Star witness Michael Cohen returned to the stand for another grilling from prosecutors after testifying Donald Trump was linked to all aspects of a hush-money scheme.

The trial, now in its fourth week of testimony, resumed in Manhattan with Trump's defence team continuing their cross-examination of Cohen, whose credibility could determine the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s fate in the case.

Cohen is the prosecution's final witness, as they try to prove Trump schemed to suppress a damaging story he feared would torpedo his 2016 presidential campaign, and then falsified business records to cover it up.

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Trump outside court
Trump outside court (
Image:
POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump complains of 'Fort Knox' security

Before entering the courtroom Trump continued his pattern of complaining about the trial. “The crime is that they’re doing this case,” he told reporters. The former president also expressed annoyance at the level of security surrounding the courthouse.

“Outside, it’s like Fort Knox. You can’t get within three blocks of this place if you’re a civilian,” Trump said, despite the fact that the area is open to the public.

Cohen's second day of cross-examination got off to a slow start as attorneys halted proceedings to have several conversations with the judge and prosecutors made several objections to the phrasing of several questions from Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche.

Cohen admits calling Trump 'Dumba** Donald

The defence team continued their efforts to paint Cohen as being out to get Trump. Jurors were played clips from Cohen's podcast in which he discussed Trump and the potential charges in the hush money case.

In one clip Cohen could be heard saying: “It won’t bring back the year that I lost or the damage done to my family. But revenge is a dish best served cold." He adds: “You better believe that I want this man to go down.”

Blanche also continued questioning Cohen about his prior name-calling of Trump. "You called him dumba** Donald?" Blanche asked at one point. "Sounds correct," Cohen confirmed.

Michael Cohen
Michael Cohen was grilled about secret recordings (
Image:
Getty Images)

Cohen quizzed on his lies under oath

The defence team grilled Cohen about how he lied under oath when pleading guilty to federal tax charges, including tax fraud, in 2018. He was also quizzed him about whether a 2016 phone call to Trump's bodyguard Keith Schiller, which Cohen previously claimed was when he told Trump the Stormy Daniels deal was done, was actually about prank calls from a 14-year-old boy.

Cohen admitted that "part of" the communication was regarding the harassment but said: "I know that Keith was with Mr. Trump at the time and there was more potentially than this."

In the afternoon Blanche took a more aggressive approach with his questioning as things heated up in the courtroom as he questioned Cohen about recording phone calls with reporters.

Blanche questions ethics of Cohen's secret recordings

Cohen admitted he recorded around 40 phone conversations with reporters but said he stopped after the 2016 election. Blanche accused Cohen of breaching legal ethics by secretly recording himself during a briefing with Trump in September 2016 about an arrangement to buy the rights of Karen McDougal’s story from the National Enquirer.

“You understand it’s not ethical for a lawyer to record a conversation with their client,” Blanche asked. Cohen agreed that it wasn't ethical and testified that he made the recording so he could play it for David Pecker, the National Enquirer's publisher at the time, to prove that Trump was going to make the deal happen.

He asked: “Just so I understand, you surreptitiously recorded your client so that you could play a privileged communication for a third party?” Cohen agreed.

Trump pays 'rare' moment of attention in court

While Trump appears to have dozed off several times during his hush money trial, this afternoon's grilling of Cohen appeared to waken the former president up as he paid "close attention" in a "rare" moment.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who's been reporting from the court, noted: "It's rare to see Trump pay this close attention during testimony. He has his body shifted in the direction of the witness stand and has been watching Cohen as he's cross-examined by Blanche. Typically, he has his eyes closed for sustained periods as if the testimony isn't happening at all."

Trump initially attempted to avoid looking at Cohen when he first took to the stand but today he looked on, occasionally smirking, as he appeared to enjoy witnessing the scene.