The Latest | Third week of witness testimony in Trump's hush money trial is set to kick off

Witness testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to resume Monday morning, setting the stage for an even deeper dive into the events and people involved in what prosecutors have said was a scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election by buying and burying negative stories about the candidate.

The trial is in its 12th day.

Former Trump adviser Hope Hicks took the stand last week, recounting how Trump's campaign was turned upside-down following the leak of a video wherein he bragged about grabbing women without their permission.

Keith Davidson, who represented porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in hush money negotiations, also took the stand. Davidson spent hours detailing his role in securing payouts for Daniels and McDougal in exchange for their silence about previous sexual encounters they said they had with Trump.

Trump also faced a second contempt hearing over whether he had again violated his gag order over four more prospective violations. Judge Juan M. Merchan has not yet ruled on that sanctions request. Trump was fined $9,000 earlier in the week over gag order violations.

Overall, prosecutors are setting the stage for pivotal testimony from Cohen, who paid Daniels $130,000 for her silence before he went to prison for the hush money scheme.

Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments — including the payment to Daniels — recording them instead as legal expenses.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.

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— Hush money, catch and kill and more: Terms