Day 4 of Trump New York hush money trial

One of former President Donald Trump's attorneys, Emil Bove, accused prosecutors of "piling things on" and trying to confuse the jury about what's actually at issue in the hush money criminal trial.

The comment came during a back-and-forth over which elements of Trump's past legal issues can be brought up in the current proceedings — part of a routine process called a Sandoval hearing.

Prosecutors want to bring up past cases — including a $355 million civil fraud order and the E. Jean Carroll defamation case — but the former president's legal team argues those issues aren't relevant to the case at hand.

Donald Trump's attorneys are arguing in court right now against bringing in his past legal cases and battles during the hush money criminal trial.

The former president is reacting in court as prosecutors bring up the allegations against him. Here's a look at the cases:

Bove also argued against including a lawsuit Trump filed against Hillary Clinton that was dismissed for being frivolous and in bad faith. Merchan questioned why that wouldn't be relevant for prosecutors to try to impeach Trump's credibility. "If that’s not Sandoval, I don’t know what is," Merchan says after reading some of the opinion criticizing Trump's frivolous lawsuit. Bove responds that there's a cascading effect of having multiple civil lawsuits that are still under appeal.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said that as former Donald Trump chooses whether to testify during the trial, it's clear that witness credibility is at the "core" of it — and that's an argument for allowing additional evidence, not excluding it.

Trump attorney Emil Bove then moved on to discussing the Trump Organization verdict, arguing that prosecutors in that case — who are sitting to his right — said that those charges were not about Trump. "This case is not about Donald Trump," Bove quoted prosecutor Susan Hoffinger as saying during that trial.

Judge Juan Merchan also presided over that trial, Colangelo says.

He says that prosecutors in that trial spoke "at length" about what Trump knew, countering the defense argument that a defendant in that case, Allen Weisselberg, had gone "rogue."

Remember: In December 2022, two Trump Organization companies were found guilty on multiple charges of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records connected to a 15-year scheme to defraud tax authorities by failing to report and pay taxes on compensation for top executives.

Trump and his family were not charged in this case, but the former president was mentioned repeatedly during the trial by prosecutors about his connection to the benefits doled out to certain executives, including company-funded apartments, car leases and personal expenses.

Judge Juan Merchan said he won't allow a trial within a trial as a Sandoval hearing got underway in the Manhattan courthouse.

A Sandoval hearing is a routine process through which the court will determine to what extent Trump's past wrongdoing can be brought up in the current trial.

Merchan's remark came as Trump's attorneys argued the specifics of a previous $355 million civil fraud judgment against the former president, and whether the prosecution can use it as part of the current proceedings.

Trump was seen hunched forward with his arms on the table as his lawyer debated, with Merchan beside him.

Donald Trump is hunched forward with his arms on the table as his lawyer debates his argument, with Judge Juan Merchan beside him.

The judge is holding a Sandoval hearing, a routine hearing that will address Donald Trump’s criminal history and assess how much prosecutors can ask if a defendant testifies.

The court is also reviewing a defense motion.

Trump attorney Emil Bove began by saying that the defense objects to each case that prosecutors want to raise.

In a social media post during a break in the trial on Friday afternoon, former President Donald Trump repeated a familiar claim that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case against him, “has let Violent Crime in New York flourish at levels never seen before.”

Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. Manhattan, like New York City as a whole, is nowhere close to an unprecedented level of violent crime. In reality, violent crime in the borough and the city has plummeted since the early 1990s.

For example, in 1990, when New York City set its all-time murder record, Manhattan recorded 503 murders. In 2023, it recorded 73 murders — a decline of about 85%. Similarly, Manhattan recorded 252 rapes in 2023, down about 63% from the 689 in 1990.

Emil Bove, a member of Donald Trump's legal team, says that Trump's attorneys do not object to redacting personal identifying information from Michael Cohen's cell phones, which includes Cohen's contacts. But they object to the sealing of the entire exhibits in a public trial.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger responds that redacting the documents would be "extremely, extremely burdensome," saying it would require combing through thousands and thousands of pages and thousands of Cohen's phone contacts.

Judge Juan Merchan then says he's not going to require prosecutors to redact 39,000 contacts, when they only seek to introduce what's relevant. He says that prosecutors only want to use what's relevant, and if Trump's lawyers see something that's sealed that they want to use, he will look then.

The court is back in session after taking a lunch break.

The court is discussing the prosecution's motion for the sealing of exhibits related to Michael Cohen's cell phones.

The judge is expected to also hold a Sandoval hearing this afternoon, a routine hearing that will address Donald Trump’s criminal history and assess how much prosecutors can ask if a defendant testifies.

Jury selection ended before the lunch break. A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates were seated Friday afternoon. Jury selection began on Monday.