NEW: We just took a brief break because the most composed woman in Trump’s orbit — Hope Hicks — broke down on the stand right as cross examination started. Why would Hicks burst into tears—and why is she struggling to keep it together now? 1/ There are a couple of theories floating around among journalists watching with me. One is that being asked about the Trump family — who plucked her from a private PR firm & turned her into a star — overwhelmed her. Her affection for Trump the man is still evident.

Hi, friends. I am already in my seat at 100 Centre, where photos are verboten. But when court resumes at 9:30 am, a specialist in digital forensics will be back on the stand, defending the integrity of the data the DA’s office downloaded from Michael Cohen’s phones. 1/ And from there, where we go is anyone’s guess—but keep in mind that the DA’s case has two major components, separated in time and place(s). 2/

NEW: I know many Trump trial watchers are still knee deep in the world of Keith Davidson, where lurid details about people like Hulk Hogan, Charlie Sheen & Lindsay Lohan are bought and sold like candy. But the weirdest moment for me was the cross of a guy who does cell phone data extraction for the DA. 1/ That guy, a career computer forensics analyst and an Iraqi war veteran, was supposed to be there to authenticate data taken off two cell phones provided to the DA by Michael Cohen. He struck me as knowledgeable, earnest, and honest. 2/

NEW: In court, Keith Davidson reads aloud a statement he drafted on 2/13/18 to be sent to Chris Cuomo, then of CNN, at a time he understood Cohen was "under some fire and wanted some validation." 1/ He wrote, in part: "I read today that Michael Cohen reports that the source of the $130,000 paid to Ms. Clifford was from his own personal funds. That assertion is in complete harmony with what he informed me of at the time of the transaction." 2/

NEW: With court starting in 20 minutes, we'll start with a hearing on Trump's newest alleged gag order violations. But when Keith Davidson comes back, he'll get into his constant, frenetic texts over Stormy's story -- and silence -- just days before Election Day '16. 1/ Expect Davidson to be questioned over his now-infamous text to Howard on Election Night: "What have we done?"

NEW: This is the fourth Trump trial I’ve attended regularly. But I have never seen anything like the phenomenon we’re witnessing the morning. 1/ The witness testifying now, Philip Thompson, works for a deposition services company that acquired TSG Reporting, a well-known court reporting and deposition transcription services company in Manhattan. And he, like the witness before him, had to fly to New York to testify. 2/

NEW: A representative of CSPAN is the next Trump witness and is here solely to authenticate video, apparently. That likely means Team Trump would not agree that even C-SPAN video is an authentic representation of Trump. 1/ That also means that despite Trump and his team’s constant complaints about the trial’s length, they bear the blame for insisting on testimony like this. Even the most aggressive lawyers I know would roll their eyes & agree that whatever CSPAN video is at issue is real. FIN.

NEW: You might have heard folks say, in the wake of the Supreme Court immunity argument, that sending this case down for the district court to parse what is official versus personal could substantially prolong the time to trial. Enter Ex. A: This is an order entered tonight in three civil cases against Trump for his role in 1/6; in those cases, the D.C. Circuit reaffirmed former presidents are entitled to civil immunity for acts even on the "outer perimeter" of their official duties.

NEW: DA's next witness is former Trump executive assistant (and incidental Apprentice star) Rhona Graff. Graff is here pursuant to a subpoena and is represented by a Trump-paid lawyer, Pat Pileggi. But she is primarily here to authenticate documents, not testify about what she saw.

Morning, all. I'm back in the courtroom for day 8 of the Manhattan DA's trial of Donald Trump, and David Pecker will retake the stand for continued cross examination by Trump lawyer and former SDNY prosecutor Emil Bove. 1/ Bove ended the day by questioning Pecker's memory & whether, by meeting with state and federal prosecutors over nearly 6 years, what Pecker thinks of as his own organic memories are actually what the feds and the DA's office told him happened. 2/

NEW: With Supreme Court argument on presidential immunity opening in 68 minutes, remember this: Whatever the outcome, it won't change the existence or scope of the Manhattan DA's ongoing trial. Why? 1/ There are at least two reasons. First, Trump already tried to litigate his presidential immunity defense to the Manhattan DA's charges when he attempted to remove this case to federal court last year. But that defense, ruled Judge Alvin Hellerstein, was not even colorable. 2/

NEW: Once upon a time, a baby Ruby went on the requisite interviews for a summer associate position with a law firm. At one memorable interview, the partner had a plastic model heart on his shelves. 1/ When she asked why, he said it was from a case he had litigated; my recollection was that it was a mass torts case for a pharmaceutical product. He told me that he loved being a litigator because he never stopped learning about new industries or products or worlds. 2/

NEW: The big takeaway of this morning’s testimony is twofold: Pecker was a very good, albeit transactional, friend of Trump for decades, and the agreement they struck in 2015 went way beyond the “catch and kill” aspect of the scheme that has been known for years. The fruit of their agreement, Pecker testified, ultimately included a series of stories suggested by Cohen and “embellished” by the Enquirer about Ben Carson’s “bungl[ing]” a patient’s brain surgery, Ted Cruz’s alleged sex partners, and Marco Rubio’s “cocaine connection.” 2/

NEW: The jurors have been excused for the day just after David Pecker, the former chairman of American Media, home of the National Enquirer, was about to start discussing Bonnie Fuller, the former US Weekly editor who was “killing it.” 1/ But when we return in the morning, Pecker and the world of tabloid journalism won’t be the first order of business. The gag order — and whether Trump should be held in criminal contempt for violating it on 10 occasions — will be.

NEW: Opening statements in the Trump criminal trial are now over. The DA’s opening was tight, practiced, and mostly chronological before they doubled back to cover perceived vulnerabilities of the case. But the defense’s opening drew objections that were sustained. 1/ Why? For one, Blanche started to explain that Trump understood that the agreements he entered into were totally lawful because his attorneys were involved. 2/

I’ll be watching three legal stories unfold Monday: the real opening of the Manhattan DA’s trial; the hearing on whether to cancel Trump’s $175 million bond; & the public filing of witness statements in the MAL docs case. But the thing I keep thinking about is who the first witness will be. And if I’m telling this story chronologically, the person I’d call first is this guy on the right, former American Media chairman David Pecker:

NEW: Judge Merchan is now giving introductory remarks to a panel of 96 prospective jurors as Trump rests his eyes. But we’ve already seen some fireworks this morning. 1/ One juror asked to be & was excused based on the details already revealed about her, which she said led family and friends to breathlessly ask whether she was indeed a juror on the case. 2/

NEW: Day 2 of the Manhattan DA’s criminal trial against Donald Trump ended with seven jurors—and only 4 peremptory challenges left for each of the prosecution and defense. 1/ Why does that matter? Because, judging by today, the defense will have to clear a high bar to prove a juror’s social media posts shows anti-Trump bias & justifies striking them for cause. 2/

NEW: Despite some ponderous moments, we have our first 6 jurors—and it’s only Tuesday afternoon. But we’ll need 18 total (12 jurors and 6 alternates). 1/ For now, Judge Merchan intends to bring back the original six on Monday, meaning he anticipates we could have all 18 by then.

Good morning, all. I’m back in the courthouse this morning to watch day 2 of the Manhattan DA’s case against former President Trump, which starts at 9:30 am. Up first? A hearing on the scope of the DA’s cross examination of Trump if he decides to testify. 1/ That proceeding — known as a Sandoval hearing because of the 1974 New York case for which it’s named — is designed to ensure that a defendant who elects to testify does so in an informed way, knowing what areas are likely to be explored when he is cross-examined. 2/

UPDATE: Knight Specialty Insurance Co. has now filed a host of documents to persuade Judge Arthur Engoron of the sufficiency of its $175 million bond in the New York Attorney General’s civil fraud case. 1/ And those docs not only say Trump’s collateral is a Schwab securities account held by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust with $175.3 million in value as of April 5, 2014, even though the filing was made today. 2/