Trump trial live updates: Countdown to the hush money trial verdict begins as court returns for closing arguments

They mined his books for examples of how he micromanaged the Trump Organization, how he was motivated by revenge, and how he saw sexual potential in encounters with women.

In so doing they sought to show the jury that he monitored every cent coming in and out of his business, bolstering their case that he must have known that hush money payments to Stormy Daniels were being hidden as legal expenses.

Trump denied 34 charges of falsifying business records.

And his defense team tried to show he was a busy executive who left handling invoices, ledger entries and check cutting to lower level managers.

Donald Trump's long-time lawyer has warned that the New York jurors in his hush money case could be infected with 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' by liberal friends and families over the holiday weekend.

Closing arguments are set to begin when the court returns on Tuesday before the jury is sent to consider its verdict on 34 charges of falsifying business records against the former president.

And Alina Habba, who represented Trump in his civil fraud case, slammed judge Juan Merchan for not sequestering the jurors in a hotel for what could be the final weekend of the six-week trial.

For them to be able to be out and about on a holiday weekend with friends and families who have opinions, who are watching the news, TV's on the background at the pool party, I have serious concerns,' she told Sean Duffy on Fox News.

His fiercest critics including Michael Cohen have shared their dreams of seeing Donald Trump behind bars.

But a far more realistic outcome if he is convicted in New York is he ends up having weekly phone calls to check in with a probation officer or has to visit Bronx school kids to teach them about crime, legal experts say.

The defendant who complains he is a victim of 'sham' prosecution in a 'rat's nest' of corruption may even get to design his own community service program.

Convicted criminals and lawyers agree probation is far better alternative to jail time – but it has its inconveniences and shouldn't be minimized.

He writes on Truth Social:

On Monday night Trump wrote on Truth Social:

After closing arguments wrap up, the jury will be given instructions by Judge Juan Merchan and set out to deliberate.

They will go through each of the 34 counts of falsifying business records and decide if Trump is guilty or not guilty.

To reach a verdict on each charge, the jury has to be unanimous.

The members have been away from the courtroom for a week mulling over evidence from the past five weeks from 22 witnesses.

They are anonymous, but some details were revealed in court: Here’s what we know about them.

As the trial of Donald Trump over hush money payments to a porn star heads into its final stage, Trump's wife Melania Trump has been noticeably absent from the courtroom.

Over the course of five weeks, a series of Trump supporters including Republican lawmakers, former administration officials, vice presidential hopefuls and a few of his own kids have been in court.

They've sat through hours of salacious testimony as the ex-president stands trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment for pornstar Stormy Daniels.

Melania Trump, however, has remained far away from the New York criminal court room home in Florida.

Legal experts told DailyMail.com what it could mean