and-kill deal with McDougal.

Hicks testified that Trump requested that she convey to the Journal reporter who'd contacted her for comment that he denies McDougal's claims of an affair and porn actor Daniels' claims of a sexual encounter with him, which were also mentioned in the article.

"The denial was from Mr. Trump for both women," Hicks testified.

As is standard practice, the Journal contacted Hicks prior to the publication of the article and included Hicks' statement in the story.

She read a portion of her denial, as printed in the Journal, on the witness stand: "Hope Hicks, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, said of the agreement with Ms. McDougal: 'We have no knowledge of any of this.'"

Hicks recalled that Trump and Cohen spoke by phone after the story was published, but that nothing stood out from the call.

Hope Hicks has returned to the witness stand

And the jury has entered the courtroom for the resumption of testimony following the lunch break.

Trump back in the courtroom after lunch break

Trump smiled broadly as he walked back into the courtroom and surveyed the gallery.

Former President Donald Trump walks into the courtroom following a lunch break during the proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Hicks says Enquirer publisher told her McDougal deal was for magazine covers

Before the lunch break, Hicks testified that after striking out with Kushner in her bid to have Rupert Murdoch delay the Wall Street Journal story about AMI buying the rights to McDougal's story, she called Cohen and then, at his suggestion, Pecker.

Hicks testified that she didn't really remember what Cohen said to her, but "there was a reason I called David next."

"I think Michael sort of feigned like he didn't know what I was talking about and that we should connect with David to get more information," Hicks testified.

Asked about her conversation with Pecker, Hicks said she "asked what was going on, why was I receiving this email?" -- referring to the request for comment she'd received from the Journal reporter.

"He explained that Karen McDougal was paid for magazine covers and fitness columns and that it was all very legitimate and that's what the contract was for," Hicks testified.

Trial breaks for lunch

Hicks will return to the stand around 2:15 p.m. ET.

Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters as he left the courtroom for lunch but flashed a thumbs-up.

Hicks asked Jared Kushner to try to delay publication of story about former Playboy model

On Nov. 4, 2016, four days before the election, Hicks said she received a request for comment from a Wall Street Journal reporter for a forthcoming story about American Media Inc. buying the rights to Karen McDougal's story that she had an affair with Trump years earlier.

Immediately, Hicks said she reached out to Kushner - in hopes he could use his connections to Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the Journal's parent company, News Corp., to help delay the story, Hicks testified.

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2018, file photo, White House Adviser Jared Kushner waves as he arrives at the Office of the United States Trade Representative in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - Rupert Murdoch introduces Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the Herman Kahn Award Gala, in New York, Oct. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

"He had a very good relationship with Rupert Murdoch and I was hoping to see if we could buy a little extra time to deal with this," she said of Kushner.

Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, told her that he likely wouldn't be able to reach Murdoch in time, Hicks testified.

Hicks describes hearing Daniels' name come up in discussion about celebrity golf tournament

She testified that she first heard Stormy Daniels' name uttered on Trump's plane about a year before Cohen struck a deal with the porn actor to silence her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.

In November 2015, Hicks said, she heard Trump and some of his security detail "telling a story about a celebrity golf tournament and some of the participants in the tournament and her name came up."

The way the story went, Daniels "was there with one of the other participants that Mr. Trump played with that day," Hicks testified.

In the final weeks of Trump's 2016 campaign, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about what she says was an awkward and unexpected sexual encounter with Trump at a celebrity golf outing in Lake Tahoe in July 2006. Trump denies having sex with Daniels.

Hicks asked Cohen to help dig into rumor of another tape

In the aftermath of the "Access Hollywood" tape's release, Hicks said she asked Cohen, then a lawyer for Trump, to chase down a rumor of another potentially damaging tape.

Hicks said she wanted to be proactive in seeking out the supposed tape because "I did not want anyone to be blindsided."

She asked Cohen to call a friend of his in the media — whom she did not identify — and ask about the existence of the tape and, if there was a tape, when the campaign could expect it to be published.

"There was no such tape regardless, but he sort of chased that down for me," Hicks said.

How Republicans reacted to the 'Access Hollywood' tape at the time

Prosecutors read through a series of statements put out by prominent Republicans - including then-Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney - in response to the "Access Hollywood" tape, asking Hicks whether she recalled the various condemnations. She appeared increasingly irritated by the line of questioning as it went on.

Asked about remarks from then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan calling the tape "sickening," Hicks replied tersely: "I don't remember that but it sounds like something he would say."

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., pauses as he gives a farewell speech in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Hicks talks about storms caused, and obscured, by the 'Access Hollywood' revelations

Hicks testified that the political firestorm that ensued after the release of the tape was so strong, it knocked an actual storm out of the headlines.

"It was intense. It dominated coverage, I would say, for the 36 hours leading up to the debate," Hicks testified, referring to an important debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton that Trump had been preparing for when the news broke.

Hicks said that at the time she received an email from a Washington Post reporter around 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2016, informing her of the looming publication of a story revealing the tape, the news was dominated by a Category 4 hurricane that was charging toward the East Coast.

"I don't think anybody remembers" where that hurricane hit, Hicks said.

Hurricane Matthew, which had hit Haiti and Cuba as a Category 4 storm earlier in the week, made landfall in the U.S. in South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane on Oct. 8, the day after the tape was made public.

Hicks describes Trump's initial opinion on the 'Access Hollywood' tape leak

Hicks said that he felt "this wasn't good, but it was also like two guys talking privately, locker room talk."

"It wasn't anything to get so upset over," she said of Trump's feelings. "Certainly he didn't want to upset anybody. He felt like this was pretty standard stuff for two guys chatting with each other."

'This was a damaging development,' Hicks testified

Hicks said after receiving The Washington Post's request for comment, she next went to a conference room on a different floor of Trump Tower where Trump and a group of his aides and advisers were doing debate preparations.

She said she called over Jason Miller and others close to Trump and, as they huddled, it was clear to Trump "something was afoot." She said she read some of the email and attached transcript to Trump.

"He said that didn't sound like something he would say," Hicks testified. She said Trump was upset.

"Fair to say he was as mad as you had ever seen him?" Colangelo asked. A Trump lawyer then objected and Judge Merchan prevented Hicks from answering.

Asked her first reaction to the tape, Hicks said she was "a little stunned," adding that "it was definitely concerning."

"I had a good sense to believe this was going to be a massive story and that it was going to dominate the news cycle for the next several days," Hicks testified. "This was a damaging development."

Asked why she was so concerned, she testified: "It just didn't feel like the kind of story — obviously it wasn't helpful — but there were just a lot of layers to it that complicated where we wanted to go with the campaign. This was just pulling us backwards in a way that was going to be hard to overcome."

Jurors see 'Access Hollywood' transcript; Hicks describes her response

"I was concerned, very concerned," Hicks said, speaking slowly. "Yeah. I was concerned about the contents of the email. I was concerned about the lack of time to respond. I was concerned that we had a transcript but not the tape. There was a lot at play."

Hicks said she then forwarded the request to other campaign leadership, including Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, with the recommendation to "deny, deny, deny."

The transcript of the conversation, which was attached in an email from a Washington Post reporter, was not read aloud in court, but was shown on monitors visible to jurors. Hicks was asked to read portions of the transcript to herself before responding.

Trump sat stone-faced as the transcript appeared on screen, whispering at points to his lawyers.

Prosecutors contend that the tape, which emerged just days before a debate, jolted Trump's campaign and hastened his then-lawyer Michael Cohen's hush money deal with porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.

Hicks recalls Trump's interactions with the National Enquirer publisher David Pecker

Hicks testified that she doesn't remember if she was involved in the August 2015 Trump Tower meeting where Pecker said he told Trump and Cohen he'd be the "eyes and ears" of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign by helping identify negative stories so they could be suppressed.

"I don't have a recollection of that, but it's certainly possible," Hicks said.

Pecker testified last week that Hicks was present for some of the meeting, and Hicks said Friday that she'd frequently pop in and out of Trump's office while he was meeting with other people.

Hicks recalled some of Trump's other interactions with Pecker, including phone calls in which then then-candidate praised the publisher for articles critical of his political rivals.

She testified that she had a "vivid recollection" of hearing Trump on the phone with Pecker congratulating him on a National Enquirer article about medical malpractice allegations against Dr. Ben Carson. Another time, Trump called Pecker to compliment a negative article about U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

"Mr. Trump was just congratulating him on the great reporting," Hicks testified. Sometimes he would say things like "this is Pulitzer worthy," Hicks added.

Trump 'was responsible' for his campaign's media strategy, Hicks testifies

In response to a question by prosecutors about the extent of Trump's involvement in the campaign's media strategy, Hicks didn't mince words.

"I would say that Mr. Trump was responsible," she says. "He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, and we were all just following his lead."

Before Hicks took stand, jury was given Trump responses to 'Access Hollywood' tape

Before Hicks took the stand, the court saw and heard some of Trump's response to the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape in October 2016.

They included a video he posted to Twitter in which he apologized and called the video a "distraction from important issues we face today," and a tweet in which he called his comments in the 2005 video "locker room remarks."

Jurors also heard about a March 2023 Truth Social post in which Trump said he "did nothing wrong" and included a derogatory nickname for Stormy Daniels. In the post, he referred to Cohen, his ex-lawyer, as a "convicted liar and felon jailbird" and stated: "Never had an affair with her. Just another false acquisition by a sleazebag."

In another social media post, he maintained "Nothing ever happened with these women" and "No one has more respect for women than me."

How Hicks followed Trump from real estate to politics

Hicks described the sudden transition from working for the Trump Organization to working for a presidential campaign.

"Mr. Trump one day said we're going to Iowa and I didn't really know why," Hicks recalled.

When Trump later said she would be his press secretary, Hicks said her first thought was that he "might be joking."

"I had no experience and worked at the company, not the campaign, so I didn't take it very seriously," she said. "Eventually I started spending so much time on the campaign that I became a member of the campaign and I was the press secretary."

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks waves to the crowd after President Donald Trump asked her to come to the stage during a campaign rally at the Ocala International Airport, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, in Ocala, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Hicks talks about the Trump Organization

Colangelo used the start of Hicks' testimony to give jurors a window into Trump's real estate company, the Trump Organization, including its personnel and even the physical layout of its offices.

Hicks worked there before joining Trump's campaign and administration.

Colangelo quizzed Hicks on other Trump Organization figures, including Trump's longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller, his former executive assistant Rhona Graff, ex-chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and ex-lawyer turned key trial figure Michael Cohen. He also asked her to describe what she meant by the "26th floor," the section of Trump Tower where Trump and other executives had their offices.

Hicks speaks highly of Trump

The former adviser is speaking about Trump in glowing terms, complimenting him multiple times in the first few minutes of her testimony.

She described him as a "very good multi-tasker, a very hard worker." Asked who she reported to while working as communications director for the Trump Organization, Hicks said, "Everybody that works there in some sense reports to Mr. Trump. It's a big successful company but it's really run like a small family business in some ways."

Hicks, who currently has her own communications consulting firm, is testifying under a subpoena and, unlike other former Trump employees, is paying her lawyers herself.

Hicks says she's 'really nervous'

"Is this close enough? I'm really nervous," Hicks said as she adjusted the microphone at the witness stand.

She's being questioned by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo.

Former Trump adviser Hope Hicks takes the witness stand

Trump tilted his head toward her and watched as she got on the stand, with no visible expression.

Trump pays gag order fine

Trump has paid his $9,000 fine for violating the gag order in his hush money criminal trial.

The former president paid the penalty Thursday, ahead of a Friday deadline. Trump's legal team supplied the court clerk's office with two cashier's checks, one in the amount of $2,000 and one for $7,000.

Judge Merchan ordered Trump to pay the fine after holding him in contempt of court and finding that posts he made online about his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen, porn actor Stormy Daniels and the complexion of the jury had violated the gag order.

Merchan is weighing a prosecution request to hold Trump in contempt again and fine him $1,000 for each of four more alleged violations last week. Merchan has warned Trump that he could be jailed if he keeps breaching the gag order.

Paralegal explains how she used National Archives to verify Trump's social media accounts

A government agency at the heart of Trump's separate classified documents criminal case got a name drop at his New York hush money trial.

Before the break, Longstreet testified that she used the National Archives and Records Administration's archive of the official presidential Twitter account to help verify the authenticity of Trump's account.

Longstreet noted that Trump's official government account, @POTUS45, frequently reposted tweets from Trump's @realdonaldtrump account.

There was no visible reaction from Trump to the mention of the National Archives, whose pursuit of records he took from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after his 2020 election loss led to charges alleging that he illegally hoarded classified documents.

Trial takes a morning break

During the break, Trump conferred for a few minutes with his lawyers about a potential agreement with prosecutors regarding what evidence can be shown to jurors. He then stood with a frown and walked to the rail to speak with his adviser, Boris Epshteyn, who stood in the first row of the gallery.

The next witness is a paralegal from the Manhattan district attorney's office

Georgia Longstreet has been assigned to the Trump case for the past year-and-a-half. Her role has been to review publicly available records relevant to the case, including Trump's social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Truth Social.

Defense raises questions about key recording played in court

Picking up where he left off on Thursday, Bove plied Daus, the forensic analyst, with a set of deeply technical questions meant to suggest Cohen may have doctored a 2016 recording played in court the previous day.

As evidence, Bove noted that the audio cuts off suddenly, as well as "gaps" in the chain of custody of the phone that Daus agreed were "not ideal."

Prosecutors say the abrupt ending of the recording was the result of Cohen receiving another call. Under questioning from Bove, Daus said there was no record of an incoming call in the phone's metadata -- but said it would be difficult to say for sure without looking at call log data from Cohen's phone carrier.

"In many ways, we're just going to have to take Michael Cohen's word for it, aren't we?" Bove said.

"Yes," Daus replied.

With that, Bove concluded his cross-examination.

Trump's attorney invokes 'Weinstein decision' to keep out evidence

Before testimony resumed, Judge Merchan ruled to prevent prosecutors from showing the jury a photograph of Trump with Billy Bush and soap opera actor Arianne Zucker at the time of the infamous "Access Hollywood" recording.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche had asked for the image to be excluded from the trial, pointing to a recent court decision overturning former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction. In that case, the appeals court ordered a retrial because the judge had allowed testimony at trial unrelated to the allegations.

Merchan said the appeals court decision "doesn't really factor into this" case, noting the ruling had not laid out any new law, but nevertheless agreed to block prosecutors from introducing the photograph.

Prosecutors had said the image would help establish the timeline of the revelations about the "Access Hollywood" tape, in which Trump could be heard bragging about grabbing women without permission.

Merchan has previously ruled the 2005 tape cannot be played in court for jurors, but said prosecutors can still question witnesses about the recording.

Forensic analyst who examined Michael Cohen's phones is back on the stand

Trump lawyer Emil Bove has resumed cross-examination questioning of Douglas Daus, a forensic analyst at the Manhattan district attorney's office who extracted recordings, text messages and other evidence from two of Cohen's iPhones.

Judge also clarifies that the gag order won't stop Trump from testifying

Judge Juan M. Merchan started the trial day also by clarifying that Trump's gag order doesn't prohibit him from testifying on his own behalf, apparently responding to comments the former president made after court the day before.

"The order restricting extrajudicial statements does not prevent you from testifying in any way," Merchan said, adding that the order does not in any way limit what Trump says on the witness stand.

Merchan directed his comments to Trump and his lawyers, saying it had come to his attention that there may have been a "misunderstanding" regarding the order.

Trump speaks about gag order, testifying before going into court

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Friday, May 3, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Speaking to reporters before heading into court, Trump clarified comments he made the day before about the gag order, saying it does not stop him from testifying in the case but that the order stops him from "talking about people and responding when they say things about me."

After court Thursday, Trump had responded to questions about what he'd thought of the day's testimony by saying, "I'm not allowed to testify. I'm under a gag order," causing some confusion. The gag order bars him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the case.

He also commented on the latest job numbers showing that U.S. employers scaled back hiring in April and said they're "horrible."

Trump arrives at courthouse

The former president's motorcade has arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan.

Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday,, May 3, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)

Former Trump adviser Hope Hicks could testify as soon as today

That's according to two people familiar with the matter.

Hicks served as Trump's 2016 campaign press secretary and spoke with Trump by phone during a frenzied effort to keep his alleged affairs out of the press in the final weeks before the election. Hicks later held various roles in his White House, including communications director.

The two people who described her forthcoming appearance to The Associated Press insisted on anonymity to discuss internal trial preparations.

In this Feb. 27, 2018 photo, White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, arrives to meet behind closed doors with the House Intelligence Committee, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Trump headed to court for another day of his trial

The former president's motorcade has left Trump Tower.

"What have we done?"

Jurors also heard more than six hours of crucial testimony this week from Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels in their negotiations with Cohen and the National Enquirer — the tabloid that bought and buried negative stories in an industry practice known as "catch-and-kill." Davidson on Thursday described being shocked that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to Trump winning the 2016 election.

"What have we done?" Davidson texted the then-editor of the National Enquirer on election night when it became clear that Trump was going to win. "Oh my god," the tabloid editor responded.

What this case is about

Donald Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to bury stories that he feared could hurt his 2016 campaign.

How long will this trial go on for?

Jury selection began April 15. A jury of seven men and five women, plus six alternates was chosen for the case.

Witness testimony began on April 22. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.

A recording and a tabloid

A recording played Thursday was secretly made by Michael Cohen shortly before the 2016 election. Cohen is heard telling Trump about a plan to purchase the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story from the National Enquirer so that it would never come out. The tabloid had previously bought McDougal's story to bury it on Trump's behalf.

Here's what you missed this week in the trial

Former President Donald Trump exits the courtroom during a break from his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)

Prosecutors have spent the week using detailed testimony about meetings, email exchanges, business transactions and bank accounts to build on the foundation of their case accusing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election. They are setting the stage for pivotal testimony from Cohen, who paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence before he went to prison for the hush money scheme.

Week two of the Trump hush money trial comes to a close

Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)

The prosecution's star witness has yet to take the stand in Donald Trump's hush money trial. But jurors are already hearing Michael Cohen's words as prosecutors work to directly tie Trump to payments to silence women with damaging claims about him before the 2016 election.

The second week of testimony in the case will wrap up Friday after jurors heard a potentially crucial piece of evidence: a recording of Trump and Cohen, then his attorney, discussing a plan to pay off an ex-Playboy model who claimed to have an affair with Trump. The former president denies the affair.