Trump hush money trial: Key takeaways from fifth day of testimony

The second week of testimony in Donald Trump’s so-called hush money criminal trial is now in full swing in Manhattan.

On Tuesday morning, the former president arrived promptly for the fifth day of testimony, delivering his usual grievance-focused diatribe to the assembled media from behind barricades erected in the hallway of the criminal court.

Inside the courtroom, Mr Trump was hit with a $9,000 gag order fine and was granted his request to attend Barron’s graduation all before a witness even took the stand.

Jurors then heard from multiple witnesses with a brief stint from Michael Cohen’s banker Gary Farro and attorney Keith Davidson, who previously represented Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougall – two women who allegedly had affairs with Mr Trump.

The former president is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to allegedly cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Ms Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

As the case continues to unfold before the 18 New Yorkers — twelve jurors and six alternates — who will ultimately decide Mr Trump’s fate, here’s the key takeaways from the day:

After a lonely week last week for Mr Trump as he sat alone at the defence table, with no family attending alongside him and a paltry showing of supporters in the street, the day began on a brighter note for the criminal defendant.

Not only had a small crowd of supporters shown up to wave flags and signs outside the courthouse, but his second son Eric Trump was also in attendance as well as Texas Attorney General and Trump loyalist Ken Paxton.

To further brighten his mood, the first order of business of the day was an announcement by Judge Juan Merchan that, given how jury selection was completed in a week and the trial is