1. Trump hush money trial live updates: Week four to commence after Trump attacks ‘Gestapo’ Biden administration

Governor Burgum was not the only potential Trump veep going to bat for him on the Sunday shows yesterday.

South Carolina senator Tim Scott, New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Florida senator Marco Rubio were all prepared to get out there and “kiss the ring”, as Ron DeSantis memorably put it.

Scott’s refusal to commit to honouring the 2024 election results in the exchange below with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press was particularly worrying.

Here’s Kelly Rissman on Rubio refusing to rule out moving house to secure the nod.

Trump’s other big engagement in the Sunshine State over the weekend was his appearance at the F1 Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, where he saluted the crowd and appeared to enjoy his freedom from the judge’s chilly courtroom.

He’s been heavily posting about it on Truth Social, in addition to celebrating two redundancies, attacking President Biden over the indicment of Texas Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar and promoting an ally’s book, which he has definitely read from cover to cover.

Here’s Mike Bedigan on Cuellar, for context.

Over the weekend, the Republican 2024 presidential contender returned to Florida to attend the Republican National Committee’s Spring Donor Retreat at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palm Beach, where he hobnobbed with influential conservatives, including many in contention to be his running mate, and delivered a scathing speech in which he said of Joe Biden’s Cabinet: “These people are running a Gestapo administration.

“It’s the only thing they have. And it’s the only way they’re going to win, in their opinion, and it’s actually killing them. But it doesn’t bother me,” he told his audience, according to The New York Times, which obtained the audio.

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates responded to Trump’s remarks by saying: “Instead of echoing the appalling rhetoric of fascists, lunching with neo-Nazis, and fanning debunked conspiracy theories that have cost brave police officer their lives, President Biden is bringing the American people together around our shared democratic values and the rule of law – an approach that has delivered the biggest violent crime reduction in 50 years.”

On Sunday, North Dakota governor and prospective Trump running mate Doug Burgum attempted to downplay the significance of the attack when he spoke to Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union.

Here’s Josh Marcus’s report.

For a more extended recap of all of last week’s proceedings in Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom – much of which was taken up by the appearance of Stormy Daniels’ ex-lawyer Keith Davidson on the stand – here’s a more complete wrap courtesy of Alex Woodward, Oliver O’Connell, Mike Bedigan and Gustaf Kilander.

Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial will resume at Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday morning for a fourth week, with prosecutors inching closer to introducing their star witness, the defendant’s former personal attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen.

Last week’s session ended with emotional testimony from the former president’s one-time White House communication director Hope Hicks, who recounted her experiences of serving his presidential campaign in October 2016 when the notorious Access Hollywood tape emerged, requiring damage limitation efforts from Mr Trump’s inner circle.

Here’s Oliver O’Connell and Alex Woodward’s recap of the key takeaways from Friday.

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of all the latest developments from Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial.

Our very own Alex Woodward will be back at Manhattan Criminal Court this morning to bring us all the news as week four gets underway with further witness testimony.