Trump: "I'd be very proud to go to jail for our Constitution"

Former President Donald Trump slammed Judge Juan Merchan for not issuing a gag order against Michael Cohen, who has given extensive public comments regarding the trial. The judge told prosecutors to remind Cohen not to do so, just before leaving the courtroom today.

"Everybody can say whatever they want, but I'm not allowed to say anything about anybody," Trump said after court. "It's a disgrace and you see it." Cohen, the prosecution's star witness, is expected to testify Monday.

Trump repeated to reporters that he can't answer certain questions because of his gag order and said he'd be very proud to go to jail for the U.S. Constitution.

"If anything is mentioned against certain people, he [Judge Merchan] wants to put me in jail," Trump said. "And that could happen one day and I'd be very proud to go to jail for our Constitution, because what he's doing is so unconstitutional."

Here's what happened today in court

Court wrapped up early today. Here's a brief recap and what's ahead next week.

Witness testimony: Madeline Westerhout, Trump's former executive assistant in the White House, finished testifying this morning. She recalled her time working for the former president and offered flattering remarks towards Trump.

Prosecutors then called four more witnesses more to the stand to help introduce evidence, including phone records, texts and social media posts. Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal for the DA's office, was called back in today after previously testifying.

On the defense's side: Earlier today, Judge Juan Merchan rejected Trump's attempt to subpoena Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

What's ahead in week 5: The prosecution is expected to call two witnesses next week, including star witness Michael Cohen on Monday. The DA's office may wrap up its side of the case by next week, earlier than expected.

It's still unknown if Trump will testify.

Schedule: Court will be off next Friday for Trump to attend his son Barron's high school graduation. There will also be no court on Wednesday, as usual.

Trump's attorney: Cohen should be barred from speaking about the case

Now, Trump's attorney Todd Blanche is arguing that Michael Cohen should also be barred from talking about the case, given his extensive public comments on the trial.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says the People have "repeatedly, repeatedly" asked all their witnesses not to do so. The judge tells them to renew that instruction and to tell Cohen it's coming "from the bench."

Court is adjourned. After Trump leaves the courtroom, his aide Karoline Leavitt is heard telling former judge Jeanine Pirro, "I'll have him call you."

The DA's office has not tried to subpoena Allen Weisselberg

The defense is now raising the issue of Allen Weisselberg's "absence" from the trial, which they say is under "complicated" circumstances. Weisselberg was the former CFO of the Trump Organization.

"We're not able to elicit testimony that would potentially impeach some of the hearsay that's been offered," Trump's attorney Emil Bove argues.

The prosecution pushes back, arguing that Weisselberg's interests align with Trump's. Prosecutors note that the Trump Organization still owes Weisselberg $150,000, an amount that's to be paid out over three installments this year. The DA's office adds they'd be willing to stipulate that Weisselberg is in jail for perjury.

Judge Juan Merchan said that's one way to address his absence, but asks if anyone's tried to compel Weisselberg to testify in the trial. Prosecutors say they have not. The defense also has not, but note that they don't carry the burden.

Merchan said it would help him make his decision if there were efforts to try to get Weisselberg to come in. "It's a factor for me in making this decision," the judge says.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass argues that Weisselberg's separation agreement with the Trump Org. seems to bar him from talking to prosecutors. Trump's attorney Emil Bove argues there would be procedural problems since Weisselberg was never on the witness list.

"We're not creating any procedure. This is done, this is done with some frequency," Merchan responds. He says the only way to get around the Weisselberg issue is to, "put him on the stand, out of the presence of the jury, on record for the books."

Prosecution may wrap up by next week

The prosecution may wrap up their side of the case earlier than expected. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says the DA's office expects to call two witnesses next week.

"I think it's entirely possible we will wrap by next week," he says.

A funny moment during cross-examination

Trump attorney Emil Bove cross-examines Jaden Jarmel-Schneider.

Boves asks if the record review was "tedious work," the paralegal replies, "actually, I kind of enjoyed it." This earns loud laughter from the courtroom.

When Jarmel-Schneider corrects the last four digits Bove questions him about, the Trump lawyer jokes, "That's the attention to detail I was talking about."

Next witness: Jaden Jarmel-Schneider

The prosecution has called its next witness, Jaden Jarmel-Schneider. He's another paralegal for the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Jarmel-Schneider is testifying about the phone records that the DA's office reviewed, as well as the data extracted from Michael Cohen's phone.

The courtroom has noticeable thinned out. Several reporters have left the room as the testimony on phone records has dragged on.

Who has testified in the hush money case?

Today marks three full weeks of witness testimony.

The prosecution just called its final witness of the day, totaling 19 witnesses so far. Many have testified briefly to introduce evidence.

Here's who's testified so far:

• David Pecker, former National Enquirer publisher
• Rhona Graff, longtime Trump assistant
• Gary Farro, Michael Cohen's former banker
• Dr. Robert Browning, executive director of C-SPAN archives
• Phillip Thompson, from court reporting company Esquire Deposition Solutions
• Keith Davidson, attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal
• Douglas Daus, processes digital evidence for the Manhattan DA's office
• Georgia Longstreet, paralegal for New York County's DA's office (she was called back to the stand for a second time today)
• Hope Hicks, former top Trump aide
• Jeffrey McConney, former Trump Organization controller
• Deborah Tarasoff, Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor
• Sally Franklin, senior vice president and managing editor at Penguin Random House publishing group
• Stormy Daniels, adult film star
• Rebecca Manochio, junior bookkeeper at the Trump Organization
• Tracy Menzies, HarperCollins publishing company
• Madeleine Westerhout, the former director of Oval Office operations
• Daniel Dixon, AT&T
• Jen Tomalin, Verizon
• Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, paralegal for the Manhattan DA's office

Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen, a key witness in the case, is expected to take the stand on Monday.

Earlier today, Judge Juan Merchan rejected Trump's attempt to subpoena Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Karen McDougal will not testify

Yesterday, we learned that prosecutors will not be calling former Playboy model Karen McDougal to testify. McDougal says she had an affair with Trump, which he's denied.

So why wouldn't they call McDougal? NYU law professor Stephen Gillers tells Newsweek that her testimony might have made the former president look too good. He adds that prosecutors were also concerned about offering too much "salacious" testimony to the jury.

Read more from Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll.

Witness reads Trump's tweets

Witness Georgia Longstreet is reading out an Apr. 21 2018 tweet from Trump attacking The New York Times' Maggie Haberman as a "third rate reporter." Haberman is in the courtroom.

She verifies two more tweets and another thread. One is about "not retaining the services of Michael Cohen."

She's now being asked about text message records that the team analyzed. She is confirming the unredacted contact information belonging to former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard and talent manager Gina Rodriguez.

One text reads: "But Stormy Daniels was his mistress." She's now reading a text exchange showing Howard and Rodriguez negotiating the price for Daniels' story.

Photos: Inside the courthouse

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Georgia Longstreet returns to stand

Prosecutors are calling Georgia Longstreet back to the stand. She is a paralegal for the DA's office.

Prosecutors previously used her testimony to help introduce Trump's social media posts into evidence.

Judge: Prosecution cannot show Larry King interview

Trump is back from break. Once again, he acknowledges judge Jeanine Pirro, this time, shaking his stack of papers at her as he walks by.

Merchan sides with the defense on the Larry King interview; the prosecution will not be allowed to introduce it.

Prosecutors only have two more witnesses to call today, which they anticipate will only take an hour. To avoid having to come back in the afternoon, we will work until 1 p.m. and break early for the day.

Defense objects to exhibit of Trump's Larry King interview

Trump attorney Emil Bove argues that Trump's 1999 Larry King interview, which prosecutors want to introduce, is "not relevant with President Trump's state of mind in 2016 and 2017." Merchan will rule after the break.

Trump patted judge Jeanine Pirro on the back while leaving the courtroom for the morning break. Pirro is seated with the press.

Next witness: Jen Tomalin

Prosecutors call their next witness, Jen Tomalin. Tomalin works for Verizon and is also testifying as a custodian of records. Her testimony was brief.

The jury is dismissed for morning recess.

Judge rejects Trump's attempt to subpoena Mark Pomerantz

Judge Juan Merchan has rejected Trump's attempt to subpoena Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Earlier this morning, Merchan ruled that Trump's lawyers cannot force Pomerantz to turn over documents. He granted the prosecution's motion to quash the subpoena, agreeing it is "not endorsed by the court."

Read more from Newsweek's Andrew Stanton here.

Michael Cohen expected to testify Monday

Trump's former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen is expected to testify on Monday. Cohen made the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels and is a key witness in the case. He will likely be on the stand for several days.

Next witness: Daniel Dixon

Prosecutors are moving right along and call their next witness, Daniel Dixon. Dixon is testifying as a custodian of records for AT&T.

Dixon verified phone records for the prosecution. He is now being cross-examined by Trump's attorney Emil Bove.

Westerhout completes testimony

Upon redirect, Westerhout tells prosecutors that she has "no firsthand knowledge" of Trump's reaction to the Access Hollywood tape.

The tape was released before the election, when she was still working with the RNC. She says Trump "had people around him he trusted to prepare documents for his signature." She's asked about her current employment. She confirms she's currently the chief of staff for Robert O'Brien, Trump's national security adviser.

Westerhout is now done testifying. She leaves the courtroom grinning.

Trump: I'll now go into court and "think about being on the campaign"

Former President Donald Trump spoke to the media before walking into the courtroom this morning.

"I'll now go and sit in the freezing cold courtroom for 8 or 9 hours and think about being on the campaign," Trump said to reporters. The former president will be on the campaign trail tomorrow in Wildwood, New Jersey, in what's expected to be a large rally.

"This trial is so horrible, it's no longer justice," Trump said. "And it's a tremendous abuse of the New York judicial system, in particular, the New York judicial system has been absolutely abused and abused terribly."

Trump's attorney questions Madeleine Westerhout

The defense is now cross-examining Madeleine Westerhout, Trump's former White House aide.

Trump attorney Susan Necheles questions Westerhout about the contact list that Rhona Graff, Trump's executive assistant at the Trump Org., had sent her. Westerhout confirms there were many individuals on that list who never called the White House.

Westerhout says she has no specific recollection of Trump speaking to Allen Weisselberg, former CFO of the Trump Organization, during Trump's first year in office. Necheles is about to show Westerhout old travel schedules for Trump, but is interrupted by the DA's office who asks Westerhout when she had seen these documents. Westerhout responds, saying that her lawyer's showed them to her this morning. The prosecution objects. Judge Juan Merchan says Necheles' motion to introduce is denied.

Westerhout confirms there was no transition for her into the White House. At some point, a PO box is set up for Trump and Melania to get their personal items, but it was a "really slow" way of receiving things. So to speed things up, personal items were mailed to Trump's former bodyguard Keith Schiller. She confirms that's how Schiller "began to receive these checks."

Yesterday, the prosecution showed FedEx invoices that indicate Trump's personal checks were mailed to Schiller's home address in D.C., which means they did not go directly to the White House. Westerhout agrees she would see Trump signing things, including checks, without reviewing them.

Necheles asks how Trump felt about the Stormy Daniels story coming out, Westerhout says, "My understanding is he knew it would be hurtful to his family. He didn't specifically speak about his family" but she could tell from the "whole situation."

Court is in session

Court is now in session.

Trump was joined in court by Karoline Leavitt, his national press secretary. She briefly approached former judge Jeanine Pirro and whispered something to her before taking her seat at the back of the courtroom. Pirro is sitting with the press.

Madeleine Westerhout is back on the stand to continue testimony.

Soon: Madeleine Westerhout to resume testimony

Good Friday morning, day 15 of the hush money trial is set to begin in about five minutes. Madeleine Westerhout, Trump's former White House aide, is expected to resume her testimony this morning.

Yesterday was a busy day in court, here's a quick recap.

Stormy Daniels: The adult film star completed her testimony. Trump attorney Susan Necheles sought to cast doubt over Daniels' testimony, pulling up discrepancies between what the 45-year-old has said on the stand and the 2011 interview she gave to InTouch about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump. The defense lawyer also sought to paint Daniels as someone whose career requires her to make "phony stories" about sex "appear real."

Prosecutors called two other witnesses who testified as custodians of records– a Trump Organization employee and publisher from HarperCollins.

Trump's former aide: Prosecutors then called Madeline Westerhout, Trump's former executive assistant in the White House. While testifying about how she lost her job after giving reporters personal information about the Trump family, Westerhout broke down into tears on the witness stand.

We also learned that the prosecution will not call former Playboy model Karen McDougal to to the stand. Merchan denied modifying Trump's gag order to allow him to speak about Daniels. He also denied a second motion from the defense for a mistrial.

Get caught up: Here are updates from day 14.

Newsweek's Katherine Fung is inside the courtroom.