UPDATE: Donald Trump approved a plan to repay hush money for Stormy Daniels to his lawyer Michael Cohen in a meeting at Trump Tower days before his inauguration as president, Cohen told jurors today. As part of the package, Trump raised Cohen's holiday bonus after Cohen complained bitterly that he'd…

UPDATE: Judge Juan Merchan told the prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial to pass along a message to one of their likely witnesses, lawyer Michael Cohen: Please stop talking or posting on social media about the case.  Moments before the day in court ended early around lunchtime, Judge…

UPDATE: Stormy Daniels took a swipe at Donald Trump and his legal team for their complaints about her testimony over two days in the New York hush money trial. “Real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court. Oh…wait. Nevermind,” Daniels wrote on X/Twitter. Real men…

Donald Trump's hush money trial resumes today with one of his chief antagonists, Stormy Daniels, returning to the stand and court observers wondering if the former and possible future president is close to being thrown into jail.  Whatever happens inside the courtroom, there may no longer be…

UPDATE: Stormy Daniels faced a contentious cross examination today over her claim that she had sex with Donald Trump in 2006 and that, five years later, a stranger threatened her in a Las Vegas parking lot to not talk about the sexual encounter publicly.  Susan Necheles, a lawyer for Trump…

UPDATED, 3:04 PM: The judge in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial hasn’t tossed the ex-president behind bars yet for violating a gag order, but the former Celebrity Apprentice host won’t be getting out of the courtroom anytime soon either. On a dry day in front of Judge Juan Merchan, the jury on Monday…

A judge again found Donald Trump in contempt of court for violations of a partial gag order. Trump was fined $1,000 over a statement he made attacking the jury in the case. Read the latest Trump contempt order. The judge in Trump’s hush money case, Juan Merchan, also warned the former…

2nd UPDATE 1:56 PM: Not for the first time, Donald Trump made someone cry today. Hope Hicks wept on the stand today in the hush money trial of her former boss moments after a prosecutor had finished questioning her about her dealings with Trump and Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen. Finished talking to…

UPDATE: Jurors today heard a recording in which Donald Trump and his then-lawyer and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, discuss payments to Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with The Apprentice host. The recording was made by Cohen in September of 2016 — and first…

UPDATE: The lawyer for Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels further outlined the hush money deals made to his clients, including his suspicion that Donald Trump was “the one” who ultimately funded the Daniels payoff. Lawyer Keith Davidson said on Tuesday that he did not enjoy having to deal with Trump's…

UPDATED: After David Pecker finished his fourth day of testimony, the next prosecution witness in Donald Trump’s hush money trial Friday was Rhona Graff, Trump’s longtime assistant. Graff was a Trump Organization employee who, while there, kept contacts for both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in…

Over three days of testimony this week, Donald Trump's hush money trial in Manhattan has spawned subplots inside and outside the courtroom.  With a decision on one contempt motion pending, Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled a hearing on Thursday for prosecutors to argue that Trump has committed more…