It was a bruising week for Donald Trump in his criminal hush money trial. Star witness Stormy Daniels delivered more than seven hours of testimony, covering a range of topics that included explicit details about her sexual encounter with Trump (an encounter the former president denies took place). As the week progressed, Trump's lawyers twice tried and failed to argue a mistrial motion over her testimony. The prosecution announced on Friday that it plans to call two more witnesses, including Michael Cohen, and could rest its case by the end of the week. Judge Juan Merchan has now ruled that Trump violated his gag order a total of 10 times and has warned Trump that he could face jail if he continues to post attacks on witnesses or the jury.
Meanwhile, Judge Aileen Cannon officially scrapped her own May 20 start date for Trump's classified documents trial without setting a new one, putting the future of the case into question. And a Georgia appeals court has agreed to consider Trump's effort to disqualify D.A. Fani Willis from the state election interference case.
After months of threats, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene finally called for a motion to vacate against House Speaker Mike Johnson this week, which was swiftly shot down with a bipartisan 359-43 vote. And in political news that definitely isn't also a striking metaphor, a New York Times report uncovered that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. experienced memory loss and mental fogginess caused by a dead worm that had eaten part of his brain.
Missed something? Don't worry. Here are our select columns and videos from the week. And don't forget to check out MSNBC.com for more.
