Donald Trump's hush money trial resumes today with one of his chief antagonists, Stormy Daniels, returning to the stand and court observers wondering if the former and possible future president is close to being thrown into jail.
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Whatever happens inside the courtroom, there may no longer be photographers to document it.
Judge Juan Merchan has swept photography inside the courtroom for the remainder of the trial after one of the pool photographers reportedly violated the judge's rules by taking a picture of Trump from the side, as he walked into the well, instead of waiting for him to be seated with his lawyers, according to a dispatch this morning from pool reporters stationed in the hallway who said they received the news from a court officer.
It wasn't immediately clear when the offending photo was snapped, since Trump had not yet arrived this morning when word of the courtroom photo ban reached reporters.
A spokesperson for the court said in a statement, “A still photojournalist who was being led with colleagues into courtroom 1530 on Tuesday morning to take the daily photograph broke an established rule in photographing from outside the well. “Judge Merchan was consulted and has determined that for now no photography from the courtroom will be permitted.”
Merchan has restricted audio and video coverage, but he has still allowed photographers to briefly capture Trump and his attorneys in the courtroom before proceedings begin each day.
The reporters and photographers stationed in the hallway, catching Trump as he comes and goes from the courtroom, are still in place.
There were double the usual number of journalists and spectators lined up outside the courthouse for courtroom or overflow seats hours before testimony was due to start.
Daniels will face another round of hostile cross-examination after Trump's lawyers spent Tuesday afternoon seeking to portray the adult film actor and director as a gold-digging liar who bought, and changed, her story of adulterous sex with Trump for years before he sought the presidency.
Daniels accepted $130,000 in 2016 from Trump's lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, in exchange for her silence about the episode. Prosecutors say Trump committed multiple felonies by falsifying his record of repayment to Cohen as taxable income for routine legal work. According to prosecutors, that was an effort to conceal an undisclosed campaign contribution — Cohen's $130,000 to Daniels — as it would bury a potential scandal in the closing days of the real estate mogul and Celebrity Apprentice star's first run for president.