Highlights: Trump trial judge admonishes defense witness for 'side eye' and clears press from courtroom

Judge Merchan chastised defense witness Robert Costello and threatened to strike all of his testimony in an exchange that took place after the judge unexpectedly had reporters removed from the courtroom.

"I’m putting you on notice that your conduct is contemptuous," the judge told Costello, according to the court transcript released this evening. "If you try to stare me down one more time, I will remove you from the stand."

The schedule has been in a bit of a tumult today. When the trial wrapped last week, Judge Merchan told the lawyers to be prepared to deliver closing arguments this Tuesday. But before testimony even resumed this morning, the end of the trial had already been delayed by another week.

That’s because it wasn’t clear whether witness testimony was going to be finished by the end of the day today and whether there would be enough time for closing arguments, jury instructions and then deliberations to begin before the long holiday weekend. So Merchan made the decision to let witness testimony conclude this week and then take off for the holiday.

Then, another twist got added to the mix when the defense and prosecution argued over entering a photo from a C-SPAN video. To be able to enter the photo, the prosecution asked to bring in another witness, requesting to do so tomorrow. But Trump’s lawyers got mad, saying they had two witnesses waiting and wanted to conclude today. Eventually, they reached an agreement.

Trump exited the courtroom and complained about Judge Merchan clearing the courtroom to admonish a defense witness.

"The press is not happy, I don’t imagine, they just got thrown out of a courthouse. Nobody has seen anything like it," Trump said.

Trump also complained that he wasn't able to call an expert witness to discuss federal election law. Courts generally oppose legal witness testimony since it's the court that interprets the law in a case.

Judge Merchan has dismissed the court for the day and said it will reconvene tomorrow at 9:30 am ET.

Judge Merchan said he will wait to decide on Trump lawyer Todd Blanche's motion to dismiss the case.

Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche argued that the case can't be decided based only on Cohen's testimony.

“There is no way the court should let this case go to the jury relying on Mr. Cohen’s testimony," Blanche told the judge.

Blanche went on to say that Cohen has lied to the court repeatedly about his congressional testimony, and that Cohen's entire testimony in the case should not be considered because of his "history of lying under oath."

As is routine, the court is now hearing arguments from the defense that the case should be dismissed because the prosecution failed to prove a crime.

Judge Merchan responded to Trump's lawyer Blanche saying that because Cohen has lied in the past, his entire testimony should be tossed out: “Do you think that he’s going to fool 12 New Yorkers?”

Costello went on to describe Cohen as a "drama queen" while answering questions about meeting Cohen following the FBI's raid of his home, office and hotel room.

Costello testified that when it happened, Cohen was "suicidal that day and very manic."

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Costello if he thought Cohen was a drama queen for his response. Costello answered that he didn't know Cohen at that time, and thought "he was putting on quite a show."

The defense has made a motion to dismiss the case — saying the prosecution has failed to prove business records were falsified.

It is common for defense teams to make a motion to dismiss after the prosecution has finished completing their case.

Robert Costello, resisting prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, said he would not characterize the FBI search of Cohen's home, office and hotel room as a "raid."

Instead, Costello said it was "an execution of a search warrant." That is often the same description legal experts give when describing the search for government documents at Mar-a-Lago, to Trump's dismay.

Under cross-examination from prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Costello was asked if he had hoped Cohen would hire him as an attorney.

Costello said he met with Cohen because Jeffrey Citron scheduled a meeting. Asked if it would be a big get for his firm and a high-profile case, Costello said probably yes.

Hoffinger entered into evidence emails between Costello and his son in which Costello said he'll be on Cohen's team, noting that it wasn't public yet. His son wished his dad congratulations and said he hopes it leads to a lot of good things coming his way.

Moments after Judge Merchan cleared members of the press from the courtroom, Eric Trump tweeted that the judge “will not allow" Robert Costello to speak freely on the witness stand.

"The judges treatment of Bob Costello is truly disgraceful - he will not allow him to tell his story - the same story he told Congress - as he knows it will be devastating and end this sham trial," his post read.

Eric Trump was one of the few people present in the courtroom who was not ushered out following Merchan's admonishment of Costello. Attorneys from both sides and Trump's surrogates remained in the courtroom while members of the press were moved into the hallway.

The defense has completed the direct examination of their second witness — after suggesting they may only have two witnesses to call.

That means the defense could be near resting their case.

The judge ordered the courtroom cleared of reporters after warning Robert Costello about his responses to sustained objections.

"I’d like to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom," Judge Juan Merchan said. "You don't give me side eye and you don't roll your eyes."

Judge Merchan asked for the jury to step out of the courtroom and admonished Robert Costello, saying that he wants to discuss proper decorum.

"If you don't like my ruling, you don't say, 'Jeez,'" Merchan said, adding that Costello can't strike anything because the judge is the only person who can strike something.

"You don't give me side eye and you don't roll your eyes," Merchan said. Costello said he understands.

To Costello's visible annoyance, Judge Merchan has had to instruct him not to answer when an objection is sustained.

Even after the warning, Costello emitted a loud "jeez" after another sustained objection.

Merchan did not take well to that, responding, "I'm sorry?" A chastened Costello was silent.

Trump lawyer Emil Bove said the defense wants to focus on whether Cohen said if he knew Trump was aware of the payment to Stormy Daniels.

Costello said on the stand that Cohen said numerous times that Trump didn't know, that Cohen did it on his own and that Cohen repeated that numerous times.

Costello was visibly frustrated after multiple sustained objections cut off his testimony.

He muttered "ridiculous" to himself on the stand.

Robert Costello said on the stand that he met Cohen on April 17, 2016, at the Regency Hotel in Manhattan.

Asked what they discussed, Costello said that Cohen told him that his home and office had been searched and "he was absolutely manic." Costello said Cohen was marching back and forth in a conference room and saying that his life was shattered.

Costello said Cohen wanted him to explain his options, and Costello said he told Cohen that the type of search warrant executed was much harder to get.

Judge Merchan told prosecutors that they can cross-examine Costello on two prior inconsistent statements and said he would give some latitude on the pressure campaign.

But Merchan said he will not allow this to become "a trial within a trial" about the pressure campaign and how it affected Cohen. He said that's not the purpose of this trial.

After the jury was excused, the lawyers began arguing in open court about the permissibility of Costello’s testimony.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger argued that Costello’s testimony should be admissible only to address any prior inconsistent statements. Defense attorney Emil Bove said the prosecution opened the door to this evidence, and that they intend to rebut the prosecution's “pressure campaign” theory.

As the defense moved to call Costello, Trump remained fixated on papers in front of him.

Then, Trump put down his pen and began gazing slightly ahead with a quizzical, bemused look.

After the brief testimony of a paralegal for the defense, Trump's lawyers called Robert Costello.

Immediately, the lawyers moved into a sidebar conversation with the judge.

Costello has said he told the grand jury that Cohen told him that Trump was unaware of the payment to Stormy Daniels.

Rebecca Mangold, on cross-examination, got Sitko to acknowledge that the calls were made from the law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, but it is not clear who at the firm called Cohen and there is no way to know.

Sitko also admitted that any call to a number ending 0000 reflected a call that was not answered. Mangold also got Sitko to concede that when there were two adjacent calls from and to the law firm and then to a voicemail inbox, it was really double counting: a missed call for which the caller left a voicemail.

The point here is that Blanche’s 75 calls between Cohen and Costello were not exactly that, due to double counting, missed connections and the possibility that someone else called.

Daniel Sitko's testimony is being used to enter a chart that sums up all of the phone calls that were already admitted into evidence through prior testimony.

The chart organizes the calls as a way to make it easier for the jury to understand them, what they mean and where they fall into the case.

Daniel Sitko, a paralegal at Blanche's firm, takes the stand. The testimony is expected to be brief, after Blanche said Sitko would be used to enter a chart about phone calls.

The prosecution rested their case.

Next up, the defense may call witnesses.

Todd Blanche is grilling Cohen on whether he blames Trump for losing his law license.

Cohen responded to questions from the prosecution about how "painful" it has been as a result of speaking out against Trump. In one response, Cohen said his life "has been turned upside down."

Asked if he had faced "attacks" due to his speaking out against Trump, Cohen answered, "Yes." When asked if it's been "painful" for him and his family, he said, "Very much so."

"My life has been turned upside down," Cohen said, adding that he has lost his law license, business and financial security and his family’s happiness as a "direct result" of speaking out against the former president.

Cohen said during afternoon questioning by the prosecution that he had "no doubt" about having a conversation with Trump in which the then-candidate gave him the OK to make the payment to Daniels.

He said there was no way he could make the payment without Trump signing off on it because he wanted to ensure he would be repaid the $130,000.

In an interview with Fox News outside the courthouse, Trump's legal spokeswoman Alina Habba said: "We know he wants to testify. He is willing, he is able, he is nothing to hide at all. He’s absolutely ready to tell the truth."

Still, she said, "he's got to listen to his attorneys."

Inside the courtroom, Trump's attorneys have not provided a firm indication that their client intends to take the witness stand. Nothing is prohibiting the former president from testifying in his own defense, and he could start doing so as early as this afternoon.

The C-SPAN photo purportedly showing Trump and Schiller together when Cohen called on Oct. 24, 2016, will now be admitted after an agreement was met between the prosecution, the defense and Judge Merchan.

The picture will come in by stipulation through Cohen’s testimony; it appears no additional testimony is necessary, so a C-SPAN representative will not need to appear tomorrow morning after all. The stipulation will be read into the record and will reflect that the photo comes from the end of a video taken of the campaign event.

C-SPAN is booking travel for its witness to travel tomorrow, according to Manhattan Assistant DA Rebecca Mangold.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche complained that this is the fifth or sixth time that there has been a delay because of the DA’s office’s running out of witnesses. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass replied that Blanche’s portrayal of events is simply wrong and that they have stopped early once for a medical reason.

If time were of the essence, Judge Merchan said, he would agree with Blanche, but there is no prejudice to anyone given that the jury is already going to be out for almost a week.

It’s up to Blanche, Merchan says, to decide whether he wants to continue with his witnesses today or adjourn until tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. It also appears, based on Merchan’s statements, that he expects a charging conference tomorrow and to have a draft jury charge for the parties to review Thursday.

Rebecca Mangold, an assistant district attorney, told the court that a representative for C-SPAN will be available to testify at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow about the authenticity of the images purportedly showing Trump and Schiller together when Cohen called on Oct. 24, 2016.

Alan Dershowitz, a prominent lawyer who defended Trump during his first impeachment, and Norm Eisen, a CNN legal analyst who worked for House Democrats during Trump's first impeachment, got into a very audible back-and-forth in the courtroom just now.

Dershowitz could be heard saying that he was not attending the trial for political reasons. Court security gently asked Dershowitz to return to his seat.

Dershowitz was seated in rows reserved for Trump.

The district attorney's office represents that they only learned about the C-SPAN photos over the weekend and therefore they are last-minute additions to their case against Trump.

Blanche does not dispute that Schiller and Trump were together on Oct. 24, 2016, but says it is “patently unfair” to allow the prosecution to present this evidence after the defense had already put on their case.

Judge Merchan raises the prospect of adjourning until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow in the event the C-SPAN witness can be present in court.

The state wanted the chance to show stills from a C-SPAN video that purportedly shows that Trump and Schiller were together when Cohen called on Oct. 24, 2016. Merchan denied that request, however, sustaining the defense team's objection and ruling that "those videos cannot come in."

In the back-and-forth between lawyers, Trump's lawyer Blanche said the defense has two witnesses waiting to testify.

The trial has taken a break for lunch.

With the jury excused for lunch, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass and Trump lawyer Todd Blanche are arguing about whether the jury should see a photograph of Keith Schiller and Trump taken on Oct. 24, 2016, at 7:57 p.m., which is a still from a C-SPAN video.

Blanche is extremely animated in arguing that the admission of the photograph would be hearsay, especially since the only relevance is the date and time. That makes it an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted, Blanche insists.

Steinglass noted that the C-SPAN witness testified to their method of capturing events. To the extent that Blanche is arguing the photo is not relevant, the photo shows Trump and Schiller walking off the stage together at 7:57 pm, raising the prospect that, as Cohen testified, he could easily have spoken to both of them.

Blanche denies disclaiming that Trump and Schiller were together that night.

Hoffinger asked Cohen about an episode when he used an artificial intelligence program to fake cases that his attorney included in a filing requesting early termination of his supervised release.

Cohen, for the second time in his testimony, explained that he went on the AI platform Google Bard to research relevant cases. The platform gave him cases that appeared to be legitimate, so he sent them along to his lawyer to work into the filing.

"I ultimately sent it to my current lawyer and she noticed that these cases were not legit, they were create by an AI program, which wants to please the user," Cohen said in part. "It created these hypotheticals, and she immediately notified me they were wrong and we should notify the court, to which I said to her: Absolutely, please do."

The defense appeared to be trying to make a point by pressing Cohen to testify that he never signed a retainer agreement with Robert Costello but did speak at length with him. Those conversations would still have attorney-client privilege even though Cohen never hired him.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now asking Cohen about his waiver agreement with SDNY through which he waived any privilege with Costello.

In that waiver agreement, which Cohen signed in 2019, Cohen says “Costello sought to represent me in connection with the SDNY Investigation and presented me with a retainer agreement."

"I declined to sign the retainer agreement and informed him that I was already represented. . . . [A]t no time did I sign a retainer or otherwise agree to retain Costello, nor did I ever consider Costello … to be my attorney," Cohen continued.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Cohen if the NDA with Stormy Daniels was legal and Cohen said it wasn't — undoing a point that Blanche had tried to hammer.

Asked if he pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation in connection with paying off Stormy Daniels, Cohen said he did.

This is a point that the prosecution is like to also keep trying to hammer, pointing to that guilty plea as the underlying crime they say Trump was trying to hide when the business records were changed.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche finished questioning Cohen without asking about a meeting Cohen said happened in the Oval Office in early 2017.

Cohen said it was in this meeting that the reimbursement plan was confirmed — a key point for the state's case as it reaffirms the former president's knowledge of a scheme prosecutors say established the cover-up.

In response to prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asking Cohen what Red Finch did for Trump, Cohen said the technology company was asked to assist in a CNBC poll about the most famous businessmen in the last century.

Cohen said Trump’s name was on that list but was at the bottom, which upset him. Cohen said he reached out to Red Finch, which assured him that they were able, through various IP addresses, to make Trump rise in the poll.

Cohen testified that he told Trump, and that they spoke about what number he should be, so as long as he was in the top 10 he would go to the next round of the poll. Cohen said he advised the CEO of Red Finch to start acquiring IP addresses, and purchased more and more.

Ultimately, when the poll came to its conclusion, Cohen said Trump was No. 9 on the list.

A group of Trump surrogates spoke outside the courthouse while protesters screamed, drowning out certain allies' statements by yelling out words like "liar" and "traitor" and booing loudly.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson was the first to speak, telling the crowd that he was there because he chose to be, because "prosecution matters."

"I wanted this country to understand that prosecutors around the country are calling the sham trial exactly what it is: a sham trial," Wilson said.

"When I was the prosecutor in South Carolina, I was taught that a real prosecutor doesn't prosecute people. They prosecute conduct. What we're seeing today is the prosecution of a person because of who he is," the attorney general continued.

The prosecution’s redirect begins by attempting to restore Cohen’s credibility on the 2016 call he had with Trump and his ability to negotiate the hush money payment with Stormy Daniels.

“Were you too busy in October 2016 to get Trump’s approval on the Stormy Daniels payment?” prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks.

“No, ma’am,” Cohen replies.

Susan Hoffinger, one of the prosecutors, has started her redirect examination of Cohen.

"I have no further questions," Blanche told Merchan.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche asked Cohen, "Do you have a financial interest in the outcome of this case?"

"Yes, sir," Cohen said.

Asked again if Cohen will benefit financially from a conviction, Cohen said no, it's better if Trump is not found guilty because it "gives me more to talk about in the future."

Cohen, responding to questions from Blanche, confirmed that he's thinking about writing a third book and launching a congressional bid.

In addressing Blanche's questions, Cohen said his name recognition would help in a hypothetical run for Congress. He pushed back on the suggestion that he would simply be coasting off his links to the former president, saying in part: "My name recognition is because of the journey I have been on and it is associated with Trump."

Blanche replied: "Your journey has included daily attacks on Trump?"

Cohen's answer: "My journey is to tell my story."

Law professor Alan Dershowitz, center left, and Bernard Kerik, a former New York city police commissioner, listen to Trump outside the courtroom today.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over Trump’s classified documents case in Florida, has granted his request to not be required to attend a hearing in Florida on Wednesday.

Cannon said counsel for Trump must attend, but Trump himself does not.

Cannon this month indefinitely delayed the trial because of multiple pretrial issues that have yet to be resolved.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche asked Cohen a series of questions about how much he made in certain years and where it came from.

Asked how much he made in 2017, besides what Trump paid him, Cohen said about $4 million from consulting. He confirmed that he made another $420,000 from Trump.

Asked how much money he made in 2018, Cohen said about $4 million from the 2017 to 2018 period.

Cohen said that he's made about $4 million annually from books and podcasts, including $3.4 million from two books he wrote. He said he's not making a significant amount of money off of TikTok, and while he's not pitching a TV show about himself, someone else is exploring the idea.

Cohen acknowledged he was still talking to Costello by June 23, 2018, and expressed a concern over “nonpayment” to his lawyers at McDermott Will & Emery, which had sent “significant invoices” to the Trump Organization but which were “not being paid in accordance with the invoices.”

Cohen says he expressed to Costello that the nonpayment was becoming an issue and asked that Costello have Giuliani pass that on to Trump. (In this line of questioning, Blanche is inadvertently calling attention to Trump's history of not paying people such as building contractors.)

Blanche is asking Cohen about his conversations with multiple people cited in a 2018 Wall Street Journal article, including his family, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and his college friend Steve Croman.

Croman is a real estate landlord who has drawn harsh criticism for his alleged treatment of tenants. Earlier this year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state had reached a $514,000 settlement with Croman for allegedly defrauding renters.

Blanche is asking Cohen about his conversations with multiple people after the Wall Street Journal article came out in 2018, including his family, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and his college friend, Steve Croman, as Croman was serving jail time.

Cohen told all of these people, at the time, that Trump knew nothing about the payment, and in some cases, even recorded himself talking to various reporters.

With his cross-examination this morning, Blanche is using Cohen's repeated denials to create doubt about the veracity of Cohen's testimony now.

Cohen testified that a man named Imaad Zuberi wanted to hire him and he declined. Zuberi was later prosecuted by the Justice Department for lobbying and campaign finance-related crimes.

Blanche is grilling Cohen over a string of consulting contracts he signed in 2017, including one with the telecoms giant AT&T. Cohen confirmed that Trump introduced him to the then-CEO of AT&T, but he conceded he never told the former president about these clients.

Cohen testified that, at some point, Trump asked about his fixer's consulting work. "He was frustrated you signed a deal with AT&T?" Blanche said.

The prosecution objected to the question. The judge sustained the objection.

The jury is having a tough time; jurors are rubbing their eyes, holding their head in hands and shifting in seats.

Cohen admitted that among the legal work he did in 2017 as personal attorney to Trump, he served as co-lead counsel with Mark Kasowitz in a litigation. That data point could elevate Cohen as a lawyer in jurors’ minds.

Cohen also previously testified that he spent fewer than 10 hours total in 2017 doing legal work for Trump. His active assistance with legal matters — including helping with serving subpoenas on the State Department — seems to contradict that testimony and is an area for potential clean-up by the DA’s office when prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is up again on redirect.

Blanche elicits an admission from Cohen that while Trump’s job changed, his didn’t.

This was a good moment for the defense. Blanche will use this to back up a key defense theme: that Cohen did, in fact, function as Trump’s personal lawyer and was paid as such despite their never executing a retainer agreement, as had been the case historically. 

While Trump is at the defense table, his eyes are closed for the most part and his chin is jutting toward Cohen.

Trump's surrogates, which today includes several members of Congress and a state attorney general, are upright and watching the proceedings closely.

Law professor Alan Dershowitz is also in the courtroom, and can be seen resting his hand by his face while watching Blanche press Cohen on his specific recollection of events during the days after the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape, how he was repaid by Trump for the payment to Daniels, and his acknowledgement that he stole from the Trump Organization.

Trump’s senior aides, seating by his allies in the gallery, glance up from their cellphones on occasion.

Trump lawyer Blanche showed Cohen an email from former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to Cohen in January 2017, around the time of Cohen’s admitted last day at the company. The email itself says: “Thank you. You never stopped on for a bro hug. Anyway please prepare the agreement we discussed so we can pay you monthly.”

In this exchange, Blanche is reminding Cohen that he previously testified that he and Weisselberg had an agreement there would never be any retainer agreement. Blanche seems to think this is a big “gotcha” moment, but it does not quite go over that way, at least in the overflow room.

Trump lawyer Blanche pressed Cohen about the money paid to RedFinch not adding up to the total that the Trump Org. gave him to make the payment.

Blanche said to Cohen that he gave Red Finch $20,000 and he took $30,000. "You stole from the Trump Organization, right?"

"Yes, sir," Cohen testified, adding that he never paid the amount that he owed. He added that he discussed this with both federal and state prosecutors.

Cohen had previously testified that he received some immunity by testifying before the grand jury.

Blanche pressed Cohen on the $20,000 he paid to the owner of RedFinch, a tech company that had done work for Trump. Blanche asked Cohen how he paid the firm, and the ex-fixer replied: "I went to TD Bank and took out cash over a couple of days, I just didn't want to take out $20,000."

Cohen could not recall the exact increments for the cash withdrawal. Blanche asked Cohen whether he had a "duffel bag of cash" for the RedFinch owner, and Cohen said no, it was "a brown paper bag."

"He came to the office and I gave him the cash," Cohen said.

Blanche is quite worked up, suggesting that he thinks he is about to disprove that Cohen’s retainer was always a fiction.

Cohen is being asked about pastor Darrell Scott, a Black community leader who continues to be an adviser to Trump.

Cohen separately acknowledged that on Oct. 26, 2016, he spoke multiple times with representatives for a relative of Martin Luther King Jr. who endorsed Trump.

All that was happening the week that Cohen was negotiating and finalizing the Stormy Daniels settlement.

There have been portions of testimony elicited by both the prosecution and the defense in this trial that feel disjointed and out of place at the time, but the lawyers need to get them into evidence to use during closing arguments.

The hope is that it all comes together in the end, but in the meantime, the jury is left to sit and wonder.

So far Cohen has been looking directly at Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, while testifying, not the jury.

Several of the jurors appear to be looking around the audience and watching the door to the courtroom as several people cycle in and out — appearing less than engaged in this stretch of the cross-examination.

The difficulty this morning will be that while these proceedings are important for the jury to understand due to the complex nature of this case, the line of questioning is at times very hard to follow.

Pressed by Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, Cohen acknowledged that he met with Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., in 2019, when Goldman was a congressional aide, to prepare for prior congressional testimony.

Cohen also admitted to lying during that testimony.

The implication is that even when prepped by a federal prosecutor-turned-congressman, Cohen lies.

Blanche’s questioning of Cohen reached a crescendo last week as the defense lawyer forcefully grilled the ex-fixer about his history of false statements and other contested issues. It’ll be interesting to see whether Blanche can build back to that level of intensity today.

Cohen acknowledged speaking to reporters after Thursday’s court day ended, but says it was not about the case.

This year alone, Cohen says it’s possible he met with prosecutors more than 20 times, and closer to 20 than 12.

Trump's former fixer is expected to face more cross-examination from Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche.

We're on Day 4 of Cohen's testimony.

Some of you reading this might be wondering, “Why are we having this extensive conversation about an election law expert’s testimony?”

It’s because a felony falsification of business record charge requires not only that the prosecution prove Trump had an intent to defraud (through the false business records), but also had an intent to commit or conceal another crime, whether or not that crime is completed or even committed by him.

Prior to trial, Judge Merchan found that the District Attorney's office had alleged three underlying crimes that could be a part of their case at trial: violations of federal campaign finance law, state election law or state tax law.

At trial, however, the prosecution has made clear that their primary theory of the case is based on Trump’s intent to conceal his violation of New York Election Law 17-152, which prohibits conspiracies to promote the election of a particular person through “unlawful means” and where at least one act is taken toward that goal.

Here, the prosecution seems to be arguing that Trump, Pecker, Cohen et al. conspired to promote Trump’s election through the two unlawful campaign contributions that Cohen and AMI made. In other words, the unlawful means were campaign contributions in violation of federal law.

Lots of legal analysts and political pundits (who may or may not know much about the law) have opined about the prosecution's decision to charge Trump with a felony by relying on a part of the law that says documents were altered to cover up another crime.

Critics have said that the prosecution failed to show exactly what the underlying crime was. Prosecutors have alluded to two crimes that they could invoke, one being federal election law (that Cohen pleaded guilty to violating for the hush money payments) and the other being a New York state law.

Merchan was in the process of explaining his ruling on a particular piece of expert witness testimony when Trump lawyer Emil Bove tried to interject. Merchan quickly admonished Bove.

"Just relax," Merchan told Bove.

Judge Merchan said there was an application last week seeking testimony from Brad Smith, who the defense wanted to interpret certain phrases and definitions pertinent to federal election law.

They wanted him