Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Today is the longest line we’ve ever seen outside the courthouse for Trump's trial.

A police officer told me that people have been in line since 07:00 local time yesterday (that's more than 24 hours) to get into the court today.

About two hours ago, one person sold the first spot in the line for $400.

And people have reportedly paid thousands of dollars for line sitters to hold their spot, all for a chance to get a glimpse at a star witness taking the stand.

That witness is Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen.

He began his testimony yesterday, telling the court of a hush-money payment he made in exchange for adult-film star Stormy Daniels’ silence.

He gave the prosecutors a boost to their case, testifying that Trump authorised the hush-money payment as well as a reimbursement scheme that prosecutors say was documented illegally.

Trump's trial becomes campaign stop for Republicanspublished at 14:07 British Summer Time 14 May

14:07 BST 14 May

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Another big day at Donald Trump’s criminal trial has brought another crowd of Republican politicians accompanying him to the Manhattan court.

House Speaker Mike Johnson wll be there today, and we are expecting Vivek Ramaswamy and Doug Burgum to show up - both are vice-presidential hopefuls.

Yesterday it was two US senators, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and JD Vance of Ohio, who joined a handful of state officials to watch former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen take the stand as the star witness for the prosecution.

It’s another indication of how some Republicans are treating the criminal trial as an opportunity to show their support and further sharpen the partisan battle lines that are forming around his trial.

And unlike the former president, they are not bound by a gag order and can offer their opinions on the day’s testimony to the crowds of reporters at the courthouse - effectively serving as Trump’s public proxies.

Other VP candidates may feel compelled to follow suit and make a trip to lower Manhattan in the days ahead.

Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Michael Cohen’s testimony in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial.

Trump’s ex-fixer and personal lawyer is back on the stand after a mammoth day in court on Monday, where he testified at-length about his former boss.

Cohen told the court he spoke to Trump “immediately” after wiring the $130,000 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels.

He testified that Trump “approved” a reimbursement to him and that it would be classified as “legal services”.

It was key testimony from the prosecution’s star witness.

They must convince the jury that Trump covered up payments made to Cohen by fraudulently recording them in business records.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of fraud.

Cohen will be back on the stand shortly to continue his testimony. And he still needs to be cross-examined by the defence.

Stick with us, it should be a fascinating day in court.

Image source, Reuters

Thanks for following our reporting from Donald Trump's criminal trial.

It was a fairly remarkable day with the ex-president's longtime fixer - Michael Cohen - testifying against him. And we're expecting much more tomorrow, when the defence are expected to get their turn to question him.

So please join us again. We have a team of BBC reporters on the ground in Manhattan bringing you the very latest live from inside and outside the courtroom.

Madeline Halpert, Kayla Epstein, and Nada Tawfik reported today from court, and Brandon Livesay and Phil McCausland edited the page from New York.

Today we heard from Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who provided some of the most crucial evidence so far in the case.

Let's take a look at what he said.

• Cohen testified that he spoke with Trump "immediately" after he paid hush-money to adult-film star Stormy Daniels.
• He said that he told Trump over the phone that the "task he gave me was finished, accomplished, and done", and the ex-president had previously approved his efforts.
• Cohen said that Trump was "really angry" at a perceived failure to keep Stormy Daniels from shopping her story around, calling it a "disaster" for his campaign.

• Cohen said that Trump had asked him to "handle" several hush-money payments and work with tabloid media to block negative headlines that might affect his political career.
• He said he did so "at the direction of and for the benefit" of Trump.
• According to Cohen, Trump warned him that "a lot of women" would come forward with allegations after he launched his 2016 presidential bid.
• He must still be cross-examined by Trump's defence team, which has repeatedly tried to discredit Cohen.

Phil McCausland
Reporting from New York

My colleague and I were walking outside the BBC office in New York when we caught sight of a plane flying a pro-Trump banner, which appears to be referring to his ongoing criminal case.

"WHEN U INDICT HIM, YOU UNITE US. MAGA," the banner reads with an American flag punctuating the message.

Cohen's testimony helps connect the dots for prosecutorspublished at 22:38 British Summer Time 13 May

22:38 BST 13 May

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

So far, Michael Cohen has done exactly what prosecutors hoped he would do: Tying Donald Trump to every step and decision in the process of paying Stormy Daniels and others for their silence.

Cohen has claimed Trump's motivations were to protect his presidential campaign, and he emphasised it was not for any other reason (as the defence has claimed).

Over and over again, Cohen has alleged he communicated with and received approval from Trump before taking each action that led to the hush-money payout to Daniels.

But there is still much to come.

We have yet to get to the actual actions that spurred charges in this case. We've only just gotten to how Cohen was reimbursed for the payment to Daniels, and how those payments were recorded in Trump's business records.

Prosecutors must also use his testimony to show intent - that Trump sought to conceal the true nature of the reimbursement of Cohen. We heard a bit of that today, but prosecutors will likely need more to make their case.

We will also likley see the defence's cross examination tomorrow, and we can expect them to vigorously look for holes and contradictions in Cohen's account of Trump's alleged involvement.

To unpack the evidence we’ve heard so far in Donald Trump’s trial, tune into Americast, the BBC’s US politics and culture podcast.

It’s on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

Cohen’s testimony so far is boosting prosecutors’ case, according to Norm Eisen, a lawyer who interviewed Cohen while assisting the House of Representatives in their 2019 Trump impeachment inquiry.

Eisen says Cohen’s behaviour today stands in stark contrast to the negative way he was decsribed by many others who previously testified in the hush-money trial.

“Given disparaging references others have made to Cohen, I am sure the jury is surprised by the sober, well-spoken, candid individual they are meeting - as was I when I first met him to interview him as a witness in the Trump impeachment,” Eisen tells me.

Eisen says Cohen has been helpful to prosecutors because he has corroborated what earlier witnesses in the case have said and what key documents have shown.

“Of course, final judgment must wait until after cross-examination (and a verdict), but I think he is doing well so far,” Eisen says.

Image source, Getty Images

We just heard from the former president after another long day in court. He did not make mention of the day's star witness, Michael Cohen.

Outside of the courtroom, Trump instead complained about the ongoing criminal trial. He alleged without evidence that he faced legal persecution because of his political opponents.

"What’s going on in that courtroom is a threat to democracy and we cannot have a country where we get to prosecute your political opponents, instead of persuading voters,” he said

He further claimed that the entire case was aimed at spoiling his bid to win the 2024 presidential election, and he protested that it had come years after the alleged events took place.

“It could have been brought six years ago, seven years ago, almost eight years ago," he said. "They bring it right in the middle of my presidential campaign.”

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

Donald Trump appeared to have his eyes closed while he sat back in his chair for much of Michael Cohen's crucial testimony in court,

He occasionally shifted from side to side as his former lawyer testified against him.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Donald Trump just swept out of the courtroom with a serious expression on his face.

His long entourage trailed out behind him.

The courtroom is now empty of all its key players - the judge, prosecutors, jury, and Michael Cohen.

It will be packed once more at 09:30 local time tomorrow (14:30 BST), when Cohen's testimony will resume.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger has asked the judge to break for the afternoon, and he agrees.

Her questioning has brought us up to Michael Cohen's role in the alleged actions that led to Trump facing criminal charges.

We'll hear more from Cohen tomorrow when he returns to the stand.

Stick with us, we will bring more details and analysis from today.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

Allen Weisselberg is a crucial figure in the repayments to Michael Cohen, and all the moments that Cohen just testified to.

So why haven't we heard from him in this trial?

Well, Weisselberg is currently incarcerated, serving several months for committing perjury in the last Trump-related trial he participated in.

Prosecutors revealed last week that they hadn't actually tried to call Weisselberg as a witness.

Justice Juan Merchan seemed surprised, and asked the prosecutors to at least try to summon him.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Michael Cohen is now testifying about his recollection of a crucial meeting he attended with Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and Donald Trump.

It was the period between Trump winning the presidential election, and him going to Washington for his inauguration.

Cohen testifies that Weisselberg, in front of Trump, explained that they would pay Cohen 12 installments of $35,000 (£27,900).

The monthly payments would start in February 2017, Weisselberg allegedly told Cohen. The statements would say they were a retainer for legal services, Cohen later confirms.

Cohen got the sense that the two had already discussed this matter before he was invited into their office, he tells the court.

Trump "approved it", Cohen says, and then told him: "This is gonna be one heck of a ride in DC."

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Some more on that bank statement we shared below.

Michael Cohen testifies to the court that Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg decided to add to the amount he was owed. This is so Cohen would still receive $130,000, as they expected he would lose about half after taxes were taken out.

Cohen says this is not typical for reimbursements at the Trump Organization.

But he notes that Trump himself approved Weisselberg's payment plan. The ex-president told him it would be classified as legal services, Cohen says.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Michael Cohen begins to tell the story about how he went to Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to discuss how he'd be repaid for his $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels.

Cohen brought Weisselberg the bank statement recording the transaction.

We again see a crucial document that includes the math of Cohen's repayment, scratched out in Weisselberg's own handwriting all over the bank statement.

You can see a portion of the statement below, and read it in full here, external.

Image source, NY Courts

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

We're many, many hours into testimony and only just now getting to the heart of the case: Donald Trump's alleged reimbursement of Michael Cohen's hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels.

The prosecution brings up the topic right after talking about Cohen's rage over his small bonus.

Court is scheduled to wrap up for the day in about 30 minutes. so we will see what more they can ask.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

The prosecution's Susan Hoffinger is digging into Michael Cohen’s frustrations with Donald Trump.

She asks him about his bonus from Trump in 2016.

Cohen says each year employees would find out their bonuses when assistant Rhona Graff delivered Christmas cards signed by Trump with their cheques inside.

When he opened his in 2016, he did a double take, he says.

He was “beyond angry”, telling the court Trump had cut his bonus by two-thirds.

Cohen says Trump had still yet to reimburse him the $130,000 for the hush-money payment to Daniels.

“I was truly insulted, personally hurt,” he says, adding "even for myself, unusually angry".