Judge Juan Merchan officially noted that the hearing over the Donald Trump's gag order violations has been changed to Thursday at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Yesterday, the judge had said the hearing would occur on Wednesday.
Day 8 of Trump New York hush money trial
By CNN's Kara Scannell, Lauren Del Valle and Jeremy Herb in the courthouse
Updated 6:31 p.m. ET, April 26, 2024
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Judge officially notes that Trump gag order hearing will happen Thursday
Court is in session
Judge Juan Merchan is on the bench and court is in session.
Former tabloid executive David Pecker is expected to return to the stand to testify in the hush money trial.
The defense will continue questioning Pecker and try to poke holes at the former tabloid executive's testimony for the prosecution after establishing Thursday that the practice of “catch-and-kill” long predated the run up to election.
Pecker has testified for more than seven hours so far, including direct and cross examination.
Court will be in session for a full day and is expected to adjourn at around 4:30 p.m. ET. There is no court on Monday.
CNN's Laura Dolan contributed reporting to this post.
Trump has entered the courtroom
Donald Trump walked into the courtroom carrying in his left hand a two-inch stack of papers held together by a binder clip.
The hush money trial is set to resume shortly.
Trump attorney Emil Bove and prosecutor Joshuah Steinglass were chatting before the judge entered the courtroom.
Trump wishes Melania Trump happy birthday ahead of day four of testimony
From CNN's Kaanita Iyer
Former President Donald Trump took a moment to wish his wife, Melania, a happy birthday before heading into the courtroom Friday ahead of another day in the historical criminal trial.
"I want to start by wishing my wife Melania a very happy birthday," Trump said. "I should be with her but I'm in the courthouse for a rigged trial."
Melania Trump has notably been absent during the former president's court appearances and on the campaign trail as he looks to return to the White House.
Prosecutors enter the courtroom
Prosecutors have entered the courtroom ahead of the start of today's proceedings in Trump's criminal hush money trial.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not at the proceedings today.
The defense will continue cross-examining David Pecker today. Catch up on the top lines from Thursday
From CNN's Lauren del Valle, Jeremy Herb, and Nicki Brown
The defense started its cross-examination of David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, on Thursday.
Donald Trump's attorney Emil Bove tried to argue that Pecker’s work helping the former president during the 2016 election was nothing new or out of the ordinary.
Bove’s cross-examination lasted just over an hour before court ended for the day. The defense will continue its questioning with Pecker today.
Here are some of the key points:
- Bove started his cross-examination by asking Pecker to confirm he was with American Media Inc., the National Enquirer's parent company, from 1999 to 2020. When asked, Pecker acknowledged he still has equity in AMI.
- Trump's attorney asked Pecker if he managed AMI to make money.
"That's correct," Pecker said.
"AMI wasn't a charity?" Bove asked. "No, it was not," Pecker said.
"Part of AMI's business model was to purchase stories, correct?" Bove asked.
"Yes, it was," Pecker responded.
- Bove confirmed with Pecker that the business model included buying stories, reiterating Pecker's own words that AMI uses "checkbook journalism."
- Bove also confirmed source agreements were "standard operating procedure" for AMI, to give the company control of how, if at all, the information might be released.
Trump has arrived at Manhattan courthouse for 4th day of testimony in his hush money trial
Former President Donald Trump's motorcade has arrived at the Manhattan courthouse where ex-tabloid executive David Pecker is expected to return to the stand to continue his testimony in the hush money trial.
Trump is also facing charges in 3 other criminal cases
From CNN’s Devan Cole, Amy O'Kruk and Curt Merrill
The hush money criminal trial against former President Donald Trump is one of four criminal cases he faces while juggling his presidential campaign.
The former president faces at least 88 charges over the four criminal indictments in Georgia, New York, Washington, DC, and Florida. Trump has pleaded not guilty to every charge in these cases.
Here's a recap of each case:
- Hush money: Trump was first indicted in March 2023 by the Manhattan district attorney on state charges related to a hush-money payment to an adult film star in 2016. Prosecutors allege Trump was part of an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election. Further, they allege he was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, including the $130,000 payment.
- Classified documents: Trump was indicted in June 2023 by a federal grand jury in Miami for taking classified national defense documents from the White House after he left office and resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials. The National Archives said in early 2022 that at least 15 boxes of White House records were recovered from the estate, including some that were classified. The charges were brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
- Federal election interference: Smith separately charged the former president last August with four crimes over his efforts to reverse the 2020 election results. The indictment alleges Trump and a co-conspirator "attempted to exploit the violence and chaos at the Capitol by calling lawmakers to convince them ... to delay the certification" of the election. That case is currently on hold as the Supreme Court weighs Trump’s claims of presidential immunity in the matter. The court held a hearing on the issue of immunity today. Now the clock starts ticking. Every day the court doesn’t issue a decision will play into Trump���s strategy of delay, jeopardizing the likelihood that Smith can bring his case to trial before the November election.
- Fulton County: State prosecutors in Georgia brought a similar election subversion case against Trump and others. An Atlanta-based grand jury on August 14, 2023, indicted Trump and 18 others on state charges stemming from their alleged efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat. A trial date has not yet been set in that case.
Read more about the four criminal cases Trump faces.
Trump is on his way to court
Former President Donald Trump's motorcade is en route to the Manhattan courthouse where ex-tabloid executive David Pecker is expected to return to the stand to continue his testimony in the hush money trial.
Pecker, who has over the past three days been laying out the foundation for the district attorney's case against the former president, will continue to be cross-examined by the defense.
The defense so far has been trying to poke holes at Pecker's memory of events and establishing that these practices long predated the run up to election.
CNN's Kristina Sgueglia contributed reporting to this post.
