Donald Trump's hush-money trial in New York has heard from three witnesses in rapid-succession
The testimony of Gary Farro, a banker, has allowed the court to take a deeper dive into the $130,000 transaction paid to porn star Stormy Daniels
Rhona Graff, who worked with Donald Trump for 34 years and was his assistant, was called as the second witness in his hush-money trial in New York
Graff told the court she was in charge of all Trump's appointments and he smiled at her as she fondly described working for him for decades
Earlier, David Pecker, the ex-publisher of the National Enquirer, returned for his fourth day of testimony
Pecker told the court that potentially damaging stories about Trump were bought and buried as an "agreement between friends"
Trump is accused of trying to cover up a $130,000 (£104,500) payment to Daniels before he won the presidency in 2016
He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and also denies having any sexual encounter with Daniels
Image source, ReutersDonald Trump leaves the courtroom
The Donald Trump hush-money trial has just paused for a lunch break.
It will resume at 14:15 local time (19:15 BST).
Stick with us, we still have some interesting moments from before the break to bring you.
Plus we have updates from Trump's other legal cases which are also happening today.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Image source, Getty ImagesWe’re going on some tangents here in court that shed light on the relationship between Donald Trump and his fixer-turned-foe, Michael Cohen.
Pecker tells the court that Cohen once pleaded with him to help get his bonus from Trump, complaining that he had not been reimbursed for paying Stormy Daniels out of his own pocket.
Pecker obliged, taking Trump aside to tell him that Cohen was “very loyal” and deserving of the paycheque.
Trump responded: “I don’t know what you’re talking about”.
Pecker tells the court that Trump told him Cohen already had multiple apartments in his buildings.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of him,” Pecker says Trump told him.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Four days before the 2016 presidential election that Trump went on to win, the Wall Street Journal published a story, external detailing how the National Enquirer helped bury Karen MacDougal’s story for Trump.
Trump, in Pecker’s telling, was furious.
On 5 November - with three days to go until election day - Pecker says he spoke to Trump about it.
The former president was very upset, Pecker testifies. He asked the tabloid publisher how this could happen, as he thought Pecker had the situation under control.
Trump claimed that Pecker or someone close to him had leaked the story.
The call ended abruptly, he tells the court.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
The court hears that in response to the Karen McDougal story leaking, Pecker authorised his media company to lie about the catch-and-kill scheme he took part in.
Prosecutors ask why he did this.
“I wanted to protect my company,” he says. “I wanted also to protect myself. And I wanted to protect Donald Trump.”
After the McDougal story broke, Pecker says they amended McDougal’s hush-money agreement to allow her to speak to the media. Her lawyer said she was being bombarded by the press and that she wanted to tell her story, he says.
Cohen was angered by this, arguing it was a “very bad idea and that the boss would be very angry” if they let the Playboy model speak to reporters.
Pecker ignored the advice, he says.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Image source, Getty ImagesPecker testifies that in late October 2016 - just ahead of the US presidential election - Michael Cohen attempted to convince the tabloid publisher to buy Stormy Daniels' story that she had a sexual encounter with Trump.
(Trump has denied the story.)
But Pecker says he was spooked by his experience with the Karen McDougal payout, and he refused to involve himself with Trump in another hush-money payment.
Still, Pecker says he felt the adult film star's allegations could be damaging to the presidential candidate. It would have immediately followed the Access Hollywood tape, and the controversy which almost torpedoed Trump's campaign.
In a contentious phone call, Pecker says he urged Cohen to buy the story to keep it from getting published.
Turning the tables on their previous calls, he says he told Cohen "the boss" would be angry if he didn't.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Shortly after the release of the Access Hollywood tape on 7 October 2016, Pecker testifies that he got a phone call from the editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer.
The editor told him that another woman had a story about a sexual relationship with Trump: Stormy Daniels.
Her lawyer, Keith Davidson, had reached out and offered to sell the exclusive rights to her story for $120,000.
The Access Hollywood tape, on which Trump was heard boasting about being able to have sex without consent because of his fame, caused huge panic within his campaign for president in 2016.
Pecker says he knew that Daniels' story would be further damaging to Trump's chances of winning the election.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
The 12 men and women who make up the jury - all seated to my right - will decide whether Donald Trump will become the first former president to be convicted of a felony.
This panel certainly appears to be taking their job seriously.
Three hours into the day, there is a lot of information to follow.
Several are diligently taking notes, while others are closely watching as Pecker speaks.
Some on the jury - which includes two lawyers - already have experience with the court system, so that will likely be useful.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
After hours of testimony with David Pecker on the stand, we're finally getting to what the heart of this case is about: a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Pecker tells the court that he also knows her by her real name, Stephanie Clifford.
Image source, REUTERS/Jane RosenbergProsecutor Joshua Steinglass questions David Pecker while Justice Juan Merchan watches
Image source, REUTERS/Jane RosenbergDonald Trump watches David Pecker's testimony
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
To give a sense of timing, prosecutors say they have up to three hours left in their questioning of Pecker.
That means they are unlikely to finish with him today.
The defence will also have their time with the former tabloid publisher during cross examination, so we certainly have a bit to go with this witness.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Image source, ReutersWe're back from a late morning break.
Before David Pecker's testimony can resume, the parties are haggling over what upcoming evidence will be admissible during the next round of questioning.
They're currently discussing whether a batch of text messages from former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard are admissible.
Justice Merchan decides, at the moment, it is inadmissible because the contents aren't relevant here.
He did say he would read some precedents that prosecutor's cited, to see if it changes his mind
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Before the break, Pecker explaining that the complicated scheme to be reimbursed for the hush-money payment was not a success.
After speaking with his counsel, Pecker said he had concerns about the legality of the reimbursement process he had set up with Michael Cohen.
So he called Cohen and told him “I’m not going forward, it’s a bad idea, and I want you to rip up the agreement,” the tabloid publisher tells the court.
“He (Cohen) was very, very angry, very upset, screaming basically at me,” Pecker says.
"The boss (Trump) is going to be very angry at you,” Pecker says Cohen told him at the time.
This means that Pecker was not ultimately reimbursed for McDougal’s payment, and it could explain why he was not involved in buying another Trump story - one involving Stormy Daniels.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Just before break, David Pecker told the court that getting Donald Trump to pay him back the $150,000 for McDougal's story was a headache.
He testified that he agreed to pay Cohen $25,000 for the rights to the lifestyle content AMI had promised MacDougal it would publish as part of the hush money deal.
Cohen would then pay the remaining $125,000 to Pecker in order to take the exclusive rights to MacDougal's story.
But they didn't want anyone to find out about the payment, because it would "raise a lot of issues", Pecker said.
So Pecker and Cohen had shell companies created to disguise the transaction, and they started to get the paperwork together.
But then the deal fell through.
Donald Trump has just left the courtroom, followed by his lawyers.
The court is taking a short break and will resume soon.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Pecker is now explaining how the hush-money payment to Karen McDougal was recorded, which could prove critical when we get to adult film star Stormy Daniels' agreement with Trump.
Prosecutors argue that Trump broke the law by classifying a reimbursement for that hush-money payment as “legal expenses”.
Pecker explains to the court that he did not record McDougal’s hush-money payment in American Media's documents because he was eventually reimbursed for it.
“That’s why I kept on discussing with Michael Cohen why it was so important to be reimbursed,” Pecker says, adding that Cohen tried to reassure him about the payment.
“Why are you worried? I’m your friend. The boss (Trump) will take care of it,” Pecker says Cohen told him.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
We're now at the documents portion of Pecker's testimony.
Prosecutors are demonstrating the paper trail of the $150,000 payout to Karen McDougal.
They're submitting invoices, bookkeeping entries, and other documents as evidence to help show how Pecker's company, American Media Inc., arranged payment to McDougal through her lawyer, Keith Davidson.
Image source, ReutersA file photo of Karen McDougal, taken in 1998
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
David Pecker digs up an old piece of political intrigue from the early 2000s to illustrate his catch-and-kill schemes.
He is detailing another “agreement” he had with The Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger, ahead of his successful campaign for governor of the state of California.
On the stand, Pecker alleges that he and Schwarzenegger developed an arrangement where he would warn the Hollywood star of any possible negative coverage.
Women began reaching out to his tabloids with stories about Schwarzenegger, but Pecker claims that he declined to publish them. The LA Times, external also reported on these allegations in 2005.
Pecker says the agreement got him into trouble, and he purposefully structured the deal with McDougal to avoid triggering campaign finance legal issues.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Ultimately, Pecker says, they made a deal with McDougal, the Playboy model, for $150,000.
They bought the “limited life rights” of her story that she had an affair with Trump - meaning American Media exclusively owned the story, and she could not give it to other press organisations.
Pecker says they gave McDougal a monthly column on aging and fitness in OK and Star Magazine. They were written by a ghost writer, but McDougal gave final approval.
The contract does not directly name the former president in the paragraphs we’ve seen in court, but Pecker says the “married man” the agreement notes is referring to Trump.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
We're getting some more details on what Trump, Cohen and Pecker offered to McDougal to buy the rights to her story.
She requested more than the $150,000 that they would eventually pay her, Pecker says.
McDougal allegedly wanted to re-launch her career, seeing the tabloid as a potential publishing opportunity to help address her reputation after her time in adult entertainment.
She wanted to write stories about the problems she encountered while removing her breast implants, for example, Pecker says, adding that she also wanted to launch a clothing line.
The additional requests delayed the deal, "agitating" Cohen, Pecker says.
"Why is this taking so long?" Pecker says Cohen asked.
Image source, Getty ImagesHere are the first pictures of Donald Trump in the New York courtroom today.
Photographers are allowed to snap a few images before court begins in the morning.
But from here on, it's only court sketch artists who will be able to show us what it's like inside.
Image source, Getty Images