Recap of today's proceedings

The third week of former President Donald Trump's hush money case is in the books. Here's a recap from today's proceedings.

Witnesses: Three witnesses testified today. Douglas Daus finished his testimony, he processes digital evidence for the Manhattan's District Attorney's office. Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal for New York County's DA's office, briefly took the stand. Prosecutors then called former Trump aide Hope Hicks to testify. She was one of Trump's closest advisers during his 2016 campaign and presidency and appeared in court under a subpoena.

When the defense began their cross-examination, Hicks broke into tears and asked to take a break before Trump attorney Emil Bove could ask more about her time with the Trump Organization.

Throughout her testimony, Hicks smiled politely at times, offering flattering commentary about her former boss and reminiscing about the "great" campaign she worked on. But when it came time to leave the courtroom, she did not look at Trump and kept her eyes on the floor while walking past the defense table.

Sandoval hearing: Judge Juan Merchan ruled that if Trump testifies, prosecutors cannot ask the former president about the gag order violations. Merchan said it would be "very prejudicial" for the jury to hear that he held Trump in contempt.

Overview: Over the last two weeks, prosecutors have called nine witnesses to testify. With Hicks completing testimony today, prosecutors are clear to call their next witness.

Court will resume on Monday at 9:30 a.m.

Trump: "I was very interested in what took place today"

Former President Donald Trump addressed the press as he walked out of the courtroom Friday afternoon. Trump declined to comment to a question about Hope Hicks, citing his gag order, later saying, "I was very interested in what took place today."

He also slammed The New York district attorney's office and "radical left," saying they've been "after us for years... they've destroyed people's lives."

Court adjourns

Court adjourns for the week.

Judge: If Trump testifies, prosecutors can't question him about gag order

Judge Merchan rules that the DA's office cannot question Trump about the gag order violations in this case if he decides to testify.

"I agree with Mr. Blanche," the judge said, adding that it would be "very prejudicial" for the jury to hear that he held Trump in contempt.

Hicks: Trump "really values" Melania's opinion

Trump "really values" his wife Melania's opinion, Hicks testifies. The former president "really respects" what his wife has to say and though she didn't weigh in all of the time, it was "really meaningful" to him when she did, Hicks said.

Trump didn't want anything happening during the campaign to hurt or embarrass his family, Hicks believed.

This concludes her testimony. Hicks kept her head down as she walked past Trump, who looked up at her from the defense table.

Hicks begins to cry as Trump's attorney begins questioning

Trump attorney Emil Bove is leading the cross-examination, and says he will begin by asking Hicks about her role at the Trump Organization. Hicks started to cry. Court is taking a break and Hicks just stepped out.

After a few minutes, Hicks returns to the stand and watches the jurors as they walk past her. It appears that she glanced at Trump quickly while he stood for the jury. Bove tells Hicks to let him know if she "needs a minute." Hicks smiles and shakes her head.

When asked if Hicks felt that she had Trump's trust and respect, she answers "yes." She is now discussing her time at the Trump Organization, saying she "really looked up" to Rhona Graff, a longtime Trump assistant. Graff briefly testified last week.

Hicks confirms that Cohen was not part of the campaign in any official capacity, but that he would "try to insert himself at certain moments" and did things in "a voluntary capacity because of his interest."

"He liked to call himself fixer or Mr. Fix-It and it was only because he first broke it," Hicks says of Cohen.

Trump appears to nod along as Hicks recalls how he likes to give press feedback.

"He does a really good job of managing relationship," Hicks says, adding that Trump's "willing to engage with the media even if he doesn't think his treatment is always fair."

"I was only on one campaign but it was a great one," Hicks says with a smile.

Hicks: I don't know Cohen to be an "especially charitable person"

Hope Hicks is being questioned about the statements of denial she gave the Wall Street Journal for the story about former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Immediately after the story was published on Nov. 4 2016, Hicks and Cohen text about whether or not it's being picked up by other outlets. On Nov. 5 , Cohen tells her it's "getting little to no traction." Hicks tells him, "Keep praying!! It's working!"

Cohen responds, "Even CNN not talking about it. No one believes it and if necessary, I have a statement by Stormy denying everything and contradicting the other porn stars statement. I wouldn't use it now or even discuss with him as no one is talking about this or cares!"

Hicks says of Trump, "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 that the newspapers weren't going to deliver it to their residence that morning."

Trump later tells Hicks that Cohen paid Stormy Daniels to protect him from a "false allegation."

"That Michael felt like it was his job to protect [Trump] and that's what he was doing," she recalls. "He did it out of the kindness of his own heart. He never told anyone about it." Asked if this is something she believed Cohen would do, Hicks says, "I would say that would be out of character for Michael."

"I didn't know Michael to be an especially charitable person or selfless person," she says.

The prosecution has wrapped up its questioning and the defense is up.

Attorney: The jury "will believe" Hope Hicks

Good afternoon, it's just after 2:15 p.m. and court is back in session.

Former top Trump aide Hope Hicks will now resume testimony. Hicks was one of Trump's closest advisers during his 2016 campaign and presidency. She called the former president a "very good multitasker and hard worker." In the beginning of his 2016 campaign, she and Trump were running communications. Hicks laughed saying Trump is "better than anyone at communications and branding." She was subpoenaed to appear in court.

Legal analysis: Former Manhattan chief assistant district attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo called Hicks an "incredibly powerful witness" that the jury "will believe."

"I think she is an incredibly powerful witness for the prosecution," Agnifilo told Newsweek. "[She's] a true insider who has no axe to grind, no baggage, no bias. The jury will believe her. The defense will try and neutralize her testimony."

Attorney and former deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman called Hicks a "nightmare" for the defense.

It's "useful to think of witnesses according to what the other side can say about them in closing argument," Litman wrote on X. "In that sense, Hicks is a nightmare for the defense. They can try to argue around her testimony but [it] will be extremely hard to suggest she's lying or puffing."

Read more from Newsweek's Nick Mordowanec here.

Lunch

Court is taking a lunch break.

Photos: Inside the courthouse

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Hicks was "very concerned" about Access Hollywood tape

Hicks recalls calls between Trump and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, remembering Trump praising Pecker on the Ben Carson story.

"I think he was just congratulating David on a great investigative piece," she says. "Sometimes he would say things like, 'This is Pulitzer worthy.'"

Hicks said she became aware of the Access Hollywood tape on the afternoon of Oct. 7, 2016, when she received an email from a reporter at Washington Post asking for comment.

"I was concerned, very concerned," she testifies. She forwards it to Jason Miller, David Bossie, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon, then goes upstairs to the conference room where many of Trump's top advisers were prepping for a debate. Trump was upset when he saw the video, Hicks says, "he said that didn't sound like something he would say."

Hicks worried the "damaging development" would pull the campaign "backwards." Consensus was that "this was a crisis."

The court is now being shown the video of Trump's apology. Hicks recalls that when she received the email for comment, the nation was anticipating a Category 4 hurricane, but that after the story broke, "It was all Trump."

In Trump's apology video, he signaled he'd still be at the upcoming presidential debate. Hicks testifies that Anderson Cooper, who is in the courtroom, was one of the moderators for that debate. All eyes move to Cooper when she says this. Cooper doesn't react.

Prosecutors asked Hicks if Trump saw Twitter as an important way to communicate with voters, she answers "definitely." At that time, Trump posted his own tweets or a staffer would post content that Trump approved.

Hicks says the first time she heard of Karen McDougal's name is when contacted by the Wall Street Journal. She contacts Michael Cohen and Pecker, who tells her that the contract that Enquirer had with McDougal was legitimate. While Trump is speaking at the rally, Hicks sends Cohen several draft statements from the campaign. After Trump hears what Pecker told Hicks, Trump doesn't want to use any of these drafts and chooses to write up his own response.

"I felt the point of the story was that the National Enquirer paid a woman for her story and never published it," Hicks says. "It wasn't necessarily about accusations of certain behavior."

Hope Hicks called to the stand

The prosecution has called former top Trump aide Hope Hicks as its next witness. Hicks is here under a subpoena.

She explains that she currently has no professional relationship with Trump nor is he a client of hers at this time. She recalls meeting Ivanka Trump through one of her jobs in public relations after college. Hicks began working with Ivanka's personal brand, and then the Trump family before being offered a full-time position at the Trump Organization in 2014.

Shortly after she joins, Trump tells her he's exploring a run for president. The last time she was in communication with him was summer/fall of 2022. Hicks describes Trump as a "very good multitasker and hard worker."

"He's always doing many things at once," she says. "He might be having a conversation with someone and it will remind him to follow-up on something else."

In the beginning of his 2016 campaign, she and Trump were running communications. Hicks laughs, saying Trump is "better than anyone at communications and branding."

"He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it and we were all just following his lead," Hicks says. "So I think that he deserves the credit for the different messages that the campaign focused on."

Analysis: Prosecutors could obtain a huge amount of information about Trump from Hicks' testimony, a lawyer explains to Newsweek.

"While Hicks doesn't appear to have an axe to grind with the Trumps, a seasoned prosecutor may be able to unlock a treasure trove of testimony from her," New York attorney Colleen Kerwick said.

Hicks is expected to confirm much of testimony of former National Enquirer publisher, David Pecker, who told the trial that the tabloid bought up negative stories and hid negative stories about Trump to help him get elected in 2016.

Kerwick said that Hicks is a good communicator who should impress the jury.

"She knows how to spin a narrative as a public relations executive and has a history of being well prepared for testimony," Kerwick said.

Read more from Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll here.

Next witness called: Paralegal Georgia Longstreet

The prosecution has called its next witness, Georgia Longstreet. She is a paralegal for New York County's DA's office. She testifies that she has analyzed between 25-30 social media accounts to identify relevant materials for this case. Longstreet is the eighth witness to be called.

She verifies several tweets and Truth Social posts she retrieved as part of her work. These include Trump's video statement responding to the Access Hollywood tape and his Aug. 4, 2023 Truth "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"

Asked by Trump attorney Todd Blanche if she has listened to all the episodes of Michael Cohen's Mea Culpa podcast, Longstreet says, "Absolutely not" to laughter in the courtroom.

"Some were more relevant than others and some were instructed to [be] listened to," she says.

Douglas Daus resumes testimony

Douglas Daus, the analyst from yesterday, is back on the stand and Trump attorney Emil Bove is leading cross-examination. Daus processes digital evidence for the Manhattan's District Attorney's office.

Bove brings up that there was a four-day gap from when Cohen gave consent for the data extraction and when Daus received the phones. Daus confirms that the gap was not "ideal, from a forensic perspective."

Bove asks about the audio recording we heard yesterday, asking if the metadata shows a date modified. Daus says timestamps are included in file names, so "if that audio was modified or edited" there would be a timestamp showing that it was edited. This file, however, shows the same metadata information. Bove moves to strike it as a nonresponse. Merchan: Overruled.

Context from yesterday: Daus testified that he assisted in extracting the data off of two phones belonging to former Trump fixer Michael Cohen. During his testimony, an audio clip was played for the court. The clip appeared to be a snippet of the recording Cohen took of his conversation with Trump. Trump attorney Emil Bove attacked Daus about the chain of custody of evidence, establishing that the phones had been analyzed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) back in 2018 and that Daus did not have access to the previous extraction.

This concludes Daus' testimony.

Trump: We'll be filing a lawsuit on the constitutionality of the gag order

Judge Juan Merchan begins Friday's proceedings by clarifying that the gag order does not prevent Trump from testifying. The order against the "extrajudicial statements" does not prohibit the former president from taking the stand, Merchan told the defense.

Context: After leaving court yesterday, Trump said the order meant he isn't "allowed" to testify as part of his defense.

Trump clarified his statement while addressing the press a few minutes ago, saying, "The gag order is not to testify. The gag order stops me from talking about people and responding when they say things about me. We have people saying things about me and I'm not allowed to respond."

He also said his team plans to file a lawsuit on the constitutionality of the gag order, possibly as soon as today.

"So this judge has taken away my constitutional right" and as a "Republican candidate and somebody that's leading Biden by a lot, I should be able to respond," he continued. "But this guy's got me with a gag. We're filing, I think today, a constitutional motion to get this up. We'll be filing a lawsuit on the constitutionality of it."

Court is in session

Court is now in session.

Trump again slammed the trial this morning, saying Judge Merchan is doing "everything in his power to make this trial as salacious as possible."

"This Corrupt and HIGHLY Conflicted New York Judge, Juan Merchan, is doing everything in his power to make this trial as salacious as possible, even though these things have NOTHING to do with this FAKE case," Trump posted on Truth Social. "He gives us nothing, gives the everything to the Crooked D.A., Alvin Bragg. ELECTION INTERFERENCE - BIDEN WITCH HUNT TRIAL!!!"

Trump's longtime adviser Jason Miller is in the courtroom, seated next to Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Who has testified so far?

The prosecution has called seven witness so far. They include:

• David Pecker, former National Enquirer publisher
• Rhona Graff, longtime Trump assistant
• Gary Farro, Michael Cohen's former banker
• Dr. Robert Browning, executive director of C-SPAN archives
• Phillip Thompson, from court reporting company Esquire Deposition Solutions
• Keith Davidson, attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal
• Douglas Daus, processes digital evidence for the Manhattan District Attorney's office

Soon: Witness testimony continues

Good morning, trial is set to begin in about 10 minutes.

Here's what's happening today: Douglas Daus, who processes digital evidence for the Manhattan's District Attorney's office, will return to the stand.

Quick recap: Thursday, Judge Juan Merchan held a hearing on four more alleged gag order violations against Trump. He did not immediately issue a ruling. Keith Davidson, former attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, completed his testimony.

Get caught up: Here are updates from Thursday.

Schedule: Court will end early today at 3:45 p.m.

Newsweek senior reporter Katherine Fung is inside the courtroom.