The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial has fined him $1,000 and warned of jail time for future gag order violations.

Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York.

Court in Donald Trump's hush money case has adjourned for the week, following hours of testimony from ex-Trump adviser Hope Hicks.

Former longtime Donald Trump adviser Hope Hicks testified about how his 2016 presidential campaign became embroiled in a political firestorm over a tape in which he boasted about grabbing women sexually without their permission.

Donald Trump’s former spokesperson Hope Hicks met with New York prosecutors investigating hush-money payments made on the ex-president’s behalf.

The House Jan. 6 committee is interviewing Hope Hicks, a longtime aide to former President Donald Trump.

Republicans hoping to emerge from crowded primaries this year have spent tens of thousands of dollars hiring operatives with ties to former President Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump is holding off on making a new endorsement in Pennsylvania’s closely watched Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

The president on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020 confirmed in a tweet that Giuliani had tested positive for the virus. On numerous occasions, Giuliani met with officials for hours at a time without wearing a mask, including hearings last week with state lawmakers in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan. Giuliani spoke for hours last week before a Republican-led committee in Lansing investigating alleged election irregularities. Giuliani traveled last Monday to Phoenix, where he met with Republican legislators for an hourslong hearing in which he was maskless. The Arizona Republican Party tweeted a photo of Giuliani and several state GOP lawmakers standing shoulder-to-shoulder and maskless.

WASHINGTON – A Pentagon official installed in a top policy job last week has tested positive for COVID-19, the Pentagon said Thursday, just days after he met with the Lithuanian defense minister, who had contracted the virus. Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said Anthony Tata, who is serving as the undersecretary of defense, was tested Thursday after learning that Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis had tested positive. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tested positive after attending an election night party at the White House. Others who were at the party also tested positive, including White House political director Brian Jack, former White House aide Healy Baumgardner and Trump campaign advisers David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski. The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps later also tested positive, and all the chiefs were forced to quarantine at home for at least 10 days.

And the days when Vice President Mike Pence and other task force officials would head to Trump’s office to brief him immediately after their meetings. The White House won’t say when Trump last met with the task force. National and battleground public opinion polls suggest that Trump faces stiff headwinds in his bid for a second term. Public health experts say that by refusing to wear masks, Trump and his advisers are missing an opportunity to model behavior that is essential to keep the rest of America safe. Trump’s interest in engaging with Fauci and other top medical officials on the coronavirus task force waned long ago.

Bidens presidential campaign says Harris will suspend in-person events until Oct. 19, after two people associated with the campaign tested positive for coronavirus. According to Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, the campaign learned late Wednesday that two people associated with the operation had tested positive for the coronavirus. And as Trump returns to aggressive campaign travel before massive, often unmasked crowds, the Biden campaign reinforced its commitment to following public health guidelines. As Biden’s campaign conducted contact tracing and made public disclosures, Trump traveled to North Carolina — where Harris was supposed to be on Thursday — for another rally. The White House has not notified reporters, Secret Service agents or Trump campaign staffers who may have been exposed during the outbreak.

White House director of communications Alyssa Farah waves after speaking with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, in Washington. “Yeah, I’m not going to give you a detailed readout with timestamps every time the president’s tested," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters last weekend. And the White House refusal to answer makes it hard not to wonder what they're hiding, given other details they've shared. Senior White House staff and those who are in direct contact with the president are tested for the virus daily. What about Sept. 27, when he visited his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, held a late afternoon news conference in the White House briefing room, and held an evening reception for Gold Star families on the White House state floor?

Still, the doctors said Trump’s health is improving and that he could be discharged as early as Monday. In a short video released by the White House on Sunday, Trump insisted he understood the gravity of the moment. It was the second straight day of obfuscation from a White House already suffering from a credibility crisis. At the time of the briefing, Trump’s blood oxygen level was 98% — within normal rage, Trump’s medical team said. They were particularly upset by the whiplash between Conley’s upbeat assessment Saturday and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ more concerned outlook.

WASHINGTON – Some answers emerged Saturday on President Donald Trump’s condition as he battles the coronavirus, but Trump’s medical team withheld some key information in their first full, televised update. Trump’s medical team gave its first news conference since he fell ill. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley said Trump had been fever-free for 24 hours. He said Trump’s blood oxygen level is 96%, which is in the normal range. And asked for the president’s vital signs, Conley failed to provide any of Trump’s temperature readings. That could indicate how serious the president’s condition was, a measurement the public didn’t get as Trump spent his first full day at Walter Reed.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON – Stricken by COVID-19, a feverish and fatigued President Donald Trump was flown to a military hospital Friday night where he was given remdesivir following treatment with an experimental drug at the White House. Also testing positive: Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien. “President Trump remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Very early Friday, after returning from the Thursday afternoon New Jersey fundraiser, Trump stunningly tweeted, "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended the fundraiser.

Crowds of people gathered shoulder to shoulder on the White House South Lawn. Instead, he flouted his own government’s guidelines and helped create a false sense of invulnerability in the White House, an approach that has now failed him as it did a nation where more than 200,000 people have died. And their use, while technically required, wasn’t enforced in the White House either. Even in the hours after the president’s diagnosis, senior White House staff, including chief of staff Mark Meadows and economic adviser Larry Kudlow, walked around the White House complex without wearing masks. The White House, even now, says the face coverings are a matter of “personal choice” for most staffers.

Chris Christie, seen in an AP photo with his arm around another guest while chatting up several face to face, announced his positive virus test this weekend. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, who attended the debate and helped him prepare with Christie, has tested positive for COVID-19. White House officials said they began learning of Hicks’ positive test after Trump boarded Marine One to start his journey to New Jersey. Despite the abject failure to keep the president protected from the virus, White House officials defended their current protocols as well thought out. And masks still won't be required on the White House grounds for all West Wing employees.

Then, just as quickly, they receded into memory with the revelation Friday that Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta called it “a bit unsettling.”Meanwhile, the White House Correspondents Association said three journalists there tested positive for COVID on Friday. All had covered White House events last weekend. Then, at 12:54 a.m. Eastern, the president tweeted that both of them were positive. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was asked pointedly why he was not wearing a mask when he briefed reporters Friday afternoon.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON – Stricken by COVID-19, a feverish and fatigued President Donald Trump was flown to a military hospital Friday night where he is being given Remdesivir therapy after being injected with an experimental drug combination in treatment at the White House. Also testing positive: Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien. “President Trump remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Very early Friday, after returning from the Thursday afternoon New Jersey fundraiser, Trump stunningly tweeted, "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended the fundraiser.

Stocks are pulling lower Friday, as Wall Street's first reaction to President Donald Trump's testing positive for the coronavirus was to retrench. By the end of the day, it had trimmed its loss to 1%, down 32.38 points at 3,348.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung from a loss of 433 points to a gain of 44 points through the day. Stock futures and Treasury yields tumbled after Trump tweeted overnight that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. The White House also said Trump had been injected with an experimental antibody drug combination for the virus made by Regeneron.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON – The Latest on President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus and being hospitalized (all times EDT):12:10 a.m.President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Conway attended the Rose Garden announcement Saturday where President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. He issued the statement as President Donald Trump was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the same illness. ___6 p.m.Joe Biden’s campaign is taking down its attack ads in the wake of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus infection. ___11:55 a.m.First lady Melania Trump says she is experiencing “mild symptoms” after she and President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

Early Friday morning, President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. She is the closest White House official to Trump to test positive for the virus so far. Her positive test was first reported by Bloomberg News on Thursday evening.

Hope Hicks, one of President Donald Trump’s closest aides, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Hicks, one of the president’s most trusted aides, previously served as White House communications director and rejoined the administration this year ahead of the election. Multiple White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, including Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, and one of the president’s personal valets. After earlier positive cases close to the president, the White House instituted a daily testing regimen for the president’s senior aides. Others who will be in close proximity to the president and vice president, including reporters, are also tested every day.

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive. “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. Pence's aides had no immediate comment on whether the vice president had been tested or in contact with Trump. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.

President Donald Trump listens to Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden during the first presidential debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool)

(AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool)WASHINGTON – The Latest on the 2020 presidential election (all times local):10:50 p.m.President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden are painting a very different picture of the reliability of the upcoming election. ___10:20 p.m.President Donald Trump has sidestepped a question from moderator Chris Wallace about whether he was willing to condemn white supremacists and militia groups. Biden made the comment during Tuesday night’s debate after President Donald Trump accused him of supporting abolishing private insurance. ___2:15 p.m.Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, have released more of their personal tax returns ahead of the first presidential debate. ___12:30 p.m.President Donald Trump spent Tuesday morning in informal preparations for the first debate with Joe Biden.

NEW YORK As anyone who has ever heard him speak knows, President Donald Trump loves to relive 2016. Our latest staff additions are making Team Trump even stronger and solidify Brads leadership.In the last week, the Trump campaign hired Jason Miller, communications director in 2016, to focus on strategy and coordinate between the campaign and the White House. And some of Trumps 2016 team never left: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the presidents daughter and son-in-law, are senior advisers. Kellyanne Conway, the presidents final 2016 campaign manager, remains a senior White House counselor. That includes Bannon, who remains supportive of Trump after a messy exit from the White House, and Keith Schiller, Trumps longtime security man.

(CNN) - Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has joined Fox News as a contributor, the network announced on Thursday. Sanders, who exited the White House in June, will make her debut before a live studio audience episode of "Fox & Friends" on Sept. 6. Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, joined Fox Corporation in 2018 as executive vice president and chief communications officer. And in July, Raj Shah, the former White House deputy press secretary, joined Fox Corporation as a senior vice president. Bill Shine, the former co-president of Fox News, joined the White House in 2018 in a top communications role.

Within 30 minutes of speaking to Trump, Cohen called up his bank, opened a new account, and transferred $131,000 to that new account. A redacted version of the document was released in March -- the new filing contains unredacted portions including those related to campaign finance. They were made public after Pauley ruled that "the campaign finance violations discussed in the Materials are a matter of national importance." "The weighty public ramifications of the conduct described in the campaign finance portions warrant disclosure," Pauley said. We have maintained from the outset that the President never engaged in any campaign finance violation."

Donaldson's written responses did include some responses to questions that Hicks was directed not to answer, such as the location of her West Wing office. But questions that touched on the substance of what Donaldson had seen, heard or taken notes about were largely met with the same response: The White House had directed her not to answer. Donaldson told lawmakers she does not know why McGahn decided not to resign at that time. She told the committee she began taking notes when she started on the first day of the Trump administration. "I was encouraged by the White House to cooperate fully with the Special Counsel's Office," she wrote.