The fourth week of Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial in New York has come to an end, and prosecutors hinted they would soon end their case.
However, on Friday, prosecutors continued to call a line of witnesses, seeking to bolster their case that Trump, a former US president, intentionally falsified business documents in an effort to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
The documents in question concern an alleged hush payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who alleged that she and Trump were having an affair.
Trump has denied having sexual relations with Daniels, but in 2016, his former lawyer Michael Cohen transferred $130,000 to Daniels to buy his silence.
The checks to reimburse Cohen for the payment were classified as “legal expenses,” a label that prosecutors say was designed to conceal their true purpose. As a result, Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Trump's defense team, however, has denied any wrongdoing and said the former president was simply seeking to avoid embarrassment to his family. He has also requested that a mistrial be declared.
Here are five main takeaways from day 15 of the criminal trial, the first in history involving a U.S. president:
Trump aide returns to witness hand
The first witness to take the stand Friday was a familiar face: Madeleine Westerhout, who appeared a day earlier to testify about how Trump handled his affairs while in the White House.
Westerhout, a former White House aide who served as Trump's personal assistant, explained that the then-president regularly received envelopes from New York with checks to sign.
But as cross-examination progressed Friday, Westerhout was pressed about the details she presented and whether she could have been aware of the precise business matters Trump was addressing.
Trump defense attorney Susan Necheles also asked Westerhout about the amount of work the then-president did each day.
“Would you see him signing things without checking them?” Necheles asked at one point.
Westerhout replied: “Yes.” He also testified that Trump was worried about how rumors of an affair with Daniels would affect his family.
“My understanding was that he knew it would be detrimental to his family,” Westerhout said, echoing a centerpiece of the defense's argument.
Trump's lawyers have maintained that the former president did not seek to influence the 2016 election, but rather to protect his wife and children from news that could cause them discomfort.
Technical witnesses complete the day
Four more witnesses took the stand after Westerhout, testifying about technical aspects of the case and other evidence gathered.
Among them were two representatives of major telephone services: compliance analyst Daniel Dixon of AT&T and Jenne Tomalin of Verizon.
They briefly authenticated phone records, tracing communications between key figures in the trial, such as Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization.
Friday's final two witnesses came from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office: Georgia Longstreet (a familiar face on the stand) and Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, both paralegals.
Longstreet reviewed social media posts and text messages on behalf of the district attorney's office.
During Friday's testimony, he read aloud text messages that Daniels' manager, Gina Rodriguez, exchanged with an editor at the National Enquirer tabloid in 2016, before accepting a hush payment from then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. .
Meanwhile, Jarmel-Schneider spoke about the data collected from Cohen's phone.
He discussed, for example, why a recorded conversation between Cohen and Trump (apparently about a hush payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal) appeared to be so brief: Cohen had another incoming call.
Prosecutors also used Jarmel-Schneider's testimony as an opportunity to put on screen the 34 documents Trump allegedly falsified — the basis of the case.
Larry King interview excluded from evidence
During breaks in witness testimony, prosecutors tried to convince Judge Juan Merchán to allow into evidence a 1999 interview between Trump and CNN personality Larry King.
The interview contained a segment in which Trump claimed to be familiar with campaign finance laws, something prosecutors hoped to use to bolster their case that he knew his actions were illegal.
But the defense argued that a 1999 interview had little relevance to a case based on events in 2016, when campaign finance laws had changed.
Judge Merchan ultimately sided with the defense. The 1999 interview, he said, was “too watered down” because of the long lapse of time between the events in question.
Cohen attacks Trump from TikTok
Another matter before the court was the question of Cohen's presence on the social media platform TikTok.
Cohen is a key prosecution witness. He is expected to testify Monday that Trump himself ordered his hush money to Daniels and that the former president also ordered the subsequent falsification of business records.
The defense, however, has tried to shift the blame away from Trump, saying any criminal activity was Cohen's fault.
Cohen and Trump have had a bitter relationship in recent years. Cohen left Trump's employ in 2018 and the two men traded lawsuits over legal fees and breach of trust.
During the trial, Trump was under a court-imposed gag order prohibiting him from speaking against any witnesses, including Cohen. But he has violated that gag order multiple times, including by calling Cohen a “liar” and sharing an article calling him a “serial perjurer.”
But on Friday, Judge Merchan focused his attention on comments Cohen himself was making on TikTok, attacking Trump.
The defense team had asked the judge to issue a separate gag order against Cohen to stop his comments.
“It's becoming an issue every day that President Trump is not allowed to respond to this witness, but this witness is allowed to continue speaking,” said defense attorney Todd Blanche.
Prosecutors, however, argued that they had little control over what Cohen said in his free time.
Judge Merchan, however, issued a stern warning. Prosecutors, he said, should tell Cohen “that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any further statements” about Trump.
“That comes from the bench,” he added.
Two more prosecution witnesses are missing
Friday's court proceedings ended with a recognition that the prosecution's case is coming to an end.
Attorney Joshua Steinglass told the court that the prosecution hoped to call two more witnesses and then potentially end the case.
“It's entirely possible” that the prosecution could finish presenting evidence next week, Steinglass said.
However, next week is expected to be short: The court takes a midweek break every Wednesday, and on Friday, May 17, Trump requested the day off to attend his son Barron's graduation.
After Friday's hearing ended, Trump left the room and spoke to the press, denouncing the prosecution's case as a “scam.”
He complained that the court relied on events that occurred years ago, in 2016, and that the charges came in the middle of his current re-election campaign.
“It's all false. The whole case is false,” he said as he left the court for the day.
