Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

"He knows about the order, he knows what he's not allowed to do, but he does it anyway," prosecutor Christopher Conroy tells the court.

Conroy argues the proximity of the posts to the events of trial, and the subjects discussed in them, make it clear what they are about.

Conroy says he can't see any "straight-faced argument" that these posts don't relate to the trial.

He also alleges the disregard for the order is "intentional".

And a reminder for our readers, the burden of proof is on the District Attorney's office to prove that Trump wilfully flaunted the gag order covering the trial. That's what Conroy is trying to prove right now.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Some of the most striking moments so far have occurred when prosecutors have recited Trump's own words back at him as he sits here in court.

Just now, lawyer Christopher Conroy recited the remarks Trump made outside the courtroom yesterday about Michael Cohen.

And during opening arguments, prosecutor Michael Colangelo read out the former president's infamous boast from the Access Hollywood tape that he could grab women's genitals without their consent - except he did not censor the language for the jury.

These prosecutors are reading his words drained of all emotion, in a legal monotone; they're certainly not trying to imitate Trump.

But it's still dramatic to hear Trump's own words recited in this context.

Yesterday's recital of the Access Hollywood transcript was one of the most tense moments in the room; you could feel the courtroom holding its breath as Colangelo began to read.

Trump is now listening to his bombastic Truth Social posts being read in a similar way.

He is not visibly reading, he is slouched in his chair, head tilted slightly to the right, staring straight ahead.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Donald Trump's posts about Michael Cohen, a star witness for the prosecution, are under the spotlight this morning.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Cohen, his former fixer-turned-foe, calling him a "perjurer" on his social media site, Truth Social.

Trump's lawyers argued last week that the former president only insulted Cohen in response to his own social media attacks on Trump.

The demise of their friendship is likely to feature heavily in this trial, as Cohen is expected to take the stand to describe his alleged role in the hush-money payments.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

Trump was warned he could face sanctions if he violated the order, "and here we are", the prosecutor says.

They are now going over each of the social media posts where Trump allegedly broke the order, including one he reposted from Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels' former lawyer, who is now serving time in prison for extortion, tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement.

Image source, Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg

Justice Juan Merchan's gag order bans Donald Trump from verbally attacking court staff, jurors and witnesses.

That initial order was then expanded to include any criticism from Trump of the judge’s family members, and relatives of Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg.

These additions were included after Trump posted comments on Truth Social about Justice Merchan’s daughter, calling her a “Rabid Trump Hater”.

Prosecutors say several of Trump's recent posts violate the terms of the order. They want him to be fined $1,000 (£800) for each violation, and for the judge to remind Trump that he could be jailed if he keeps breaking the ban.

Trump has said that going to prison for that would be his "greatest honour".

He's fumed about the gag, saying the judge should be removed from the case. His legal teams say it violates his freedom of speech.

Justice Merchan acknowledged Trump’s right to speak freely to Americans, but said such attacks “serve no legitimate purpose”.

"It merely injects fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings, that not only they, but their family members as well are 'fair game' for Defendant's vitriol," the judge wrote.

• Read more about Juan Merchan here

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

First up, we are hearing from prosecutors, who are showing court documents where they allege Trump violated the gag order.

The documents contain 10 social media posts, including eight that were on his social media site, Truth Social.

Prosecutors argue that the posts "intimidate" witnesses and others who might participate in the trial.

"The defendant has violated this order repeatedly, and it hasn't stopped," a lawyer with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office says.

He adds that Trump allegedly violated the order when he spoke to reporters outside of court.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

After the lawyers and judge left the room to chat, everyone is now back in court and in their places.

The contempt hearing is underway.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

Justice Merchan walks in and the court is in session - but he exits nearly right away, as one of the lawyers requests to talk to him privately.

All of the prosecutors and Trump's lawyers file out of the courtroom behind the judge.

Trump has been left alone at the defence table. He is sitting by himself, silent and still.

He is looking slightly agitated as he sits alone, shifting his head from side to side with a subdued look on his face.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump just walked into the courtroom, along with two of his Secret Service officers.

His face is set in a stern expression and his steps seem heavy.

As he takes his seat at the defence table, he dutifully looks forward as the pool photographers rush in to snap his photo.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Donald Trump repeatedly violated the gag order for this case, prosecutors argue, which bans him from attacking court staff and family members of people involved in the case, witnesses and jurors.

Trump has said that the ban violates his constitutional rights to free speech.

Prosecutors say Trump violated this order with several posts on Truth Social and on his website.

They reference a post referring to Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, both witnesses, as “two sleaze bags” and another that claimed “undercover Liberal Activists” were trying to sneak onto the jury.

In another instance, they say that Trump shared articles that disparaged Cohen. Prosecutors are asking Justice Merchan to find Trump in contempt and issue the following:

• Fine Trump up to $1,000 per violation
• Force him to take down the posts
• Issue a stern warning that future violations could not incur fines, but lead to a punishment of up to 30 days in jail

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg just strode into the room through a side door and took his place in the front row, just behind the prosecutor's table.

He seems animated, and is chatting with his colleagues next to him.

Image source, Reuters

Monday was the first official day of the trial - because last week was all about jury selection.

Both sides gave their opening statements - the prosecution told the jury they would have to "tune out the noise, focus on the facts," and accused Donald Trump of committing election fraud by trying to conceal the hush-money payments, and therefore interfering with an election.

"I have a spoiler alert... There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy," Trump's lawyer said in retort. Todd Blanche said his client was "cloaked in innocence" and worked to discredit Michael Cohen as a liar who "has an obsession with getting Trump".

The first witness was called - former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker - but his testimony was cut short after about 30 minutes, when court finished early for the day.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Good morning from the Manhattan Criminal Court.

Once again, both the main courtroom and media overflow room are packed in anticipation of the Donald Trump's trial.

We'll start today with a hearing over whether Trump violated a gag order that bars him from making public comments about people related to the case.

After that, the trial will resume with testimony from David Pecker, who ran the National Enquirer newspaper.

Prosecutors say the outlet suppressed negative stories about Trump to boost his 2016 election chances.

Hello, we’re back again for our live coverage of Donald Trump’s hush-money trial in New York City.

But before that gets underway, Trump will face a different matter.

From about 09:30ET (14:30 BST), Justice Juan Merchan will hear allegations that Trump violated a gag order he placed on the former president.

And then the hush-money trial is set to continue from about 11:00 local time, with David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid magazine, up first.

Yesterday, his testimony was cut short because a juror had a dentist appointment, so court finished early.

Today, it will also wrap up earlier than usual, at about 14:00, to allow everyone to leave early for the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Stick with us.

We are pausing our live coverage for now, and will be back tomorrow for day two of Donald Trump's criminal trial into hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

We're expecting David Pecker, who was the National Enquirer publisher before the 2016 election, to be back on the stand first thing, as his testimony was cut short today.

For a full wrap of what happened in court today, you can read this article from Phil McCausland.

This live page was edited by Brandon Livesay and Tiffany Wertheimer. Sam Cabral was the writer, and we had Kayla Epstein, Phil McCausland and Nada Tawfik reporting from the court.

See you tomorrow.

The stakes of today's opening statements were very high, according to Harvard Law professor Ronald S Sullivan Jr.

"Opening statements often frame the entire rest of the trial," he told the BBC earlier this morning.

"Some studies suggest up to 80% of jurors make up their minds at the end of openings, and most of them - the overwhelming majority - retain that same opinion throughout the trial and vote in that way during deliberations."

Those findings are backed by what Sullivan says are the concepts of primacy and recency. It means that people remember best what they hear first and what they hear last.

As a result, he said, lawyers must "start with a bang" so as to capture the attention and imagination of each juror.

Cameras are banned inside the New York courtroom during proceedings, so we rely on court artists to show us what it looks like.

Jane Rosenberg's work below shows the first witness, David Pecker. He was not photographed entering or leaving the building, so this is our first glimpse of him today.

And the second image is of prosecutor Matthew Colangelo as he makes his opening statements.

Image source, Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

Image source, Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

Sam Cabral
US reporter

Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, tells the BBC this trial may come down to whether or not Donald Trump himself decides to testify.

The prosecution, in his view, "have forecast for a long time how they were going to proceed and didn't depart from that" in opening statements.

But Trump's defence lawyers, who are under his watchful eye in court, "have to thread the needle to keep him satisfied but not allow him to do anything that would upset the judge or the jury".

Tobias said appealing to the common sense of the jury was a smart move because proving that there was more to the hush-money payments than merely covering up a story may be a bridge too far to cross for some jurors.

"Everybody is waiting in anticipation of Michael Cohen," he added.

"He's the lynchpin on the facts and so it may be his word against Trump's, if Trump takes the stand."

Day one (officially, last week was jury selection) of Trump's historic criminal trial has been interesting, but a relatively brief court day.

• Justice Merchan started by reminding the 12 members of the jury that they "promised to be fair" in the trial
• The prosecution said the Trump campaign panicked when the infamous Access Hollywood tape, where Trump brags about trying to have sex with a married woman, was revealed by the Washington Post
• "It was election fraud, pure and simple," the prosecution said of Trump's alleged scheme to hide the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels. This scheme involved Michael Cohen, Trump's then-lawyer, creating a shell company to funnel money to Daniels, the prosecutor said
• Michael Colangelo of the prosecution also said there was a second crime - election fraud - by trying to conceal the payments and therefore interfering in an election
• Trump's lawyer, in his opening statement, said the former president is "cloaked in innocence" and "did not commit any crimes"
• In regards to the alleged election fraud, Todd Blanche said: "I have a spoiler alert... There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy."
• The defence also worked to discredit Cohen, a star prosecution witness, saying "he's a convicted felon... and has an obsession with getting Trump"
• Blanche also said that Stormy Daniels' testimony "doesn't matter", because she knew nothing about the financial documents at the heart of this trial
• The first witness to be called, National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, was only on the stand for about 30 minutes, before the judge called an end to today's proceedings, because a juror had a dentist appointment - he'll resume tomorrow

Sam Cabral
BBC News

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani says, if he was with the district attorney's team on this case, he would likely not have started with David Pecker as the first witness.

"You need to start out strong in a case like this," he told the BBC after proceedings finished today.

"I understand the need to always start chronologically, but a co-conspirator, an unindicted one who's testifying under a grant of immunity, is not a particularly strong witness."

"I would have started with a law enforcement type witness, someone that is not really going to be subject to the cross-examination that Pecker will be," he added.

Rahmani, who serves as president of the West Coast Trial Lawyers firm, also noted that the prosecution's efforts to elevate this to an election interference case may not succeed with a jury that includes two lawyers.

"It's clear the records were false business records, but to take that next step to prove they were in furtherance of, or to cover up, a campaign finance contribution, is a more difficult legal argument and they're going to need to do a lot more than that in my opinion.

"This is going to come down to Michael Cohen," he concluded, and whether his testimony backs up what he has said in the past and whether he has documents to prove it.