Witnesses will continue to testify today. Read up on the stages of Trump's criminal trial  (2024)

Former President Donald Trump’s first criminal trialis expected to take six to eight weeks, from start to finish.

Where we are in the trial: Prosecutors are presenting evidence through witness testimony and exhibits. Defense attorneys can cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses and typically aim to discredit their testimony. It’s unclear who the prosecutors will call as a witness next.

To better understand what’s going on, here are the steps of a criminal trial.

Read up on the stages of the proceedings here.

Former President Donald Trump's motorcade is en route to the Manhattan courthouseto attendhis criminal hush money trial.

It’s unclear who the prosecutors will call as a witness next. Trump White House aides, Trump Organization employees, Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen are all still on deck for prosecutors to call.

Trump’s former campaign press secretary and White House communications director Hope Hicks concluded her testimony on Friday. She described the fallout from the “Access Hollywood” tape and the Trump White House response to stories about hush money payments — just feet away from her former boss.

Meanwhile, the judge is yet to rule on the four additional gag order allegations against Trump.

CNN's Kristina Sgueglia contributed reporting to this post.

Donald Trump has been accused of taking part in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, which included a hush money payment made to an adult film star to hide an affair.The former president has denied the affair.

Prosecutors allege that Trump allegedly disguised the transaction as a legal payment and falsified business records numerous times to “promote his candidacy.” Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has pleaded not guilty.

Donald Trump has continued to rail against the gag order issued by Judge Juan Merchan that blocks the defendant from speaking out about potential witnesses and most people in or associated with the court or the New York district attorney’s office. (The judge himself and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg are not covered.)

Trump hasrepeatedlymade the gag order sound far broader than it is,CNN fact checker Daniel Dale wrote. For instance, Trumpclaimedat a Wednesday campaign rally in Michigan that “I’m not even supposed to be, I would say, talking to you, because he gagged me” – though the gag order actually says nothing to prevent him from making a campaign speech.

He’s also said previously it would prevent him from taking the stand. But while Trump acknowledged to reporters Friday morning that the gag order doesn’t impact his ability to testify if he chose to do so, the judge made clear there was no doubt.

Trump has paid the $9,000 fine he was assessed for previously breaking the gag order, using two cashier’s checks.

Merchan did not, however, rule on theadditional alleged gag order violationsbrought against Trump.

We begin the fourth week of court proceedings in Donald Trump's historic hush money criminal trial.

To refresh your memory, here are the key moments and witnesses from the trial so far:

April 15: Trial began with jury selection.

April 19: A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected.

April 22: The prosecution and defense made their opening statements. Former tabloid boss David Pecker was called to testify.

April 23: Judge Juan Merchan held a Sandoval hearing for Trump's alleged gag order violations, but reserved his decision.

April 25: While Trump sat in the Manhattan courtroom, the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., heard arguments on the matter of his immunity in special counsel Jack Smith's election subversion case against him.

April 26: Pecker's direct questioning and cross-examination concluded. Trump's former longtime assistant Rhona Graff was called to testify briefly. Finally, Michael Cohen's former banker Gary Farro testified.

April 30: Farro's testimony concluded. Prosecutors then called Dr. Robert Browning, the executive director of C-SPAN archives, and Philip Thompson who works for a court reporting company.Then, Keith Davidson, the former attorney for Daniels and McDougal, took the stand.

May 2: Davidson's testimony concluded. Digital evidence analyst Douglas Daus was called to testify.

May 3: After Daus finished testifying, Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal at the district attorney's office, spoke about reviewing Trump's social media posts for this case. She was followed by Hope Hicks, once a longtime Trump aide. Her highly anticipated testimony was a little less than three hours.

Read a full timeline of key moments here.

Former President DonaldTrumpramped up his attacks on Democrats on Saturday at a private luncheon hosted at his Mar-a-Lago club, during which he referred to Democrats as “running a Gestapo administration” — equating President Joe Biden’s administration to Nazi Germany, according to three attendees.

The remarks were part of a larger tirade during which the former president accused the Biden administration of being behind the four criminal indictments he is facing.

The fundraiser served as the main attraction duringthe Republican National Committee’s annual retreatin Palm Beach. Hundreds of people attended the event, and several attendees gave $40,000 or more, sources familiar with the fundraiser told CNN.

Trumpcursed repeatedly throughout his speech, the attendees said, including while leveling criticism at special counsel Jack Smith and other prosecutors who have charged him with criminal indictments.

The comments were part of a roughly 90-minute speech where he touted his recent fundraising numbers and lavished praise on his vice-presidential contenders, claiming that many people were “begging” to serve as his running mate, two of the attendees said.

Trumpwalked onto the stage on Saturday to the recording of a January 6 anthem featuring several people convicted for their roles in the 2021 attack on the Capitol — a song his campaign frequently features at his campaign rallies.

CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.

Here are the takeaways from Friday, which was day 11 of the Trump hush money trial:

Donald Trump’s former campaign press secretary and White House communications directorHope Hicks looked visibly uncomfortable and quickly acknowledged as much when she began answering questions. “I’m really nervous,” she said as she began her testimony.

Much of Hicks’ testimony focused on her role in the Trump campaign in October 2016, just before Election Day. Prosecutors asked what happened when the “Access Hollywood” tape came out. “The tape was damaging. This was a crisis,” Hicks said.

The aftermath of the tape then informed how the campaign responded when theWall Street Journal reportedon Karen McDougal’s deal with American Media, Inc.not to speak about an alleged affair as part of a $150,000 agreement

In the WSJ story, which also mentioned Daniels, Hicks, then a Trump campaign spokesperson, denied that Trump had had affairs with either woman. “What I told to the Wall Street Journal is what was told to me,” Hicks said of the denial she gave about the Daniels allegations.

When prosecutors finished with their questions and Trump’s attorney took the podium, Hicks began crying and appeared tobecomeoverwhelmed. She finished her testimony after a brief break.

When cross-examining Hicks, Trump's attorney Emil Bove elicited testimony that Trump was also concerned about what his wife would think. Trump asked for the newspapers not to be delivered to his residence the day the story was published, Hicks testified.

Jurors hear how Trump responded to ‘Access Hollywood’ tape: Jurors saw a full transcript of the “Access Hollywood” tape Friday, including Trump’s infamous “grab ‘em by the p*ssy” comment, as well as other vulgar language the campaign tried to dismiss as “locker room talk.” They did not, however, hear Trump on the tape, as the judge ruled the video would be prejudicialto the jury.

Prosecutors are getting closer to the crime: For two weeks, prosecutors have delved deeply into the negotiations that led to hush money payments made to McDougal and Daniels before the 2016 election. But those payments are not illegal on their own. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from how he allegedly hid the way Cohen was reimbursed for paying $130,000 to Daniels in order to keep her quiet before the 2016 election. With Hicks’ testimony, prosecutors nudged closer to the repayment and the alleged charges.

Attacks continue against Michael Cohen: Trump’s legal team continued its trial-long assault on Michael Cohen’s credibility Friday, going after everything from theway hehandled his cell phones to how he would go “rogue” during the 2016 campaign.

Continuing his barrage of courthouse deception, former President Donald Trump made more false claims about hisManhattan triallast week.

CNN has been fact-checking these claims, including:

Trump's false claim on testifying: Trump falsely claimed Thursday afternoon that he is not allowed to testify in his defense. He acknowledged Friday morning that he is indeed allowed to testify.

Trump’s claim from Thursday is false. He is allowed to testify at the trial – the decision is entirely up to him.Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order, which narrowly restricts his out-of-court speech, does not in any way stop him from testifying. The gag order also does not broadly prevent Trump from talking. He is permitted to speak to the media, speak at campaign events, attack President Joe Biden and other political opponents, and even attack Merchan and the Manhattandistrict attorney behind the case.

Trump’s false claim about bail: The former president said, “New York City is a violent city; it’s become violent with the cashless bail. I’m the only one who has to put up bail.”

Trump’s claim is false. Like many other New York defendants whose alleged crimes arenon-violent, hedidn’t have to put up bail. After his arraignment in 2023, he was released on his own recognizance — in other words, without having to post any cash.

Trump’s false claim about his schedule: Trump continued Friday to complain that the New York trial is preventing him from being on the campaign trail.

Trump’s claim that the trial is preventing him from having campaign events this weekend is false. The trial is not being held on weekends (or on Wednesdays), so he is free to campaign wherever he wants.

Former President Donald Trump paid his $9,000 fine on Thursday for violating the gag order in his hush money criminal trial, according to a court official.

The fine was paid in two cashier’s checks – one for $2,000 and one for $7,000 at the court clerk’s office.

Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $9,000 this week for violating his gag order nine times.He gave him until the end of the business Friday to pay it.

After hearing arguments Thursday morning, Merchan has yet to rule on the prosecution’s allegations of four additional gag order violations by Trump.