Judge Merchan returned to the bench to check on how the search for the jury's requested readback material was coming.

"Where do we stand?" the judge asked.

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass said there were a "few outstanding issues" requiring Merchan's intervention.

Steinglass said the parties were in agreement about three of the four requests, but disagreed over the relevant portion of the transcript regarding David's Pecker's testimony about the 2015 Trump Tower meeting.

Steinglass said the lawyers disagreed over whether the jury should hear a portion of Pecker's testimony regarding what he relayed about the meeting to then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.

"We tried to draw a line between the substance of the meeting and the execution," Steinglass told the judge.

"I can see why Mr. Blanche has some concerns about most of this," Merchan said after reviewing that portion of the transcript himself.

Prosecutors Josh Steinglass and Susan Hoffinger, and defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove continued to hash out the relevant portion of the transcript for tomorrow's readback as requested by the jury.

After spending about half an hour in his waiting area, Donald Trump returned to the courtroom.

He entered alongside his son Don Jr. and took a seat at the defense table as the attorneys continued to pore over the material.

After dismissing the jury for the day, Judge Merchan asked the lawyers not to leave the courtroom until they decide the portion for the jury's requested readback.

"Yes, your honor," defense attorney Todd Blanche responded.

As the lawyers met with Merchan at the bench, Trump leaned back in his seat at the defense table, with his arm resting on the top of his chair.

Blanche asked if Trump could return the his waiting area while the attorneys searched for the readback material.

Merchan said he would allow it as long as Trump remained nearby in case he is needed.

Trump slowly walked out of the courtroom, scowling as he left.

With the jury back in the courtroom, Judge Merchan told them the requested readback of testimony would will take at least half an hour, so announced he would dismiss the jury for the day and address both their notes when they return tomorrow.

Before dismissing the jury for the day, the judge emphasized his standard instruction about the jury not looking up information related to the trial.

"You are at a critical point in the proceedings," Merchan said.

"See you tomorrow morning at 9:30," the judge said before the jury exited the courtroom.

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass continued to lean on the testimony of former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, arguing it offered unequivocal evidence that Trump was in on the catch-and-kill plan involving Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Pecker testified that Trump was furious at Pecker after the Wall Street Journal published a story in November 2016 about AMI's payment to McDougal.

"This is the story that he is simultaneously telling the press he knows nothing about," Steinglass said. "Pecker established unequivocally that Trump was in on the McDougal deal."

Trump was "angry because story came out that threatened his standing with female voters," Steinglass said.

"Of course we will never know if this effort to hoodwink the American voter made the difference in the 2016 election, but that's not something we have to prove," Steinglass said. What matters, Steinglass said, is that the scheme was "cloaked in false business records to hide the conspiracy."

Judge Merchan said the jury would take its next break, then the closing would continue.

"I was watching the jurors," said the judge. "They looked pretty alert to me -- I don't think we're losing anyone."