Donald Trump’s legal team have rested in the sixth week of his historic hush-money trial in New York
The jury has been sent home, and the lawyers are now discussing a range of complex legal issues with the judge
Closing arguments will begin on Tuesday, and then the jury will begin their deliberations
Trump is accused of trying to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims they had sex
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, and denies having any sexual encounter with her
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Image source, ReutersWe believed Michael Cohen's testimony had finished, but he has returned to the stand. Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is also back at the podium.
She starts with the photograph we've been arguing about all afternoon, the one of Keith Schiller and Trump on the night Cohen alleges he talked to Trump about the Stormy Daniels hush-money payment.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
There has been some back and forth about a witness the prosecutors want to call in so they can have them testify on a piece of evidence - a picture taken on 24 October 2016 of Donald Trump and his bodyguard Keith Schiller together.
Prosecutors say Robert Browning, the executive director of archives C-SPAN, could be here by tomorrow morning. Browning already testified earlier in the trial, and he was used to enter videos of Trump into evidence.
But in a swift turn of events, prosecutors have agreed to use Michael Cohen to introduce the photograph of Trump and his bodyguard instead.
It took quite a long time to arrive at this conclusion, with it being a major topic of discussion both before and after the lunch break.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Image source, Getty ImagesChuck Zito and Alan Dershowitz
Trump’s colourful cast of allies has also returned to the courtroom.
In the front row seated just behind him is the Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, who has defended high-profile individuals such as Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein.
He tells a reporter in the crowd that he’s “not here to show political support… but to show strong opposition to the case itself”.
Meanwhile, in the back row, there’s Chuck Zito, the former leader of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang in New York. Zito eventually left the biker gang to try to become a Hollywood movie star.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Image source, ReutersTodd Blanche
Todd Blanche is frustrated with the timeline of the trial.
He is upset that court may have to adjourn early so that prosecutors can bring out one last witness tomorrow to get the photo into evidence.
Blanche asks prosecutors why the issue wasn't taken care of earlier, and he gives them a few minutes to see if they can get the witness in tomorrow.
"That's not the way a trial is supposed to work, judge," Blanche says.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Todd Blanche says they will only be calling two witnesses, both should take a short amount of time.
He says that the defence could rest their case today if they didn't have to deal with one specific issue.
And that issue is about a photo of Donald Trump and his bodyguard Keith Schiller.
Justice Merchan is ruling on the defence's objections to the photo. He sides with the defence team. He will not allow a paralegal to testify to introduce the photo into evidence.
Prosecutors say they instead hope to use a former witness, a C-SPAN executive, to introduce the photo - if they can get him in to court.
Image source, ReutersBefore heading into court, Donald Trump waved and gave a fist pump to the waiting media outside the court.
He didn't reply to questions shouted from reporters, including "Mr Trump, are you ready for closing?" and "Where's Melania?!"
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
We're back after our lunch break.
Donald Trump is seated at the defence table, looking to his lawyers as his large group of his allies take their seats in the rows behind him.
Prosecutors are seated on the opposite side of the aisle.
Because cameras aren't allowed inside the courtroom once proceedings start, we rely on court sketches for pictures inside the room.
Here is one from this morning, by court artist Jane Rosenberg.
Image source, Reuters/ Jane RosenbergMichael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger on re-direct, while Donald Trump and Justice Juan Merchan watch on - and a police officer keeps an eye on everyone else
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
After the prosecution rests, which they’re expected to do after Michael Cohen is done testifying, events will be set in motion that will bring us to the end of the trial.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Only one juror needs to believe Trump isn't guilty for him to avoid a conviction.
A host of factors could disrupt the prosecutors’ case.
For one, there is the credibility of Michael Cohen, a key witness in the case who is also a convicted felon.
Prosecutors will also have to work hard to prove the links between Trump’s business records classification and a larger goal of influencing the 2016 election to jurors.
Members of a jury are often unpredictable, says Diane Kiesel, a former New York Supreme Court judge and Manhattan prosecutor.
“It only takes one person to decide that the [prosecutors] have not met their burden,” she says.
“The [prosecutors] have 12 people to convince.”
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent
Image source, ReutersThe jury’s decision in this case will have both political and personal implications for Donald Trump, given that he is also the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
In exit polls of Republican primary voters earlier this year, substantial numbers indicated that they would not support Trump if he were convicted of a felony. A guilty verdict would put that hypothetical – that this is the turn of events that finally breaks his support - to the test.
If the jury finds Trump innocent, it would instantly become a cause for celebration – and promotion - by his campaign. With Trump’s other criminal trials indefinitely postponed, the former president would seem to have a clear path, at least legally, to election day. It would go a long way toward defusing Trump’s alleged criminality as a campaign issue.
Then there’s the political limbo if the jury can’t reach a verdict. That outcome could become yet another instance where voter opinion is mostly set by what they thought of Trump to begin with.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
In four weeks, prosecutors have called a host of key witnesses and produced dozens of documents to support their case: that Donald Trump directed a hush-money payment to an adult-film star and authorised an illegal reimbursement scheme to avoid damaging his 2016 presidential bid.
Experts have told the BBC that the prosecution has approached a difficult task with organisation and efficiency.
“They sort of connected a fascinating novel... about how all of these characters interacted,” says Columbia Law School professor, John Coffee.
“And that was wise.”
Michael Cohen has proven key in telling the court how Trump allegedly directed him to make a hush-money payment and then paid him back.
He also helped speak to Trump’s intent - testifying that he was focused entirely on the effect the story could have on his campaign, says former Manhattan prosecutor Lance Fletcher.
“The prosecutors have done everything possible to show everyone that this wasn't done to protect Melania, it wasn’t done to protect family,” he adds.
“If I was gonna bet, I would bet on a conviction,” Fletcher says.
“But I don't think it's a slam dunk.”
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan says we'll continue to discuss this photo issue after lunch.
And now the entire court is sent for its midday break.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
After the jury is sent out, Justice Merchan hears arguments over a piece of evidence - an image of Donald Trump and his bodyguard, Keith Schiller, together on 24 October 2016.
That's the day that Michael Cohen alleges he phoned Schiller, who put Trump on the line. The ex-lawyer claims that he then told Trump he paid off Daniels, and his former boss approved of the scheme.
Prosecutors want to use the photo to show that Schiller was with Trump at the time Cohen said, providing further corroboration to his testimony.
The defence argues that it's irrelevant - they aren't disputing that Cohen and Schiller had a phone call. They dispute that Cohen used the phone to talk to Trump about the Stormy Daniel's payout.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan tells the jury they can go and get lunch.
But it's not lunch for everyone in this courtroom.
We're going to be discussing objections to evidence next.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York
Susan Hoffinger is going over a time when Michael Cohen used artificial intelligence to aid his motion to end his supervised release early.
In the end, the AI produced a number of fake legal cases that he later submitted.
Cohen explains that he searched for cases of ending supervised release early in Google Bard - Google's AI search engine - which spit out the fakes.
"I was just trying to be helpful," Cohen says.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Susan Hoffinger is trying to clean up some of the damage that defence lawyer Todd Blanche did to Michael Cohen's credibility during the cross-examination.
For prosecutors, it is essential that they ensure the jury finds Cohen believable. He is one of the few witnesses who can speak to key elements of the case, including Donald Trump's intent and alleged involvement.
They have buttressed as much of his account as they can with supporting evidence and testimony, but the prosecution could lose this case if the jury loses faith in Cohen. The jury are allowed to disregard his testimony entirely if they don't find him credible.
Blanche was trying to sow as much reasonable doubt as he could over multiple days of cross-examination.
We will see if Hoffinger's relatively limited re-direct can patch up the holes Blanche made in the prosecution's case.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Susan Hoffinger is asking some of her most direct questions yet.
She asks Michael Cohen if the circumstances surrounding the Stormy Daniels hush-money payment were illegal.
Yes, he says.
She asks Cohen if he is the one on trial.
No, he says.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Here in the overflow room, we have a split-screen video feed of the defence table, bench, and witness stand.
In the upper right of our screen, we can see Michael Cohen looking alert and sporting a slight frown. He taps his index fingers to his lips and his eyebrows seem to move a bit.
In the quadrant of the screen directly below Cohen, we can see Trump, who is again leaned back in his chair. His head is tilted slightly to his right, and his eyes appear closed.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
The prosecution's Susan Hoffinger specifically asks Michael Cohen whether the 2016 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels was a campaign contribution to Trump's presidential bid.
This is key to prosecutors’ felony case: that Trump allegedly directed Cohen to make the payment and covered up the reimbursement scheme to unlawfully influence the 2016 election.
Hoffinger shows an old statement from Cohen in which he says the payment was not a campaign contribution.
That was wrong, Cohen says.