Donald Trump trial updates: Michael Cohen is back on the stand as court waits to hear whether Trump will testify himself

Judge Juan Merchan can't beat the Memorial Day break. The holiday deadline has been looming, and the judge was intent in trying to keep things moving so that the court could get to closing arguments tomorrow, allowing the jury time to begin deliberations ahead of the long weekend.

'It's become apparent that we're not going to be able to sum up tomorrow,' Merchan told the court first thing on Monday.

Rather than end the week with summations, leaving the jury to stew for the weekend, before deliberating next week it means closing arguments will come next Tuesday instead. It means we will likely have a day or two off this week.

Today we have some legal arguments about what evidence can be admitted. Before we get back to the cross-examination of Michael Cohen.

Donald Trump's arrival today was very different from his arrival in the early days of his trial. Then he would arrive with his legal team and a couple of advisers. Today he has 14 supporters, including members of Congress, legal brains, and former members of his administration.

The result is a game of musical chairs as adviser Boris Epshteyn hurried up and down the rows of seating ensuring that everyone has a seat.

It means Vernon Jones, the former US Representative from Georgia, takes up a seat on the bench right at the very back of the room, along with Kash Patel, who's arm is in a brace.

Trump stood at the front of the room smiling at his allies as they took their places.

After he takes his seat Trump is silent and stares straight ahead as photographers take his picture.

He then has some detailed discussion with Mr Bove on his left, and lawyer Todd Blanche on his right.

As Judge Juan Merchan enters the court the lawyers and everyone else stand.

Trump is, fractionally, the last to stand up for the judge.

Trump is standing at the defense table and leaning in to listen to one of his lawyers, Emil Bove.

'Mr Bove makes some hand gestures and Trump nods, seemingly in agreement.

As Mr Bove takes his seat Trump turns and stares toward the back of the court.

It's not clear if he is looking for anyone in particular.

Donald Trump lamented having to get to court an hour earlier Monday than previous days in remarks to reporters outside court.

The ex-president also slammed the judge in the case calling his 'totally conflicted.'

Trump also baselessly claimed it was all coming from President Biden as an 'attack on his political opponent' while at the same time calling the president 'mentally unfit to be the president.'

'Today the target is Trump, tomorrow it may be a Democrat,' he said.

The former president also repeated the complaint that he was 'sitting in an ice box all day' in a reference to the courtroom's temperature which has been an issue for him since the trial began.

The geusts accompanying the defendat today include former New York Police Commissoner Bernie Kerik.

Also in Trump's retinue of supporters are four Republican members of Congress, including Mary Miller of Illinois.

High-profile lawyer Alan Dershowitz is also present.

Pictured below is Trump's deputy communication chief Margo Martin leaving Trump Tower for court on Monday:

Donald Trump's hush money trial could wrap up and depending on when closing arguments are made - the case could be in the hands of the jury to reach a verdict as soon as this week.

What remains less clear is whether the ex-president will take the stand in his own defense in the case. His defense lawyer Todd Blanche refused to rule out Trump testifying when court wrapped up last week.

Trump himself has delivered mixed messages on whether he would take the stand, saying last month that he would 'absolutely' testify.

He has also said he would testify 'if necessary' and 'probably.' At the same time, he has recently told the media falsely that he is not allowed.

But based on the most recent activity of Trump lawyers and legal expert recommendations, it does not appear likely that Trump would testify.

The maximum sentence for each count of falsifying business records faced by Trump is four years.

In theory, that means Judge Juan Merchan could impose a sentence of up to 136 years.

However, an analysis, by the New York Times, of previous recent falsifying business records cases shows only about one in 10 result in a sentence including jail time.

One defendant in New York did receive a sentence of 364 days for signing a false invoice for $10,000.

But the records show that for Mr. Trump, who would be a first-time offender, a jail sentence seems possible but unlikely.

Michael Cohen, former 'fixer' and lawyer for Donald Trump, departed his home in Manhattan to testify for a third day.

He is considered the prosecution's 'star' witness.

He had a rough day Thursday while Trump's attorneys questioned him, trying to poke holes in his credibility as a witness.

Donald Trump's defense lawyer accused star witness Michael Cohen of lying about a crucial phone that tied the former president to a cover-up around hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in a dramatic exchange Thursday.

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche delivered his blow just before the lunch break, offering evidence that the key conversation was actually about a prank caller and not, as Cohen claimed three days earlier, about a $130,000 payment for Daniels' silence.

It created an 'aha' moment just as the case barrels towards its conclusion; the sort of pin-drop shock common to courtroom TV dramas but rare in real life.

Having reminded the 12 members of the jury that Cohen had a history of lying to courts and laying the foundations of the idea that he was an unreliable witness, Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche took the court in an unexpected direction.

He brought up text messages and call logs to show that Cohen had been plagued by nuisance calls in October 2016.

Donald Trump's legal team had reason to hope that Michael Cohen's performance on the witness stand could sow at least one member of the jury in the Stormy Daniels trial.

But Trump is still days away from the culmination of a trial that could wend him to jail for up to four years if he is convicted of all 34 counts felony counts of falsifying business records relating to the payoff of the porn star.

'Probably the worst outcome is that Trump is found guilty of multiple felony counts and thus he is forever more a convicted criminal and a felon,' said Eugene O'Donnell, who teaches law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Judge Juan Merchan says he has no desire to put a former president behind bars.

'The last thing I want to do is to put you in jail,' Merchan told Trump this month even as he found him in contempt and slapped him with fines totaling $10,000 for violating a gag order restricting his comments on the case.