Tabloid boss ‘offered to be Trump’s eyes and ears’ to boost presidential bid

The former publisher of the National Enquirer told a New York court that he offered to be Donald Trump’s “eyes and ears” to help his presidential campaign.

David Pecker, the first witness to be called in Mr Trump’s “hush money” trial, said he worked to suppress negative stories about the then-Republican candidate ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

He also allegedly attacked Mr Trump’s political opponents at the direction of his former lawyer and “fixer”, Michael Cohen.

Prosecutors claim the three men formed a “criminal conspiracy” to influence the results of the election.

Mr Pecker said that Mr Trump was “pleased” with his offer to help the campaign when the trio met at Trump Tower.

He said he then told Dylan Howard, the Enquirer’s editor-in-chief, to identify any potential stories about the candidate that he could pass onto Mr Cohen.

“I told him that we were going to try to help the campaign and to do that we are going to try and keep this as quiet as possible,” Mr Pecker told the court, as Mr Trump watched him intently.

Mr Cohen also supplied information on the former president’s political rivals that the tabloid then “embellished”, Mr Pecker added.

07:23 PM BST

That’s all for now

Thanks for following our live coverage of Donald Trump’s “hush money” case, as David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, had his second day on the witness stand. This live blog is now closed.

07:11 PM BST

Trump hits out at ‘unconstitutional’ gag order

Donald Trump lashed out at his gag order and the judge who imposed it – just hours after the prosecution accused him of repeatedly breaching it.

“It’s a disgrace. It’s totally unconstitutional.” he said. “I don’t believe it’s happened to this extent, ever happened before.

“I’m not allowed to defend myself and yet other people are allowed say whatever they want about me. Very, very unfair.”

Mr Trump went on to accuse Juan Merchan, the judge presiding over his trial, of being “highly conflicted” and again called on him to recuse himself.

07:06 PM BST

Trump heads for press pack

Donald Trump walked out clutching a stack of papers.

The former president appeared to smile in the direction of the press pack.

07:04 PM BST

Second day of testimony ends

The jury has been dismissed for the day.

Mr Pecker’s testimony will resume on Thursday at 9:30am.

06:52 PM BST

Trump ‘unresponsive’ amid questions about Playboy model

David Pecker is now being asked about former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Donald Trump appeared unresponsive while Mr Pecker described how his colleague told him Mr Trump had a sexual relationship with Ms McDougal for around a year.

06:51 PM BST

Prosecutors move onto second alleged ‘hush money deal’

David Pecker is now being questioned on Karen McDougal, the Playboy model with whom Mr Trump allegedly had an affair.

Prosecutors have previously claimed she received a $150,000 payment from American Media Inc. – the second of the three alleged “hush money” payments.

06:40 PM BST

Trump story ‘would have meant biggest sales since Elvis’ death’

David Pecker said he would have published the love-child story if it was true – but only after the 2016 election, based on a conversation with Michael Cohen.

“It would be probably the biggest sale of the National Enquirer since the death of Elvis Presley,” he added.

06:33 PM BST

Court shown agreement to buy ‘illegitimate child’ story

The court is being shown the signed agreement to buy the rights of Dino Sajudin’s story “regarding Donald Trump’s illegitimate child”.

The document states American Media Inc. would pay Mr Sajudin $30,000 within five days of signing the agreement.

David Pecker said it was unusual to pay a source before the story ran. They were confident the story was false, but would have been “embarrassed” had it been printed in a rival publication.

Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor, asked whether the intention was to “lock” up the story. Mr Pecker agreed it was.

Mr Pecker said a typical source payment ranges between $250 - $5,000 or up to $10,000 for a big celebrity.

He paid the large sum because of the “potential embarrassment” for the campaign and Mr Trump.

06:27 PM BST

‘The boss was Donald Trump’

Joshua Steinglass, prosecuting, asked David Pecker to clarify who “the boss” was. “The boss would be Donald Trump,” Mr Pecker responded.

06:24 PM BST

Publisher ‘paid $30,000 for doorman story’

David Pecker said he asked Dylan Howard “to negotiate a number, a price, to take it [the story] off the market.”

He told the court: “I called Michael Cohen and I said that we have to go forward with the story.

“He said ‘how much?’

“I said ‘Dylan negotiated a price of $30,000.’”

Mr Cohen asked who would pay for it and Mr Pecker offered to pay for it as he thought it was a “very big story”.

Mr Pecker said Mr Cohen “thanked me and he said the boss would be very pleased.”

06:19 PM BST

Pecker asked about first of ‘hush money payments’

David Pecker is now being asked about Dino Sajudin, the Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about Donald Trump fathering an illegitimate daughter with a maid who worked at Mr Trump’s penthouse.

Mr Pecker said he was told about the story by his colleague Dylan Howard.

He immediately called Mr Cohen and gave him Mr Sajudin’s name and the name of the maid.

Mr Pecker said the story was “absolutely not true” but that he would “check it out”.

06:18 PM BST

Pecker ‘immediately called’ Cohen after love-child claim

David Pecker said he “immediately called” Michael Cohen when he was alerted to a story about Donald Trump fathering an illegitimate child.

He recalled that Mr Cohen said: “Absolutely not true, but I’ll check it out.” The National Enquirer eventually concluded the story was false.

06:15 PM BST

Defence team and prosecution argue over evidence

Donald Trump’s lawyers are speaking with the judge after objecting to certain exhibits the prosecution attempted to submit as evidence.

Juan Merchan, presiding over the case, ruled that the documents would be accepted. “Objection noted and overruled,” he said.

06:04 PM BST

Trump ‘flagging’ as court continues without lunch break

Mr Trump looks like he’s flagging now.

He is leaning on the desk in front of him, flicking through papers and shifting in his seat.

There is no lunch break today as court will end at 2pm and the energy in the room has dropped somewhat.

06:03 PM BST

Judge says Trump lawyer ‘losing all credibility’ amid heated exchanges

Donald Trump’s lawyer is “losing all credibility”, the judge presiding over the former president’s hush money trial has warned amid heated exchanges.

Prosecutors claim that Mr Trump has flouted a gag order 10 times since the trial began last week by repeatedly attacking his former “fixer”, Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a key witness.

However, Todd Blanche, acting for the defence, argued that Mr Trump was merely responding to a “barrage of political attacks”.

Tensions flared with the judge, Juan Merchan, as he asked Mr Blanche to name specific examples of how Mr Cohen had provoked the former president into lashing out.

“I keep asking you over and over again for a specific answer, and I’m not getting an answer,” Justice Merchan said, as exchanges between the pair grew heated.

Mr Blanche insisted that Mr Trump was “being very careful to comply” with the gag order. The judge responded: “Mr Blanche, you are losing all credibility.”

05:58 PM BST

Court resumes

And we’re off again – David Pecker is back on the stand and the jury is seated.

Donald Trump tried to sit down before Juan Merchan told the court to be seated. Mr Trump quickly stood up again before eventually sitting down.

05:49 PM BST

Trump lawyers object to Steve Bannon question

Donald Trump’s lawyers have objected to the prosecution’s questioning of David Pecker’s relationship with Steve Bannon.

“The government is eliciting hearsay statements from Steve Bannon as the declarant,” Emil Bove said.

Mr Bove also argued they did not receive notice that the prosecution would suggest Mr Bannon was a co-conspirator and that Mr Trump is not charged with conspiracy.

The court is now on a 15 minute break.

05:35 PM BST

Defence objects to Pecker questioning

The jury has been sent out and David Pecker has stepped down from the stand.

Donald Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove is making objections to the prosecution’s questioning of Mr Pecker.

05:23 PM BST

Jury shown negative coverage of Trump political opponents

David Pecker said Michael Cohen would call him asking him to write stories about Donald Trump’s political opponents.

He would tell him “we” want you to write a particular story and the National Enquirer would go away and “embellish” it.

When Mr Cohen said “we”, Mr Pecker assumed he was talking about himself and Mr Trump.

The jury has been shown examples of headlines of positive articles the National Enquirer ran about Mr Trump.

The panel is now being shown negative stories about Mr Trump’s former opponents including Ben Carson and Ted Cruz.

05:21 PM BST

Pecker: Cohen would ask for negative stories of Trump rivals

David Pecker said Michael Cohen would help put together negative stories on Donald Trump’s rivals in the Republican primary.

“Michael Cohen would call me and say, ‘We would like you to run a negative article on a certain, let’s say for argument’s sake, on Ted Cruz then he... would send me information about Ted Cruz or Ben Carson or Marc Rubio,” he told the court.

“That was the basis of our story and then we would embellish it from there.”

Mr Carson is a supporter of Mr Trump and served in his cabinet as housing secretary. Mr Rubio’s name has been floated as a potential running mate for Mr Trump.

05:16 PM BST

Trump watching Pecker intently

Donald Trump has appeared the most engaged he has for the trial so far.

When David Pecker was describing his celebrity and success he was gazing at him in the witness box, watching intently.

Mr Pecker said his meeting with Mr Trump and Michael Cohen lasted around 20 to 25 minutes.

He then went back to his office and told his then chief content officer Dylan Howard and relayed the agreement. He told Mr Howard the deal had to be “highly, highly complementary”.

“I said that any stories that were out there commenting about Donald Trump, commenting about his family, commenting about the election, whatever it might be, I want you to get the stories and bring them to me and I’ll have to speak to Michael Cohen”, he said.

“I told him that we were going to try to help the campaign and to do that we are going to try and keep this as quiet as possible”, he said, adding: “I did not want anyone else to know this agreement I had.”

05:15 PM BST

‘I want to keep this as quiet as possible’

David Pecker said he told the editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer about the “catch and kill” arrangement h allegedly struck with Donald Trump and Michael Cohen.

He testified that he told Dylan Howard that “the agreement that I made has to be highly, highly confidential”.

Mr Pecker added: “I’m told him we’re going to try to help the campaign, and to do that, I want to keep this as quiet as possible.”

05:08 PM BST

Anti-Clinton stories ‘sold well and helped Trump’

David Pecker said he covered Hillary Clinton as “an enabler” for her husband, Bill Clinton, saying the stories sold well and were popular with the Trump campaign.

“I was running the Hillary Clinton stories, I was running Hillary as an enabler for Bill Clinton, with respect to all the womanizing,” he said.

05:04 PM BST

Pecker: Trump was ‘pleased’ with offer to help campaign

David Pecker said Donald Trump was “pleased” with his offer to help the campaign.

“He was pleased, Michael Cohen was pleased with the way I was going to handle these issues and that was basically the conversation”, he said.

Mr Pecker said the arrangement was “mutually beneficial because in writing positive stories about Trump and negative stories” about his political opponent Hillary Clinton it would increase magazine sales and was “also going to benefit his campaign”.

05:03 PM BST

‘Trump was known as the most eligible bachelor’

David Pecker continued: “I was a person who thought there would be a lot of women who might come out to try and sell their stories because Mr Trump was known as the most eligible bachelor and dated the most beautiful women.

“When somebody is running for public office it is very common for these women to call up magazines like the National Enquirer to try and sell their stories.”

05:02 PM BST

Pecker ‘offered to be Trump’s eyes and ears’

We are now talking about the critical Trump Tower meeting in August 2015 with Donald Trump, Michael Cohen and Hope Hicks, Mr Trump’s former communications staffer

Mr Pecker received a call from Mr Cohen saying “the boss” wanted to see him. “Most of the time when I received a call from Michael Cohen he wanted something”, he said.

He continued: “At that meeting… they asked me what can I do and what my magazines could do to help the campaign.

“Thinking about it, as I did previously, I said what I would do is I would run or publish positive stories about Mr Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponents.

“I said I would be your eyes and ears because I know the Trump Organisation has a very small staff.

“I hear anything negative about yourself… or women selling stories I would notify Michael Cohen as i did for the last several years.

“Then he would be able to have them killed… or not be published or somebody would have to purchase them.”

04:58 PM BST

Cohen ‘saved Pecker a seat’ at Trump campaign launch

According to an email submitted as evidence by prosecutors, Michael Cohen personally invited David Pecker t the launch of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

“No one deserves to be there more than you,” the email, dated October 2015, reads.

“As a friend, I would love if you could make it. Let me know so I can save you a seat next to me on the atrium floor.”

04:54 PM BST

Pecker: Cohen invited me to launch of Trump’s presidential campaign

Mr Pecker said interest in Mr Trump from the readership of his magazines “skyrocketed” after Mr Trump launched The Apprentice.

The National Enquirer ran a poll showing 80 per cent of readers wanted Mr Trump to run for president.

Mr Pecker said he was at the June 2015 announcement he was running for president.

“I received an invitation from Michael Cohen… saying ‘there’s going to be an announcement and I believe you should be there,’” he said.

04:48 PM BST

Pecker asked about Hope Hicks

Prosecutors have moved on to asking David Pecker if he knows Hope Hicks, a former long-time aide to Donald Trump. “Yes, I do,” he responded, saying he met her when she worked for a company run by Mr Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

04:46 PM BST

Trump ‘was a frugal micro-manager’

David Pecker said he first met Michael Cohen at a bar mitzvah.

Seven years later, Donald Trump told him he had hired him as his personal lawyer.

He was told to call Mr Cohen if he heard of “any negative stories” about Mr Trump or his family which were expected to come out.

He said after Mr Trump announced he was running for president his communication with Mr Cohen increased to “a minimum of every week, and if there was an issue it could be daily.”

04:44 PM BST

Pecker: Trump would tip me off about Apprentice

David Pecker said Donald Trump would tip him off about who he was going to fire from The Apprentice, his reality TV programme. It was a “mutually beneficial” arrangement, he added.

04:42 PM BST

Trump watching Pecker intently as he gives evidence

Donald Trump is watching David Pecker intently as he gives evidence.

He’s described how he would see Mr Trump “once or twice a quarter” prior to 2015.

“After he announced his presidency I saw Mr Trump more frequently, maybe once a month”, he said.

He would also speak to him on the telephone and communicated with his bodyguard occasionally.

He said over the years he visited Trump Towers.

Asked to describe Mr Trump as a businessman he said he was “very knowledgeable”, “very detail-oriented” and “almost a micro-manager”.

He said his approach to money was “very cautious and very frugal”.

04:34 PM BST

Pecker ‘had a great relationship with Trump’

Mr Pecker said he had “a great relationship with Mr Trump over the years”.

He said he had “a lot of dealings” with the former president from 1989 and 1999 when he was “a celebrity in his own right”. He would introduce him to executives in New York and invite him to parties.

When American Media Inc (AMI) acquired the National Enquirer Donald Trump called to say, “Congratulations, you bought a great magazine”.

He said The Apprentice was an “instant success” and he would chat to Mr Trump about the ratings.

He said he would consider Mr Trump a friend and would refer to him as Donald.

04:31 PM BST

Pecker says he has known Trump since the 1980s

David Pecker is wearing a grey suit, pink tie and blue shirt.

He is smiling and has already lightened the mood by forgetting his former assistant’s last name.

He said he has known Donald Trump since the 1980s and was asked to point him out and say something he is wearing.

Smiling, he said: “He’s wearing a dark blue suit”.

He said he met Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago 1989.

04:25 PM BST

Court back in session

Juan Merchan is back on the bench and the court is back in session.

David Pecker is back on the bench to continue his testimony and the jury is seated.

04:22 PM BST

Trump ‘whispering animatedly’ to Todd Blanche

Donald Trump was animatedly whispering to Todd Blanche while waiting for the judge to re-enter the court.

Mr Blanche and Emil Bove, another of Mr Trump’s lawyers, have swapped seats.

04:14 PM BST

Trump: This is a kangaroo court

Donald Trump accused Juan Merchan of presiding over a “kangaroo court” as he launched an attack on his trial judge as the court took a short break.

The former president wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Highly conflicted, to put it mildly, Judge Juan Merchan, has taken away my constitutional right to free speech.

“Everybody is allowed to talk and lie about me, but I am not allowed to defend myself.

“This is a kangaroo court, and the judge should recuse himself!”

04:10 PM BST

Trump re-enters courtroom

Donald Trump has returned to the courtroom, and spoke to his lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove while seated at the defence table.

04:07 PM BST

Pictured: Trump gestures as he leaves courtroom

04:03 PM BST

‘Are you going to keep Truthing?’ Trump asked

Donald Trump also ignored questions from reporters about how his legal team was performing and whether he would keep posting on his Truth Social platform.

04:01 PM BST

Trump ignores question about lawyer

When he left the courtroom for the morning break, Donald Trump ignored a question from a reporter asking: “Does your lawyer have any credibility?”.

03:59 PM BST

Prosecution: Trump threatens hush money case by attacking witnesses

Donald Trump threatens to derail his “hush money” trial by repeatedly attacking witnesses, prosecutors argued in court on Tuesday.

Christopher Conroy, prosecuting, claimed the former president had violated a gag order intended to prevent witnesses and jurors 10 times, eight of them through posts on his Truth Social platform, since the trial began last week.

A regular target is Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer”, who is expected to be a key prosecution witness, he noted.

Mr Conroy called on Juan Merchan, the judge presiding over the case, to hold Mr Trump in contempt of court and said he posed a “very real threat” to proceedings. “The defendant has violated this order repeatedly and hasn’t stopped,” he added.

He accused Mr Trump of breaching the gag order in the hallway outside the courtroom when he accused Mr Cohen of being a liar in remarks to the media yesterday.

03:47 PM BST

Court breaks without gag order ruling

The court is now taking a short break.

Juan Merchan will not make a decision right away and the jury will be called back in at 11am.

03:46 PM BST

Judge’s exchanges with Trump lawyer continue

“You’re not giving me anything to hang my hat on”, Juan Merchan told Todd Blanche, who has argued reposting news articles is not a violation of the gag order.

Mr Merchan has used the analogy of someone walking around with a placard which said horrible things about the jury.

Mr Merchan asked whether Mr Blanche’s position is “that if your client grabbed that placard and walked around with it” he would be absolved of any wrongdoing.

Mr Blanche has said this is not his argument.

03:45 PM BST

‘You’re losing all credibility,’ judge tells Blanche

Juan Merchan has continued to lay into Todd Blanche, telling him: “You’re losing all credibility, I have to tell you right now.”

He was responding to Mr Blanche claiming that his client had been trying to comply with the gag order.

03:31 PM BST

Blanche: Prosecution ‘get to speak as long as they want to’

Tensions between Mr Blanche and Mr Merchan have heated up.

Mr Merchan has appeared sceptical of Mr Blanche’s arguments that Mr Trump’s posts were in response to attacks from Mr Cohen and Stormy Daniels.

“I keep asking you over and over again for a specific example, and I’m not getting an answer”, Mr Merchan said, before adding that he didn’t want to keep the jury waiting, who are due back in the courtroom in 30 minutes.

Raising his voice, Mr Blanche said: “The People get to speak as long as they want to”.

03:30 PM BST

‘I’m not getting an answer’

Juan Merchan accused Donald Trump’s lawyer of failing to answer his questions as he pressed him on how Michael Cohen had attacked the former president.

“I’m asking the questions. I’m going to be the one who decides whether your client is in contempt,” he told Todd Blanche, as exchanges between the pair grew heated.

“I keep asking you over and over again for a specific answer, and I’m not getting an answer.”

03:25 PM BST

Trump stares straight ahead as defence pushes back

The former president has been staring ahead, occasionally shifting in his seat or speaking to his legal team while Mr Blanche has been having a heated conversation with the judge about his social media posts.

“President Trump does in fact know what the gag order allows him to do and not allow him to do,” Mr Blanche said, adding, “there was absolutely no willful violation of the gag order.”

03:20 PM BST

Trump ‘responding to political attacks’

Donald Trump was responding to “a barrage of political attacks” when he made posts about Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, Todd Blanche argued.

The former president made his remarks “in direct response” to statements issued by the pair and was not addressing the case, he added.

03:15 PM BST

‘There was no willful violation of gag order’

Todd Blanche, acting for the defence, insisted that Donald Trump understands the limits of the gag order. “There was absolutely no willful violation of the gag order,” he added.

03:11 PM BST

Trump ‘is breaching a crystal-clear court order’

Christopher Conroy said Donald Trump “knows about the order, he knows what he’s not allowed to do and he does it anyway.”

He said Mr Trump’s attacks amount to “nothing less than knowingly and willfully breaching the crystal clear” court order which was put in place to “protect the integrity of these proceedings.”

He has called on the judge to hand Mr Trump a fine of $1,000 per violation and to remind Mr Trump further violations could result in a short jail sentence.

He added: “The defendant is having his day in court, unfortunately” he is doing everything he can “to undermine this process.”

Todd Blanche is now making representations to the judge.

03:07 PM BST

Trump ‘doesn’t care’ about gag order, prosecutors claim

Christopher Conroy noted that a juror asked to be excused last week a day after Donald Trump quoted a commentator who claimed liberal activists were attempting to infiltrate the jury.

“What happened here is precisely what this order was designed to prevent, and this defendant doesn’t care,” he said.

02:56 PM BST

Prosecution: Trump is in contempt of court for gag order violations

Prosecutor Christopher Conroy is calling on Mr Merchan to hold Mr Trump in contempt of court for all 10 alleged gag order violations.

He said Mr Trump’s attacks on Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, who will be key witnesses on this case, are “part of the plan” for this trial.

“It’s the defendant conditioning his followers”, he said.

Mr Conroy said each post violated the court order and “pose a very real threat” to the proceedings.

“The defendant has violated this order repeatedly and hasn’t stopped”, Mr Conroy added.

He then read a transcript of Mr Trump’s comments to reporters yesterday “on his way into and out of this courtroom” in which he attacked Mr Cohen.

Mr Conroy said the prosecution will be filing another complaint for the most recent remarks.

02:52 PM BST

Trump ‘violated gag order in the hallway’

Christopher Conroy said there was one more time where Donald Trump violated his gag order – yesterday, “right here in the hallway outside”.

On that occasion, Mr Trump accused his former lawyer and “fixer”, Michael Cohen, of being a liar when he spoke to reporters after the trial.

02:49 PM BST

Trump posts ‘pose a very real threat’

Christopher Conroy claimed Donald Trump’s posts “pose a very real threat” to the proceedings, intimidating “both the defendant’s direct targets” and others who might be called to testify.

02:47 PM BST

Prosecutors lay out alleged gag order violations

Christopher Conroy, prosecuting, argued that Donald Trump has violated the court-imposed gag order 10 times since the trial began last week.

Of those, he said, eight were posted on his Truth Social platform, while two others were on the campaign website.

02:38 PM BST

Trump ‘looks bored’ on second week of trial

Mr Trump has been left sitting alone again while his legal team and the prosecution speak privately with Mr Merchan.

The former president looks bored. He is staring ahead, occasionally leaning back in his chair, as he sits surrounded by six empty red leather seats.

02:36 PM BST

Judge enters courtroom

Juan Merchan, the judge presiding of Donald Trump’s “hush money” case, has entered the courtroom. The court is ow in session.

02:35 PM BST

Trump looks sombre as he enters courtroom

Donald Trump entered the courtroom at 9:29am EST (2:29pm BST) wearing his trademark crisp navy blue suit and red tie.

The former president looked somber and ran his tongue across the inside of his slightly ajar mouth as he walked down the court’s aisle to take his seat at the defence bench.

02:35 PM BST

Trump: Biden is no friend of Israel

Donald Trump did not mention his gag order when he spoke to media before entering court for a hearing about whether he breached its restrictions this morning.

Instead, the former president hit out at Joe Biden, blaming him for pro-Palestinian protests that have caused upheaval at US and claimed he was “no friend of Israel”.

He claimed that his supporters had been unable to get near Manhattan Criminal Court because of the heavy police presence.

02:26 PM BST

Manhattan DA takes his seat

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has arrived in the courtroom wearing a navy blue suit.

He has taken his usual spot in the front row behind the prosecution bench. There are two members of security wearing earpieces sitting behind him.

02:24 PM BST

Juan Merchan faces ‘tricky decision’ over gag order

This morning’s hearing over whether Mr Trump violated his gag order should start shortly.

If Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the hush money trial, agrees that Mr Trump has violated his gag order, he will have to make the tricky decision over what action to take.

His options range from giving Mr Trump a stern warning, handing the former president a fine or – the very unlikely option – giving the Republican nominee a stint in jail.

02:17 PM BST

Donald Trump’s hush-money trial – explained

Donald Trump headed to court last week as the first former president ever to be criminally prosecuted in a pivotal moment for US politics.

The scandal-plagued 77-year-old is accused of covering up a $130,000 “hush money” payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star.

Mr Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Read Verity Bowman’s piece on the background to the trial – and what could happen next – here.

02:00 PM BST

Who might be called as a witness in the trial?

A colourful cast of witnesses are expected to appear at the “hush money” trial, including an adult film star, former Playboy model, and Donald Trump’s former “fixer”.

David Pecker, the former tabloid publisher, appeared on the witness stand on Monday and is expected to return today.

01:51 PM BST

Trump arrives at court

Donald Trump has arrived at Manhattan Criminal Court. A hearing on whether he has violated a gag order imposed by the judge begins in slightly under 40 minutes.

01:50 PM BST

Who is David Pecker?

David Pecker, the ex-publisher of the National Enquirer, was the first prosecution witness to appear against Donald Trump on Monday.

His friendship with the former president stretches back decades. One ex-employee said that he attempted to model himself on Mr Trump, while prosecutors claim the men formed a “criminal conspiracy” to influence the 2016 election.

But on Monday he took to the witness stand, albeit briefly, in the ‘hush money’ trial that could land Mr Trump in prison if he is found guilty.

Read the full article about the first witness in the “hush money” trial here.

01:46 PM BST

Reporters take seats before Trump’s arrival

Dozens of journalists are now seated in Part 59, the courtroom where the hush money trial is taking place.

There’s a more relaxed feeling in the room today, but this might just because we were let in on time.

One enterprising reporter has bought a pair of opera glasses on Amazon for $39.99 in a bid to get a crisp view of Mr Trump’s face.

01:44 PM BST

All the charges Donald Trump faces – and what happens next

Donald Trump’s bid for re-election to the White House has been beset by legal difficulties with the former president facing 91 felony charges across four criminal cases and two civil actions.

Mr Trump is staring down the barrel of potential jail time if he is found guilty in the criminal cases, while he has been saddled with fines of more than $400 million for his civil trials.

Read our full breakdown of all the legal battles Donald Trump is fighting here.

01:38 PM BST

A chill in the air before court gets underway

It’s much quieter outside court today, with the hubbub of day one appearing to have died down.

I arrived at Manhattan Criminal Court at 6:30am to find just two people in the line for seats in the courtroom – a fraction of yesterday’s early crowd – and no professional queuers.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day in New York, but there’s a chill in the air.

Reporters are bundled up in coats and bouncing from foot to foot to keep warm.

01:33 PM BST

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the live blog. Benedict Smith here. We’ll be bringing you all the updates from Manhattan Criminal Court, as prosecutors argue that Donald Trump violated a gag order imposed by the judge.

David Pecker, the former publishing executive whose association with Donald Trump stretches back decades, is due back in the witness stand later today.