Historical Crime Trial Against Donald Trump Continues in New York City: Latest Updates and Developments

The former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has returned to New York City after a day of campaigning, and court cases are starting again in the historical crime trial against him.

Thursday, the 10th day of the test opened in Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, where Trump is accused of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the middle of the 2016 presidential race.

These records are said to relate to hush money payments he is accused of making to adult film star Stormy Daniels, to buy her silence.

Daniels has said that she and Trump had an affair, although the former president has denied any sexual connection between them. He has too to deny a crime against the criminal charge.

Prosecutors, however, hope to prove that Trump deliberately tried to bury stories like Daniels’ to influence the outcome of the 2016 vote, which he ultimately won.

Each week, the trial takes a break on Wednesday, and Trump used his day off to campaign in the critical battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, while seeking re-election this November.

But even there, far from New York, it was clear that the trial was on Trump’s mind. “There is no crime. I have a crooked judge. He’s a completely controversial judge,” Trump told supporters at the Wisconsin stop.

The former president’s tendency to speak out on issues related to the trial, however, was at the heart of Thursday’s proceedings, as Judge Juan Merchan the day began with questions about whether Trump had violated the gag order imposed by the court.

Here are five takeaways from the day’s deals, including new ones witness witness:

Former President Donald Trump used his day away from court to campaign in Freeland, Michigan, as well as Waukesha, Wisconsin [Paul Sancya/AP Photo]

Prosecutors seek more Trump fines

By the mid-week break, the prosecution in the case had received a major coup: Judge Merchan agreed to fine Trump $9,000 for statements he made in violation of a court-filed gag order.

The order asks Trump to avoid making statements about witnesses, jurors, court personnel or other trial participants that could intimidate them or interfere with the case in another way.

But prosecutors said they had more violations of the gag order to review, and a return to court opened Thursday with those charges.

Four examples were presented to the court. One, about National Enquirer editor David Pecker, was quickly dismissed by Judge Merchan.

But Merchan had a heated exchange with Trump’s defense team over a different comment he made about the composition of the jury. On April 22, Trump told a right-wing TV network that the jury was “95 percent Democratic.”

“It’s a very unfair situation, I can tell you,” he said.

While Trump’s defense argued that the televised comment was protected speech, Judge Merchan expressed skepticism.

“He talked about the jury, right?” Merchan said, speaking directly to attorney Todd Blanche. “He said that the jury was 95% Democrats and that the jury was rushed through and that is the effect that this is not a fair jury.

Prosecutors also asked the judge to review comments Trump made in the hallway outside the courtroom itself, questioning the credibility of key witnesses such as the his former law partner, Michael Cohen.

“The defendant is talking about witnesses and the jury in this case, one right outside this door,” prosecutor Christopher Conroy told the judge. “This is the most critical time – the time when the move forward must be protected.”

No decision had been made on whether the four comments violated the gag order by late Thursday.

Former President Donald Trump shakes after visiting a Manhattan firehouse on May 2, following his court appearance [Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo]Davidson returns to finish his testimony

Davidson returned for a second day of testimony, as prosecutors pressed him for details about alleged “capture and kill” schemes to suppress negative coverage of Trump during the 2016 presidential race.

In the courtroom Thursday, prosecutors showed text messages Davidson exchanged with a National Enquirer editor on election night 2016. “What did we do?” Davidson wrote in one.

“This is kind of gallows humor,” Davidson said, referring to the text. He said: “There was an understanding that our efforts may have somehow – hit that – our actions may have somehow helped Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.”

But the defense team tried to portray Davidson as an unreliable witness who was involved in peddling celebrity gossip – and extracting a big payday.

“You were very good at coming up to the line without hating, right?” Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove asked Davidson, who replied: “I had known the law.”

A new witness takes the stand

The second witness to testify Thursday was a forensic analyst for the district attorney’s office, Douglas Daus.

He was there to describe the contents of two cell phones that Cohen, a former Trump lawyer, surrendered to law enforcement.

Daus revealed that one of the phones had 39,745 calls – an “unusual” amount, he told the court.

“I’ve never seen so many callers on the phone,” he said.

But Daus took the witness stand specifically to confirm suspicious tapes Cohen made on his phone, capturing his interactions with his then-client Trump.

Prosecutors played excerpts from those recordings for the court Thursday, including a segment where Trump and Cohen appeared to discuss hush money payments.

“I’m going to have to open a company to transfer all that information about our friend, David,” Cohen was recorded saying, referring to David Pecker, publisher of the National Enquirer.

Meanwhile, Trump was heard saying, “What are we going to pay for this? One hundred and fifty?”

The two continue to discuss the best way to pay the amount: in cash or by check.

The judge slows down a request to review Trump’s posts

Necheles referred to the gag order, which prevents Trump from speaking out about certain aspects of the trial. She said the order created confusion about what Trump could or could not post on his Truth Social account.

“When in doubt, steer clear,” advises Merchan.

Former President Donald Trump greets firefighters with two pizza boxes on May 2, after his court appearance [Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo]

Trump addresses reports that he is sleeping in court

Trump remained tight-lipped about the lawsuit, saying at the end of the day that he was “very happy with the way things are going.”

But on his Truth Social account, he vented his frustration with the court proceedings, revisiting past allegations that the trial was a way to re- postpone election.

“These are all Crooked Joe Biden Tests,” he wrote in one post, referring to his Democratic opponent in the November vote. “ELECTION POINT!!!”

In another post, he took aim at both the district attorney who brought the case and media reports that suggested he fell asleep during the day’s proceedings.

“Despite the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I will not be falling asleep during the Crooked DA witch hunt, especially not today,” he wrote. “I just close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intently, and take it ALL in!!!”

Several news outlets have reported that Trump was seen closing his eyes and bowing his head during the trial, sometimes with his mouth hanging ajar for several minutes.