Trump trial: Judge rebukes Michael Cohen ahead of expected testimony Monday

Former President Trump was in court on Day 15 of his criminal trial in New York.

Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.


What to know about the hush money case

READ MORE: Here's what you need to know about the historic case.


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Daniels addresses questions from cross-examination

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Daniels about some of the topics from Daniels' cross-examination.

Daniels, under questioning, said that her 2011 InTouch magazine interview – which defense attorney Susan Necheles used to highlight some inconsistencies in Daniels' story about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump -- was edited by the publication.

Hoffinger also asked Daniels about her interview with "60 Minutes."

"You didn't tell every single detail to Anderson Cooper, did you?" Hoffinger asked.

"No," Daniels responded.


Prosecutors begin Daniels' redirect examination

Following the conclusion of defense attorney Susan Necheles' cross-examination of Stormy Daniels, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger returned to the lectern for her redirect examination.

Hoffinger began her questions by asking Daniels to clarify why she wanted to go public with her allegations in 2016.

"You are safer hiding in plain sight," Daniels said. "Something won't happen to you if everyone is looking at you."


Defense seeks to distance Trump from nondisclosure

In her cross-examination of Stormy Daniels, defense attorney Susan Necheles sought to distance Donald Trump from the nondisclosure agreement Daniels signed.

"You have no personal knowledge of his involvement in that [agreement] and what he did and didn't do?" Necheles asked.

"Not directly," Daniels said.

Necheles also emphasized that Daniels had nothing to do with the crux of the case, which is how the payment to her was labeled on Trump's business records.

"And you know nothing about Trump's business records, right?" Necheles asked.

"I know nothing about his business records, no." Daniels responded. "Why would I?"

Daniels seemed to suggest she wasn't entirely clear on the substance of the charges against Trump in this case -- leading to a jab against the former president.

"You have no knowledge of what he's indicted for?" Necheles asked.

"There are a lot of indictments," Daniels responded.

The judge declined to strike that statement.


Daniels returns to the stand following break

Trump reentered the courtroom after the break and returned to the defense table. Before he sat, he turned around to scan the room.

Defense attorney Susan Necheles entered in front of him, smiling.

Trump then conferred with Necheles at the defense table, whispering into her ear as she nodded in agreement.

As Daniels walked by him to the witness stand, he turned to his left to confer with attorney Todd Blanche, facing away from her.


Checks for Trump to sign were sent to bodyguard's home

As questioning of the Trump Organization's bookkeeper continued, Trump, sitting at the defense table, continued to appear to give instructions to his attorneys.

Trump wrote down a note on a yellow legal bad and passed it to attorney Susan Necheles, who read it and then looked up at Trump and nodded in agreement. She then went back to her own notepad and took down a note.

Bookkeeper Rebecca Manochio is testifying as a custodian of records for the Trump Organization, as prosecutors have entered into evidence a series of emails and Fedex records.

The jury sees FedEx invoices for checks Manochio says she sent to Washington for Trump to sign while he was president. They have seen two instances where Manochio mailed checks to the home of Trump's bodyguard, Keith Schiller, instead of directly to the White House.

Schiller also mailed the checks back, according to Manochio.

Asked who directed her to mail the checks to Schiller, Manochio said that either then-CFO Allen Weisselberg or Trump assistant Rhona Graff told her to do so.

By September 2017, Manochio said she began mailing the checks to Trump's then-body man John McEntee, who would later became the director of the White House personnel office and one of Donald Trump's most trusted aides.

"I will need the boss's personal checks mailed to me," McEntee said in an email to Rhona Graff.

"Who is John McEntee?" the prosecutor asked Manochio.

"Couldn't tell you," Manochio said.