The big picture as court breaks for lunch

Stormy Daniels is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, in this courtroom sketch. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)

First, Daniels asserted in her testimony that it was Trump who delayed the $130,000 hush money payment set up by Cohen and her own lawyer, Keith Davidson. Trump's lawyers, who have portrayed Cohen as a "rogue" actor, are sure to go after Daniels on that claim when it is their turn to cross-examine her.

Daniels' testimony also gets at the heart of the prosecution's case that the payment to Daniels violated campaign finance laws, and that Trump was aware of that fact. During a Fox & Friends interview on April 26, 2018, then-President Trump said this about Cohen's payment to Daniels: “And, you know, from what I see he did absolutely nothing wrong. There were no campaign funds going into this… which would have been a problem."

17 mins ago
David Artavia

Daniels says her publicist encouraged her to sell her story after 'Access Hollywood' tape

Soon after Trump began running for president in June 2015, Daniels said in court that her then-publicist Gina Rodriguez tried selling her story to news outlets but wasn’t successful.

But after Trump’s infamous Access Hollywood tape came out in October 2016 — in which Trump is heard telling then-host Billy Bush about “grabbing women” by their genitalia — Daniels and Rodriguez revisited conversations about selling her story.

"My motivation wasn’t money. It was to get the story out," Daniels testified, according to CNN.

26 mins ago
Dylan Stableford

Lunch break

The court has taken its lunch break, with testimony scheduled to resume at 2 p.m. ET.

30 mins ago
David Artavia

Daniels says an unidentified man threatened her to keep quiet about Trump affair

Stormy Daniels said she gave an interview to In Touch Weekly magazine in May 2011 about her relationship with Trump. According to CNN, the magazine never ran the story.

She then testified that the following month, she was confronted by a man in a Las Vegas parking lot who threatened her to stop telling her story. She said her daughter was with her at the time, according to CNN.

Daniels said she didn’t report the incident to the police because it would have been upsetting to her then boyfriend.

“I was scared,” she said, as paraphrased by MSNBC's Katie Phang. “And my daughter’s father was also struggling and I did not tell my boyfriend, he was struggling with post-partum stuff with my daughter and alcoholism. I’d never told him about sex with Trump, so if I’d told him then when ‘his world was exploding,’ it wouldn’t have been good.”

41 mins ago
Dylan Stableford

Trump's campaign is fundraising while he sits in court

While Daniels was testifying, the Trump campaign sent an email blast soliciting donations with the subject line: "I'm sitting in court RIGHT NOW."

"These WITCH HUNTS aren’t about me," the email read. "They’re just a DEEP STATE plot from RADICAL Democrats to come after you — and I'm the only thing standing in their way! But as long as YOU are by my side, I’ll NEVER give an inch to these THUGS."

The screengrab of an email from the Trump campaign. (donaldjtrump.com)

47 mins ago
David Artavia

Daniels recalls visiting Trump several times in 2007

Stormy Daniels. (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Daniels recounted several visits she says she had with Trump after their sexual encounter in 2006.

In January 2007, Trump invited her to the launch of his vodka brand, Trump Vodka, in Hollywood. According to MSNBC's Katie Phang, she said she accepted the invitation in an effort to “maintain the relationship" she had with Trump, who had been discussing a possible role for her on NBC's The Apprentice, which he hosted and co-produced.

Later that summer, Daniels said Trump invited her to have dinner at his bungalow at a hotel in Los Angeles. "He kept trying to make sexual advances, putting his hand on my leg," she said of that encounter, per MSNBC contributor Adam Klasfeld.

She also said she visited Trump at Trump Tower in New York City later that year in a meeting that lasted “an hour and a half to two hours.”

Today at 6:17 PM GMT+2
Donnavan Smoot

Daniels says she spoke to Trump often on the phone

Daniels told the jury that she spoke to Trump often on the phone, according to Adam Klasfeld of MSNBC.

"I always put him on speakerphone. We thought it was funny," Daniels said. "Dozens and dozens of people heard me on the phone with him."

She also said she continued to take his calls because her publicist would brag about it.

Big picture: Despite Daniels's account of her uncomfortable sexual encounter with Trump, she continued to see him in the days, weeks and months that followed. Defense lawyers are sure to hammer her on that point.

Today at 6:03 PM GMT+2
David Artavia

Daniels describes 'an imbalance of power' during alleged sexual encounter

When describing her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, Daniels testified that Trump was not wearing a condom, that at one point they were in the “missionary position," and that she recalled "staring at the ceiling."

According to MSNBC, when asked if she felt threatened, Daniels replied, “There was an imbalance of power for sure. He was bigger and blocking the way, but I was not threatened either verbally or physically.”

After the encounter, Daniels said she told “very few people” about it “because I felt ashamed I didn’t try to stop it or say no.”

When she left the hotel room, she claimed Trump said, "Oh it was great, let’s get together again honey bunch," per MSNBC.

Today at 5:54 PM GMT+2
David Artavia

Stormy Daniels is back on the stand

The prosecution has resumed its examination of Stormy Daniels. During the break, Trump's team confirmed with Judge Juan Merchan that they had just spoken to their client.

According to reporters in the courtroom, Merchan told prosecutors that the details Daniels was sharing in her testimony were "unnecessary" and urged them to move things along.

Today at 5:38 PM GMT+2
David Artavia

Daniels says Trump compared her to daughter: 'People underestimate her as well.'

According to reporters in the courtroom, before the break Daniels said Trump compared her looks to that of his daughter, presumably Ivanka, during their dinner date in 2006.

"You remind me of my daughter because she is smart and blond and beautiful, and people underestimate her as well," she recalled Trump saying. The comment was made in relation to a discussion about a possible appearance by Daniels on NBC's The Apprentice. Daniels ultimately never appeared on the show, which Trump hosted and co-produced.

Today at 5:28 PM GMT+2
Dylan Stableford

Court is taking a short break

The court is taking its midmorning break. When the trial resumes, Stormy Daniels will return to the witness stand.

Today at 5:27 PM GMT+2
David Artavia

Daniels says she told Trump she was negative for STIs before they had sex

Daniels said she and Trump had sex without using condoms and that she volunteered that she had not tested positive for sexually transmitted infections, according to CNN. Wicked Pictures, the adult entertainment company she worked for at the time, reportedly required all of its actors to wear condoms.

"At the time you had to be tested every 30 days," she said. "Even when I worked with my husband, I had to use a condom, even though I'm allergic to condoms, latex."

Trump has denied having sex with Daniels.

Today at 5:25 PM GMT+2
Dylan Stableford

Stormy Daniels says Trump told her he and Melania did not sleep in the same room

Former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump arrive before a GOP fundraiser in Palm Beach, Fla., on April 6. (Alon Skuy/Getty Images)

Daniels testified that during her 2006 dinner with Trump, she asked about his wife, Melania, who he married the year before.

According to Daniels, Trump told her not to worry because the two did not “even sleep in the same room.”

Per reporters inside the courtroom, Trump shook his head as Daniels spoke about Melania.