Trump trial live updates: Witness reads out texts detailing how the Stormy Daniels hush money deal was done

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Donald Trump’s former White House executive assistant Madeleine Westerhout returned to the stand on Friday as the third week of evidence in the hush money trial drew to a close.

The longtime aide testified about her work in the Oval Office and her close relationship with the former president.

Judge Juan Merchan rejected calls from the presumptive Republican nominee’s lawyers for a mistrial late on Thursday over Daniels’ salacious testimony about ‘spanking’ Trump with a magazine and having sex without a condom.

Trump has denied 34 counts of falsifying business records by hiding the reimbursement to former lawyer Michael Cohen over the $130,000 he paid Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair.

Cohen is expected to testify himself on Monday, setting up a brilliant showdown in court.  

Follow all the action from DailyMail.com’s reporters in the courtroom.

Court gets a moment of levity over ‘tedious work’ as paralegal’s cross-examination begins

The prosecution’s questioning of Jarmel-Schneider wrapped up with him walking through a records chart that showed the invoices, vouchers and checks in the case that coincide with the 34 charges.

Emil Bove is conducting cross examination.

Laughter rang out in the court as Bove asked: ‘Is it tedious work?’

‘Honestly, I kind of enjoyed it,’ he responds to laughter throughout the courtroom.

‘I hear that. Respect,’ Bove says shrugging.

It was a moment of humor during some testimony that has left people in the court yawning and struggling to pay attention.

Stormy Daniels trolls Trump after testimony

Stormy Daniels trolled Donald Trump and his legal team after her six-hour testimony in the hush money trial.

‘Real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court. Oh…wait. Nevermind,’ the porn star said on Thursday night on X.

The adult film actress’ dig came after Trump’s defense lawyers asked for a mistrial based on her salacious testimony about the alleged tryst in a hotel room in 2006.

Judge Juan Merchan denied the request, and asked why Trump’s lawyers didn’t object to her claims they had sex without a condom.

The former president has denied having an affair with Daniels.

Trump highlighting printed sheets as phone records are read out

Trump appears to be hunched forward in his seat while they review phone records.

He’s reading something else and was highlighting some lines at one point.

Jaden Jarmel-Schneider is next witness to testify

Jaden Jarmel-Schneider is a paralegal in the Manhattan DA’s office who reviews records.

Trump reads printed news articles and appears to be zoned out from testimony

Trump is sitting at the defense table reading a pile of what appear to be news articles about the case.

He’s chewing something – popped something into his mouth.

The former president is clearly zoned out and not interested in this line of testimony.

Former US President Donald Trump walks to the courtroom after a break in his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 10, 2024. Trump is accused of falsifying business records in a scheme to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with adult film actress Stormy Daniels to shield his 2016 election campaign from adverse publicity. (Photo by Curtis Means / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CURTIS MEANS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The long week in court is showing for some jurors

As the paralegal reads through texts, some members of the jury are following along, but others appear to be sinking into their seats.

One yawns, another looks around the room. One man looks like he’s struggling to stay awake.

Trump closes his eyes during Longstreet’s testimony, but he is nodding his head

Donald Trump’s physical movements during testimony have been a point of focus during the trial.

The former president has been caught with his eyes closed on multiple occasions, sparking claims he is asleep.

Both today and yesterday, he has done it more frequently.

The presumptive nominee has denied napping during proceedings.

Georgia Longstreet is now reading more texts between Stormy Daniels’ publicist Gina Rodriguez and National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard into record.

They were also brought up during Daniels’ six-hour testimony.

Read more about them below.

Longstreet is reading through social media posts from Donald Trump

Prosecutor Rebecca Mangold is asking Georgia Longstreet to read aloud Twitter posts from @RealDonaldTrump.

The posts are dated from April, May and August of 2018. In them, Trump first says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is not going to ‘flip,’

In other ones, he attacks Cohen.

‘If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!’ one reads.

In another thread, Trump also tweets about Stormy Daniels’ NDA.

Trump appears to hunch over to read his old tweets off the screen before him as Longstreet reads.

Georgia Longstreet returns to witness stand

Georgia Longstreet works for the Manhattan’s district attorney’s office as a paralegal.

She has been reviewing documents and social media posts related to the case.

Longstreet is being questioned by prosecutor Rebecca Mangold.

Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal in the Manhattan District Attorney?s office, testifies at former U.S. President Donald Trump's criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. May 3, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

Court resumes from short break

Donald Trump walked back into court where he looked around the room including in the direction of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.

Bragg has retaken his seat two rows back from prosecution table.

Court is on a short break

Donald Trump stood up and walked out of the courtroom for a break passing close to where Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was standing.

He appeared to avoid making eye contact as he walked up the aisle.

Trump did acknowledge Fox News’ Jeanine Piro, touching her shoulder as she sat near the aisle on his way out.

Jennie Tomalin’s testimony wraps up

Tomalin was cross-examined quickly by defense attorney Emil Bove.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg appears in court

From Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in court:

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg entered the courtroom this morning.

He walked in carrying a brown folder and sat down a few rows back from the prosecution table.

He is watching Jennie Tomalin from Verizon testify about telephone records.

Bragg has visited the courtroom for the hush money trial before but has not sat in to observe most of the case.

Donald Trump continues to look forward as testimony continues.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg speaks about arrests at university campus protests in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Next witness: Jennie Tomalin

Jennie is a senior analyst at Verizon.

She is testifying about records in the hush money case.

Prosecutors introduced records of twelve phones from 2015 to 2017. One set of records belonged to Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer at the Trump Organization.

Lawyers work to distance Trump from personal expense decisions while at White House

Donald Trump’s defense attorney Susan Necheles asked Madeleine Westerhout a series of questions during cross-examination that show his team is trying to distance the ex-president from some of the personal finance decisions made while he was in the White House.

At one point, Necheles asked ‘would you see him signing things without reviewing them?’

‘Yes,’ Westerhout said.

Former Director of Oval Office Operations Madeleine Westerhout is cross-examined by defense attorney Susan Necheles during former U.S. President Donald Trump's criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S., May 10, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

‘Would you see him signing checks without reviewing them?’

Necheles also suggested Trump was multitasking while signing checks at the White House – taking phone calls and meetings with people.

‘We was a person who multitasked?’ Necheles asked.

‘Yes,’ Westerhout confirmed.

epa11330036 Former US President Donald Trump speaks with attorney Susan Necheles (R) as he walks to the courtroom following a break in his hush money trial at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, in New York City, USA, 09 May 2024. Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.  EPA/ANGELA WEISS / POOL

Next witness is Daniel Dixon

Daniel Dixon works for AT&T where he is a lead compliance analyst.

He is being questioned by prosecutor Chris Conroy.

Madeleine Westerhout testimony concludes

Madeleine Westerhout has left the witness stand.

Westerhout says Trump was ‘very upset by’ Stormy Daniels story

Madeleine Westerhout testifies that she did have a conversation with Donald Trump after the story about Stormy Daniels came out.

She recalls that he was ‘very upset by it.’

Westerhout says that it was her understanding that he felt the story would be ‘very hurtful to his family.’

She says however that he did not specifically speak about his family in that conversation.

Cross-examination focuses on contacts, emails and process of Trump receiving personal mail

Susan Necheles is asking a series of questions about the transition during the start of Trump’s presidency.

Westerhout is testifying about how the president would receive mail which was a very slow process due to security. She also confirms that things would get lost.

Necheles asks ‘Wasn’t that a problem about getting personal mail to Trump to the White House?’

‘Yes,’ Westerhout says.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 2: Madeleine Westerhout watches as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with North Korean defectors in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, Feb. 02, 2018. President Donald Trump talked to reporters and members of the media about the release of a secret memo on the F.B.I.'s role in the Russia inquiry. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

She confirms they were trying to figure out way for Trump and Melania to get mail promptly.

Idea came up that mail would be sent to Keith Schiller, Westerhout confirms.

Schiller would bring them in and give them to her, and she would give them to Trump.

Who is Madeleine Westerhout and why was she fired from the White House?

Donald Trump’s longtime executive assistant Madeleine Westerhout spoke warmly of her old boss on the stand on Thursday.

But her exit from the White House was more acrimonious, and the reminder sparked her to cry on the stand.

She was fired in 2019 after bragging to reporters that she had a better relationship with Trump than his own daughters Ivanka and Tiffany.

Reports suggested at the time that she didn’t like being in photos with Tiffany, because she was perceived as overweight.

Westerhout worked extremely closely with Trump as his Director of Oval Office Operations and knew intimate details about his family and schedule.

Her departure may have been mired in tension, but it appears she has since mended her relationship with Trump.

Madeleine Westerhout is seen with President Donald Trump in her Facebook cover photo.

Madeleine Westerhout returns to the witness stand for cross-examination

Madeleine Westerhout served as Donald Trump’s executive assistant in the White House.

She is wearing a cream silk blouse and a black jacket in court.

Westerhout is being cross-examined by defense lawyer Susan Necheles.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 09: Madeleine Westerhout, a former Trump executive assistant, departs Manhattan Criminal Court on May 09, 2024 in New York City. Stormy Daniels, whose alleged sexual encounter with Trump is at the center of this case, concluded her testimony in former U.S. President Donald Trump's hush money trial. The day ended with Madeleine Westerhout, a former Trump executive assistant, on the stand who will be back when the trial commences. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 2: Madeleine Westerhout watches as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with North Korean defectors in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, Feb. 02, 2018. President Donald Trump talked to reporters and members of the media about the release of a secret memo on the F.B.I.'s role in the Russia inquiry. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Donald Trump returns to the courtroom

From U.S. Senior Political Reporter Sarah Ewall-Wice in court:

Donald Trump is back in the courtroom after slamming his ‘horrible gag order’ to reporters staged outside.

He also touted his rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, Saturday.

When he reached the defense table inside the courtroom, he appeared to slam his papers down.

He’s joined in court by Boris Epshteyn today.

Why did Trump’s lawyers not object to Stormy Daniels’ condom evidence?

There was puzzlement on Thursday – not least from Judge Juan Merchan – as to why Donald Trump’s lawyers did not object to Stormy Daniels’ salacious evidence that he did not wear a condom during their alleged sexual encounter.

The judge, referring to Trump lawyer Susan Necheles, said: ‘Why on Earth she wouldn’t object to the mention of a condom I don’t understand.’

Andrew Weissman, a former federal prosecutor, puts foward the theory that it was ‘calculated gamesmanship’ by the defense not to object. He tells MSNBC:

I can’t say for sure, but every bone in my body tells me this is calculated on the defense part. This is not sort of ‘Oh, we forgot to object’. Susan Necheles is really experienced. She doesn’t forget to object. So when you have gamesmanship, I mean, they want this in the case.

Wait until summation. They (the defense) are going to say in summation, ‘They (the prosecution) wanted this to be as salacious as possible because they don’t have a case and they wanted to bring in all of this stuff.’

Photography still banned in the courtroom

After a photographer took a photo from an area where they were not supposed to, the ban on photography in the courtroom remains in place.

Talks continue to see if photographers can make a return.

For the first few weeks of the trial, photographers were allowed in the courtroom at the start of the day to take photographs of Donald Trump at the defense table.

Trump departs Trump Tower en route to court sporting his famous red tie

Trump is en route to the courthouse for Day 15 of his criminal hush money trial.

Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen is expected to testify himself on Monday, setting up a brilliant showdown in court.

He is likely to be on the stand for several days.

Cohen’s recounting of events is central to the case, which hinges on the $130,000 hush money payment he paid porn star Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about her sexual encounter with Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election.

FILE - Michael Cohen arrives at New York Supreme Court Oct. 25, 2023, in New York. Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Cohen was once a fierce Trump ally, but now he's a key prosecution witness against his former boss in the Trump hush money trial. Cohen worked for the Trump Organization from 2006 to 2017. He later went to federal prison after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations relating to the hush-money arrangements and other, unrelated crimes. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

Donald Trump’s former executive assistant has revealed that Melania Trump was ‘definitely the one in charge’ in her marriage to Donald Trump.

In dramatic testimony to Trump’s hush money trial Madeleine Westerhout said the former first couple had a ‘special relationship’ founded on ‘mutual respect’.

When he was president Trump would call his wife from the Oval Office and ask her to look down from a window in the White House residence.

And when he was leaving on a helicopter he would call her to ‘check in’.

Judge Juan Merchan gave a brutal dressing down of Donald Trump’s defense lawyers in front of the former president Thursday as he denied their motion for a mistrial in the hush money case Thursday afternoon.

It was the second motion for a mistrial from the defense this week after scandalous testimony from porn star Stormy Daniels about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

In his call for a mistrial, lawyer Todd Blanche called Stormy Daniels’ testimony ‘extraordinarily prejudicial’ and noted that even the judge had agreed some of the testimony was ‘unnecessary.’

‘It almost defies belief that we’re here about a records case and the government is asking about an incident that happened in 2006,’ Blanche argued referring to Daniels’ testimony on Tuesday about rolling up a magazine and spanking Trump with it nearly 20 years ago.


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