Judge Merchan offered to break early today and resume tomorrow morning when C-SPAN executive Robert Browning arrives to testify.

He also gave the defense the option begin presenting its case today.

Defense counsel and Trump huddled over the question.

After Judge Merchan ruled that he would not admit a photo that prosecutors said showed Trump and his bodyguard Keith Schiller together on Oct. 24, 2016 -- the night of the phone call Michael Cohen said he had with Trump to finalize the Stormy Daniels deal -- prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said he respected Merchan's ruling, but criticized the defense for objecting to the evidence despite not contesting that Schiller and Trump are both in the photo together.

"I am not sure why we are jumping through all these hoops," Steinglass said.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche said it would be "patently unfair" to allow prosecutors to recall C-SPAN executive Robert Browning to testify about the photo after the defense has presented witnesses.

"That's not the way a trial is supposed to work, judge," Blanche said.

The judge ordered prosecutors to check with Browning -- who previously traveled from Louisiana to testify -- to see if he can be here by 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Mangold subsequently reported that Browning would be able to make it.

"They are booking travel right now," Mangold said.

Judge Merchan has ruled that he will not admit into evidence two still images prosecutors want to introduce that purportedly show Trump and his bodyguard Keith Schiller together on Oct. 24, 2016, the night of the phone call Michael Cohen said he had with Trump to finalize the Stormy Daniels deal.

Prosecutors want to introduce screenshots from a C-SPAN video showing Trump and Schiller together at that time.

Merchan said the images are relevant but said prosecutors could not overcome a hearsay objection.

Prosecutor Becky Mangold told Merchan that they just reached out to C-SPAN executive Robert Browning, who testified earlier, to ask him to return to court "as soon as reasonably possible" to introduce the images as evidence.

Mangold said she would update Merchan about Browning's status by the end of the day.

Judge Juan Merchan and all parties are back in the courtroom following the lunch break.

The judge is preparing to rule on the admission of the photograph requested by prosecutors prior to the break.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Cohen about the large sums of money he made through his consulting work with other companies in 2017 -- an apparent effort to legitimize the money Cohen made from Trump as the being the result of legal work.

Cohen testified he was paid $600,000 by AT&T in 2017, communicating with them just 20 times.

"And there's nothing wrong with that?" Blanche asked.

"I don't believe so," Cohen said.

Cohen said he was paid $100,000 per month from Novartis, $100,000 per month from an aerospace company, and $150,000 a month from a bank.

Cohen was also paid $50,000 by a company in 2017 to help restart a nuclear power plant formerly run by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

On direct examination, Cohen had testified he did less than 10 hours of work or Trump in 2017 -- an attempt by prosecutors to cast doubt on the fact that the payments Cohen received were for any legitimate legal work.

Blanche appears to be trying to rebut those assertions by painting Trump's payments as just another one of Cohen's lucrative consulting jobs, in which he made hundreds of thousands of dollars while doing little work for his clients.