On redirect examination, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen about his testimony on cross-examination that nondisclosure agreements are perfectly legal and that the contract with Stormy Daniels was also legal.

Hoffinger sought to emphasize how out of the ordinary this particular NDA was.

"Under the circumstances of this NDA with Stormy Daniels -- was that perfectly legal under those circumstances?" Hoffinger asked, referring to efforts to affect the 2016 election.

"No ma'am," Cohen said.

On redirect examination, Michael Cohen offered some context about how he claims he inadvertently provided some fake case law to the court during a recent bid to end his supervised release.

"I went onto Google Bard which is an AI search engine," Cohen said. "It gave me a plethora of cases that appeared to me to be legitimate. They certainly looked legitimate and there were facts behind it and supported what we were going to put in the upcoming motion."

"I was just trying to be helpful," Cohen added.

But when Cohen showed the cases to his current lawyer, she noticed they were "not legitimate."

At her recommendation, Cohen said he notified the court about the fake cases.

Michael Cohen testified under redirect examination that he had nothing at stake in the outcome of Trump's criminal trial.

"Are you actually on trial here?" Hoffinger asked.

"No ma'am," Cohen said.

"Are you a witness here?" Hoffinger asked.

"I am," Cohen said.

"Are you charged with any crimes here?" Hoffinger asked.

"No ma'am," Cohen said.

While Cohen was subpoenaed to testify at this trial, he described his outlook about the trial as markedly different from his participation and plea in a 2018 federal investigation.

"My life was on the line. My liberty. I was the defendant in the case," Cohen said.

On redirect examination, Michael Cohen provided some background on the $30,000 he said he stole from the Trump Organization by overcharging them for work he did with Red Finch -- funds that were paid to him as part of the Stormy Daniels reimbursement payment.

"Red Finch is a technology company that I had asked to assist in a CNBC poll, and the poll was regarding the most famous businessmen in, like, the last century," Cohen said, speaking to the jury. "Mr. Trump's name was on that list and at the beginning of this poll he was polling toward the very bottom. It upset him, so he had me come to his office and he provided me with a sheet of paper."

"I reached out to Red Finch who told me he was able to create an algorithm to ensure that Mr. Trump would rise and rise significantly in this poll. We talked about what number Mr. Trump wanted to finish," Cohen said.

The jury sat in rapt attention as Cohen spoke.

Eventually Trump came in No. 9 but he declined to pay Red Finch because CNBC didn't bother following through with the poll, Cohen said. Cohen ended up paying them -- in a brown paper bag in cash, he said.

"You felt some pressure to make some payment to your friend? Hoffinger asked.

"Yes," Cohen responded.

Asked why he did it, Cohen said, "Well for a long time I had been telling him about the $50,000. ... I was angered because of the reduction in the bonus, and so I just felt it was almost like self help."

"I wasn't going to let him have the benefit this way as well," Cohen said, admitting that it was wrong.

New York's Appellate Division has upheld Judge Juan Merchan's decision not to recuse himself from former President Trump's hush money case.

Trump's defense team had sought Merchan's recusal based on his daughter's work for a consulting firm with Democratic clients.

A panel of appellate judges ruled that Trump failed to prove the judge overstepped his authority by denying a defense motion for recusal.

"Petitioner has failed to establish that the court acted in excess of its jurisdiction by denying his motion," today's order said. "Petitioner also has not established that he has a clear right to recusal."

The judges also found that the defense appeal was procedurally improper since they waited too long to appeal Merchan's August 2023 recusal order, then rushed to the Appellate Division before Merchan ruled on their more recent recusal motion.

The appellate court also upheld Merchan's decision denying Trump's argument that some of his social media posts were covered by presidential immunity.

The appeals court said Trump could include both appeals in its general appeal of the verdict should he be found guilty.

The court also denied Trump's request for a change of venue for the trial, which Trump had sought before the trial began last month.

The former president has repeatedly criticized Judge Merchan as "conflicted" throughout the trial.