Trump trial: 1st week of testimony ends with testimony from Michael Cohen's former banker

Banker Gary Farro testified in Donald Trump's hush money 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 to hide the reimbursement of 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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Trump arrives at courthouse

Former President Trump has arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan.

He stepped out of his motorcade, waved, and walked into the side entrance.

A small group of supporters and protesters both cheered and booed his arrival.


Trump en route to courthouse

Former President Trump is en route to the courthouse in lower Manhattan for this morning's proceedings.

The former president left for the the courthouse from Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan.


Court may start with hearing on Trump testifying

Court this morning may start with a hearing over what prosecutors can ask Trump during cross-examination should he take the stand later in the trial.

The judge would hear arguments from both the people and the defense. The proceedings would then move into jury selection later in the morning.

Prosecutors have indicated they would want to cross-examine Trump on approximately "thirteen different court determinations," including the recent civil finding that he sexually abused columnist E. Jean Carroll, the criminal conviction of the Trump Organization last year, the finding that he committed a decade of business fraud, and the dissolution of his charity, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The hearing -- known as a Sandoval hearing -- is standard practice before jury selection and typically occurs when a defendant signals a willingness to testify.

In a filing last month, Trump's lawyers requested a Sandoval hearing to limit the scope of Trump's potential cross examination, if he opted to testify.

ABC News' Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.


Jury selection set to begin

Former President Trump will leave his Trump Tower apartment in Midtown Manhattan this morning and travel down to lower Manhattan for the first day of jury selection in his criminal hush money trial.

The proceedings come after Trump unsuccessfully tried three times last week to delay the start of the trial through the filing of appeals.

As a defendant in a criminal case, the former president will be required to be in court for the entire trial, which is expected to take six to eight weeks.


'None of this was a crime,' defense attorney says

Donald Trump is "not just our former president, he's not just Donald Trump that you've seen on TV," said defense attorney Todd Blanche in his opening statement.

"He's also a man. He's a husband," Blanche said. "He's a father."

Blanche pushed back on the DA's overall allegation that the payments to Trump's attorney Michael Cohen were weren't only payback for Stormy Daniels by using the prosecutor's own words against him.

Blanche noted that Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels, but that Trump paid back Cohen a total of $420,000. If Trump really was a frugal businessman, as prosecutors said, why would he overpay that money, Blanche asked.

"Ask yourself, would a frugal businessman, a man who pinched his pennies, repay a $130,000 debt to the tune of $420,000?" Blanche asked.

Blanche repeatedly reiterated that Cohen truly was an attorney for Trump and was doing legal work for him, pointing out that Michael Cohen's own email signature noted he was Trump's attorney.

"None of this was a crime," Blanche said, saying the 34 counts against Trump "are really just 34 pieces of paper."