Judge Merchan told the parties he would take a few minutes back in chambers before returning at 4:30 ET to bring in the jury and excuse them for the day.

Trump, at the defense table, was actively conferring with attorney Todd Blanche as they waited, with Blanche laughing and covering his mouth as Trump whispered in his ear. Trump flashed a grin.

Defense attorneys Emil Bove and Susan Necheles were also smiling as they chatted.

Members of the prosecution team returned to the courtroom and gathered at the counsel table.

Donald Trump then returned to the courtroom.

Judge Merchan, after entering the courtroom, said, "At this time, I am going to excuse the jury around 4:30."

As the jury continues its deliberations, the courtroom is quiet except for the clacking of reporters' keyboards.

Trump and his attorneys are in a separate waiting area, as are attorneys with the DA's office. That leaves about 60 reporters waiting in the quiet courtroom, where four court officers are enforcing a "no talking" rule.

One court officer sits at a desk by the bell that the jury rings when they want to contact the court. Two court reporters sit in the corner of the room near the witness stand, with their three-foot stack of paper transcripts looming behind them.

On the right side of the gallery, four sketch artists continue to work. It’s unclear what they are drawing.

During this morning's testimony readbacks, the courtroom heard the voice of the jury foreman, who told Judge Merchan the jury wanted to hear "instructions first," then later replied in the affirmative when Merchan asked if the jury's requests had been satisfied.

The person selected to be the foreman on Trump's jury -- chosen by default due to being selected as Juror No. 1 -- is a male New Yorker who has worked in sales for nearly three decades. Originally from Ireland, he previously worked as a waiter.

The foreman is also one of just two known immigrants in the group -- the other being from Lebanon.

Regarding his education, Juror No. 1 said during the jury selection process that he attended "some college." The jury as a whole includes seven members with advanced degrees, plus another juror who also said they attended "some college."

Juror No. 1 said he had never served on a jury before, and that he gets his news from The New York Times, Fox News, and MSNBC.

Asked during voir dire by prosecutors if he would have a problem with the concept of "accessorial liability" -- that is, holding Trump responsible for something his partners did -- Juror No. 1 said he wouldn't.

"None at all," he replied.

Later, he was asked by Trump's attorney Todd Blanche for his "positive or negative" opinion of the fact that there are charges against Trump.

"I don't have an opinion at all," he said.

More than an a hour and a half into his summation, prosecutor Josh Steinglass finally turned his attention to the Stormy Daniels hush money payment.

Steinglass resumed his summation by discussing the impact of the "Access Hollywood" tape, which prosecutors argued was the impetus for the Daniels hush money payment.

"It all began with this email from this Washington Post reporter named David Fahrenthold," Steinglass said, displaying the exhibit. Fahrenthold had reached out to then-Trump aide Hope Hicks with a transcript of the "Access Hollywood" remarks to ask for the campaign's comment.

Steinglass recapped some of Hicks' testimony, saying her "initial instinct was to deny the video's legitimacy." But once the campaign saw the video, "that strategy quickly shifted from 'deny, deny, deny' to 'spin.'"

Steinglass then played a video of Trump's reaction to the "Access Hollywood" tape in which he expressed his regret.

On Oct. 8, Steinglass says, there was a "flurry of activity" as Trump's campaign sought to spin the Access Hollywood tape. Michael Cohen asked then-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker about a RadarOnline article "about Trump being a playboy" and asked him to remove it, which he did.

"This is not catch-and-kill exactly, but they are purging the internet at the direction of the campaign," Steinglass said.