cv without personal statement

How to Write a CV With No Experience: The Format

How to write a cv with no experience for your very first job, how to write a cv without experience example, key things to remember when writing a cv with no experience, frequently asked questions, final thoughts, how to write a cv with no experience – 2024 guide + examples.

Updated November 29, 2023

When you’re writing a CV for the first time and have little or no work experience, you need to write more about your relevant soft and hard skills – to draw out why you would be a good hire. The sections that cover your education, skills and hobbies need to be data-driven and descriptive, linking your abilities to the role that you are applying for.

A CV is basically a summary of yourself that sells you to an employer. During a job application, you might be requested to send a CV with a covering letter that expresses your interest in the specific role.

To write these, you might have to get creative with how you market your skills and knowledge if you don’t yet have much work experience. This article will help you do that.

You might not have work experience if you’re a school leaver or fresh graduate, but you do have a wealth of experience in working with teams (sports, for example) or time-management (juggling your academics with extracurriculars) and even attention to detail (science experiments, maybe.)

The key is to write out everything you’ve ever done that might impress a future employer. You can start by mind-mapping or brainstorming with a friend or family member.

Then you need to nail the formatting, which is where this article comes in handy. It gives tips and examples as well as frequently asked questions to help you on your application journey.

Typically CVs fall into two categories, skills-based or experience-based. In this article, the focus is on the former – since the aim is to assist those without much experience.

You don’t want to send the same CV to everyone. You might have a basic or core CV that you then tweak for a specific job application, making sure you’re matching the skills you talk about to the actual job description.

How to write a CV with no experience is not impossible, but you want to make sure it looks as strong as possible. Getting formatting right is important when you’re looking for your first job and you’re looking to stand out amongst others.

There is always competition, but it’s hardest for graduates when there are a lot of other people in the same boat, looking for their first jobs.

There are certain items a CV should have. These are:

• Contact details
• Personal statement
• Core skills
• Education/certifications
• Experience (for example, volunteer or club experiences you might have)

There are optional extra sections you can add such as:

• Language skills/IT skills
• Hobbies and interests

Step 1 . Contact Details

This section is very simple – just add your name (usually centred in bold and a bigger font), along with a phone number and your email address.

Keep your email address sounding professional – for example, ' [email protected] ' is better than ' [email protected] '.

Bear in mind that your voicemail greeting should be equally neutral and simple. You don’t need to add your physical address, ethnicity or date of birth on your CV.

Step 2 . Personal Statement

This is a stylistic addition to CVs that works like a taster for a recruiter who is in a rush and might not read the whole CV.

It’s a two-to-five sentence summary that gives a flavour of who you are and your biggest achievements.

It helps to think of these almost as bullet points, and you can start most sentences with a verb.

You can write this last after you’ve done the rest of your CV and look at it like a frame for what follows.

For example:

Hardworking self-starter looking for roles in marketing to grow and develop my career. Worked on my college newspaper and raised circulation by 15% over two years by incorporating local advertisers. Excited to bring my attention to detail and communication skills to a bigger opportunity.

Step 3 . Core Skills

Think about what you learned at school or university that can be applied to a workplace. Can you write Powerpoints or give presentations?

That always impresses an employer.

You can also talk about general soft skills, like organisational ability or networking. How to write a CV with little experience requires you to use lateral thinking and draw upon all your extracurriculars.

If you attend workshops at your careers centre, that shows you’re proactive and engaged. Make sure you get used to adding to your core CV every couple months so you don’t forget anything new you’ve done or learned through day-to-day activities.

You can then use this as a master document to work from when you have a specific job application you’re making.

You want your CV to be memorable, so try and add something that sounds unique or different.

For example, if you did a sponsored skydive for a homelessness charity, you can use it to show that you are socially aware and able to empathise with those in different circumstances. It could even show interpersonal skills because getting sponsorship requires persuading people.

Step 4 . Education/Certifications

Your education should be written in reverse chronological order, so the more recent exams and results are displayed first.

Ideally, you want to enter your grades here but that is optional. Be sure to add dates, and you can add the names of the institutions too, if you like.

How to write a CV with little experience requires you to try and expand the education section more and make it sound as impressive as possible.

You might be surprised at what else you can put in this section. Exam results certainly, but also things like a driving licence or first aid count. You might have a lifeguarding or musical/drama qualification you can also add.

Any kind of training also counts – for example, you might have attended a workshop on gender sensitivity. Be sure to highlight what skills they have helped you develop.

For example, you could organise the section as follows:

Ten GCSEs (2022) including Triple Science (indicating an analytical mind) Merit Award (2021) in National Maths Challenge (showing logic skills) Grade 8 currently – Speech and Drama (public speaking and communications).

Step 5 . Experience

How to write a CV with no job experience is not impossible. But if you are still nervous about how to write this section, you can get professional help.

Remember, even if you weren’t paid for a role you did, it doesn’t mean you didn’t gain important business skills from it.

You can enter your volunteer roles in your CV as you would have done a paying job – specify how long you volunteered, significant tasks and the soft and hard skills you developed.

Worked in an Oxfam shop all through 2022 and learnt how to operate the checkout software, the ways to handle inventory and strong customer service skills.

Step 6 . Language Skills/IT Skills

These days, language skills are impressive and IT abilities are necessary for almost every role.

How to write a good CV with no work experience means you want to lean into these more transferable skills you might have.

Don’t be afraid to spell it out, for example:

Self-taught fluent Spanish speaker. Used Duolingo during the pandemic to achieve a 500-day streak and travelled to Spain alone (showing determination and resilience) Adept with all software packages , including statistical analysis (SPSS) Social media savvy: able to edit and produce marketing videos for various organisations

If you have a portfolio online or a particularly impressive social media following (and it’s work-appropriate), don’t be afraid to share one or two links here.

If you’re serious, you may also have a LinkedIn profile and you can also add that to your CV.

Obviously keeping your LinkedIn profile up to date and looking active with relevant shares and follows (making sure it matches the key info in your CV too) is important.

If you are sharing your LinkedIn URL, leave out the first part, so it simply reads like this: 'linkedin.com/in/NinaPatel', for example.

Step 7 . Hobbies and Interests

There is a difference between hobbies and interests: hobbies are activities you actually engage in on a regular basis, while interests are the curiosity to learn more about a topic.

So a hobby could be football (remember to talk about transferable skills like teamwork or focus), while an interest could be learning about animal taxidermy (you can link it to attention to detail or another useful trait like scientific curiosity).

There can be a lot of hobbies and interests you might want to include, but remember you are tailoring to a specific job advert.

Prioritise the items you enter in this section – for example, if you are applying for tutoring roles, employers will be keener to hear that you volunteer at the children’s library above the fact that you ran the school’s fashion show.

Other Formatting Notes

Be aware of the optimal length of a CV (no more than two pages but ideally one), the use of bullet points (they help readability) and using right font size (at least 11 for body text and above for headings).

You might also be wondering if you need to include a photo. In the UK there is no norm for including photos unless you’re applying for a job where your appearance is relevant – for example, acting or modelling.

Some big employers will often automise their CV sifting so be aware of that and use relevant keywords as much as possible.

Remember it’s not just full-time paid roles that go on your CV. How to write a CV with no job experience requires a little finesse but is doable.

Young candidates or those going through a career change should also considering adding any:

Part-time roles with relevant/transferable skills – Even if your role is working as a babysitter, there are skills like communications and delegation that you can talk about.

Internships – Ideally you have done some kind of placement through school or college, but it’s never too late to ask around local companies and offer to do some free work experience for them. Being proactive like this is a marketable trait in itself and looks great on your CV. How to write internship experience in a CV is simple — you can just break down what you did and what you learned.

Relevant voluntary work – If you visit people at a care home or if you look after a sibling it still counts as experience. You can talk about how you’re learning to manage multi-tasking or how you are building on your emotional intelligence as relevant soft skills.

Here is a sample that shows how to write experience in a CV when you have minimal working roles.

In this case, you would bulk up the sections on skills and hobbies/interests, drawing out how they were helpful in developing you as a person.

Alex Smith 4567 Adventure Road Innovation City, Tech 54321 (123) 456-7890 [email protected] Objective As a recent Information Technology graduate, I am eager to apply my technical knowledge and problem-solving skills in an entry-level IT role. I am keen on contributing to a team that values innovation and continuous learning. Education Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Tech University, Innovation City August 2019 – May 2023 Graduated with a 3.8 GPA. Relevant Coursework: Software Development, Network Security, Database Management, Web Design. Senior Project: Developed a web-based inventory management system for small businesses. Diploma in Computer Science Future Leaders High School, Cyber Town August 2015 – May 2019 Specialized in computer programming and digital technologies. Led the coding club, organizing weekly coding challenges and workshops. Core Skills Programming Proficiency: Skilled in Python, Java, and HTML/CSS. Analytical Thinking: Capable of analyzing complex problems and developing effective solutions. Teamwork and Collaboration: Experienced in working on group projects, contributing technical expertise and coordinating efforts. Quick Learner: Rapidly adapt to new technologies and programming languages. Experience Peer Tutor, Tech University September 2021 – May 2023 Tutored students in basic programming and web development, enhancing teaching and communication skills. Developed resource materials and practice exercises, showcasing organizational skills. Volunteer, Community Tech Help June 2020 – August 2022 Assisted community members with basic computer setup and troubleshooting, demonstrating technical knowledge and patience. Conducted workshops on internet safety and digital literacy for seniors. Hobbies/Interests Robotics: Build and program robots as a hobby; participated in several amateur robotics competitions. Gaming: Active in online gaming communities, developing strategic thinking and team coordination. Mountain Biking: Enjoy off-road biking, demonstrating physical fitness and a love for outdoor challenges. Other Skills Cybersecurity Fundamentals: Completed an online course in cybersecurity, gaining basic knowledge in network security and data protection. Communication: Effective communicator, capable of explaining complex technical concepts in easy-to-understand terms. Multitasking: Adept at managing multiple tasks simultaneously without compromising quality. References available upon request.

When you are looking for your first job and don’t have much experience, getting the basics right is really important.

Top tips for how to write experience in a CV are as follows:

Research the role and company – The importance of tailoring your CV can’t be overstated. Use similar skills/language as seen in the job posting for success. You can paraphrase, too, if you are referencing the same trait several times – for example, use ‘hardworking’ instead of ‘dedicated’ so that there’s not too much repetition.

Highlight your skills – Focus more on both of your hard and soft skills when you don’t have a lot of job experience.

Showcase your education – When you have no experience, your education can be a big boost – don’t forget about the different coursework/projects/extracurricular activities you’ve done either.

Proofread your CV – Always ensure it is free of errors and mistakes and get a second pair of eyes to help you. Your careers teachers at school are a good place to start. You can also ask their opinions on how to write a CV when you have no experience.

How do I write a simple CV with no experience?

Showcase your education – it can be a big boost. Highlight the different coursework/projects/extracurricular activities you’ve done too.

Be aware of the optimal length of a CV (no more than two pages), use bullet points and the right font size (at least 11 for body text and above for headings).

How do I write a CV for my first job?

Write more about your relevant soft and hard skills to draw out why you’d be a good hire. Make the education, skills and hobbies section data-driven and descriptive, linking your abilities to the role.

Research the role and company, and use similar skills/language as seen in the job posting.

How can I write a CV that highlights my volunteering roles?

Even if you weren’t paid for a role, it doesn’t mean you didn’t gain important business skills from it.

Enter your volunteer roles in your CV as you would have done a paying job – specify how long you volunteered, significant tasks and the soft and hard skills you developed.

How do I write a student CV?

Think about what you learned at school or university that can be applied to a workplace. Did you write Powerpoints or give presentations? You can also talk about general soft skills, like organisational ability or networking.

If you attend workshops at your careers centre, that shows you’re proactive and engaged.

What makes a good CV for students?

You might not have work experience, but you may have a wealth of experience in working with teams, time-management and even attention to detail.

Write out everything you’ve ever done that might impress a future employer. Then you need to pick what is a good fit for the specific job.

What is a CV for college students?

Focus on academics and the skills you’ve developed through them as well as useful extracurriculars.

Consider adding part-time roles with relevant/transferable skills – even if your role is working as a babysitter, there are skills like communications and delegation that you can talk about.

Relevant voluntary work also helps.

How do I write a CV for a fresher?

Think about all aspects of your educational background – as well as the traits or interests that make you a strong match for the job.

Write the educational section in reverse chronological, and add in any kind of training. Be sure to highlight what skills you developed.

How to write a CV without experience can seem daunting. You want to make a great first impression, so getting the CV right and focusing on hard and soft skills will help.

Make sure you have thought about all aspects of your educational background – as well as the traits or interests that make you a strong match for the job.

How to write work experience in a CV is a skill, especially when you don’t have a lot to focus on. With a bit of time and practise, you’ll be able to create a great CV showing transferable skills to help begin your dream career.

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• CV and Cover Letter
• No experience? Craft a great...

No experience? Craft a great CV and get hired fast

8 min read · Updated on April 17, 2024

Struggling to write a CV when you have no work experience? Here's what you need to know

The job search can feel like an uphill battle when you don't have any work experience yet. How are you supposed to write a CV when you don't have anything to write about? Well, having no experience for your CV shouldn't stop you from applying for – and successfully landing – your first job. 

How to write a CV with no work experience

Truth is, the candidate with the most experience doesn't always get the job. Recruiters are looking for more than just those work hours, so it's important to use your CV to showcase who you are and why you are a great fit for the role. If you're looking for answers about how to write a no experience CV, here are tips to help you get started:

1. Lead with your skill set

First things first, make sure your CV is tailored to the job you're applying for . This is important. 

If you have no experience, your CV must focus on your soft and hard skills, rather than the experience you don't have. Here's what you should do: 

• Scan the job posting and pull out all of the relevant skills and qualifications the recruiter is looking for. This could include things like attention to detail, customer service experience, or good time management. 
• Include hard and soft skills  in your skills section. You want to show the hiring manager that you're a well-rounded candidate by including relevant skills that you may have learned and acquired in school, volunteer groups, or outside any formal place of work.
• Pepper each section with skills. You can include them in your personal statement as well as your CV's dedicated skills section, for example. 

Your goal with a no experience CV is to make sure that the recruiter can see that this is not a generic CV. You want to send the message that you possess the skills relevant to the job posting. While that can be a tall order, leading with your skill set is the smartest move here. You may even want to use a functional CV format to emphasise them.

2. Perfect your personal statement

Your personal statement is the first thing a recruiter will read on your CV, so it needs to be good. Spend time writing three to five lines about yourself, your skills, and what makes you the perfect candidate for the role. Check out our expert-backed advice to get this section right:

• Keep it short and concise. It shouldn't be a story but a snapshot of what makes you a great employee. Don't overcompensate by writing too much detail here.
• Be formal and persuasive. This is the only freeform section. You may have no work experience, but your CV can still show off your charming personality.
• Use action verbs . Include a selection of action verbs in your personal statement. These will catch the reader's attention when reviewing your no experience CV. 

If you're lacking work experience, you can allow your personal statement to do much of the heavy lifting. Be clear about what you are bringing to the table. 

3. Think outside the job

Treat your extra-curricular activities and volunteer work like jobs. Evidence shows that employers are willing to take voluntary experience into account when considering a candidate for a position. Use everything that you have in your arsenal.

Spend time mentally sifting through the last 10 years and think about the times you may have volunteered at a company, conducted charity work, completed mandatory work experience or relevant coursework in high school or at a university – anything that will look good on a CV. It may not have been paid work, but you certainly would have gained some valuable skills doing it. 

The takeaway is simple: whatever experience you happen to have is likely to be valuable to the hiring manager.

4. Leverage your transferable skills

91% of talent professionals agree that soft skills, also called transferable skills , are increasingly becoming more important in the workplace. 

The truth is that most candidates will have these transferable skills. Whether acquired in university, volunteer work, another job or industry, these skills, such as communication, leadership, organisation, and customer service, can be used in any job and remain relevant across the board. 

If you're a candidate with little to no relevant work experience, it's important that you recognise these transferable skills and highlight them in your CV. Take the time to consider what transferable skills you have and how they overlap with the role. It may be worth returning to the original job advert and looking at the skills listed there.

5. Add a cover letter for context

There isn't always room on a CV to go into detail about why you're the best candidate for the job, and this can be problematic if you're lacking in work experience. You need to be able to show the recruiter who you are and what makes you right for the job. Submitting a cover letter with all the essentials alongside your CV is a great way to do this. 

Your cover letter is your chance to showcase your personality and highlight the relevant skills you possess to succeed in the specific role. Remember to keep it professional and concise, and lead with a great opener. Here are some of the things that you may want to include in your cover letter: 

• The reason you want this job. Why is this job important to you? What career plans do you have in the future? What do you already know about the sector and vacancy?
• Your enthusiasm . Choose the right, appropriate words that will express your genuine enthusiasm for the role. 
• Education . Spend some time talking about the education and training that you have under your belt. Where possible, relate this back to the job you're applying for. 
• Explanations . While you don't want to over-explain your position, it may be helpful to fill in the gaps. Detail why you have any career gaps and what lessons you have learned. 

When you're writing a no experience CV, you don't have much space to make your case. That's why including a cover letter is always the way to go. This simple move could make all of the difference when it comes to whether a hiring manager decides to take your CV forward. 

6. Use the right keywords

The recruiter (or their applicant tracking system ) will be scanning your CV for keywords. Usually found in the job posting, these are the specific skills and qualifications relevant to the advertised role. 

It's important to mention these keywords in your CV (assuming you have the right skills), otherwise your CV has little to no chance of passing the ATS. Here's how to do that: 

• Look at the job posting . If the job advert highlights leadership experience as an essential skill, then make sure your CV includes the keywords “leadership experience.”
• Choose your words wisely . Streamline your CV so that you speak the same language as the recruiter. Incorporate the same terminology and tone that they use into your CV.
• Avoid using synonyms . You might think that you're being smart by using synonyms. However, if you want to get past the ATS software, you may need to use the exact same keywords. Often enough, this software is looking for an exact match. 

You don't want to fall at the first hurdle. That's why it's so important to make sure that your no experience CV includes the right keywords for the job. Take the time to review your CV for keywords before you submit it.

7. Showcase your personality

Enthusiasm counts for more than you may think. If you can show your personality and your enthusiasm for a role in your CV, you're already in a stronger position than most candidates. When working on your no experience CV, allow your character to shine through.

You may not have the exact experience the recruiter is looking for, but if you can create a CV that stands out and oozes with personality, you just might get that phone call you've been waiting for. 

Recruiters look for more than just the right work experience related to the job. They're also looking for the right personality to fit with the company culture. Keep this in mind when you're working on your next batch of applications. 

Get hired even with no experience

When it comes to your CV, it's important to think beyond just professional work history. Look at the potential skills, accomplishments, and personal traits that may be desirable to an employer for a particular role. Remember, even with no experience, you can create a CV that works. After all, there's a lot more to you than dates on a piece of paper; it's your job to make sure that the recruiter sees that.

Are you trying to write a CV with no work experience? Submit it for a free CV review today and we'll tell you where you stand.

This article has been originally written by Rikki Wimmer and has been updated by Charlotte Grainger.

Recommended reading:

How to make a CV for your first job

The best skills to include in your CV (with examples)

How to List Self-Employment and Freelance Experience on a CV

Related Articles:

Breaking the taboo: discussing salary expectations with your employer

Wow recruiters with these CV tips from TopCV's professional CV writers

Creative job titles: a career standout or step-back?

See how your CV stacks up.

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How to Write a CV Personal Statement [+4 Real-life Examples]

Creating an effective CV takes time and close attention to detail. You've already included your jobs and experience , and now you want to allow the recruiter or hiring manager to understand the strategic value you can add.

This is when you need to utilize a personal statement at the top of your CV.

How to Write a CV Personal Statement [+4 Real-life Examples] 

What is a Personal Statement? 

A personal statement is a few brief and direct sentences at the top of your CV. The personal statement is also referred to as a career summary or personal mission statement.

This is used to grab the attention of the recruiter or hiring manager and summarizes essential experiences or training that you can bring to this position.

Why do I Need a Personal Statement?

A recruiter or hiring manager is tasked with sorting through an enormous amount of resumes every single day. A personal statement is a way to separate yourself from the other applicants.

This statement summarizes your experience and highlights your unique talents . The CV personal statement is meant to demonstrate why you are the perfect fit for the job. 

Even med students need a medical school personal statement , as it is what differentiates them from all the other students applying. Plus, it allows them to share their personal stories and objectives.

Where do I Start? 

Always begin by reading the job description carefully and thoroughly.

Your personal statement should be tailored to each job description, so it explicitly states the value you’ll bring to the position you are applying. A generic personal statement cannot do that. 

Once you have a solid handle on the job description, you can begin writing. It’s important to keep your personal statement brief, about 50-200 words will do.

Don’t forget that you have your whole cover letter to show some personality and include engaging content.

The personal statement should be a quick summary that highlights why you are the best person for the job. 

You’ll need to decide whether you are writing your personal statement in first- or third-person. This should follow how you've written the rest of your CV.

For example, if you've already written, “I grew and developed a team of 50 salespeople,” in your CV then you will want to keep your personal statement in first-person to match the prevailing style.

No matter what you choose, make sure that you keep it consistent throughout. Do not switch between first- and third-person as that will get confusing to the hiring manager.

Writing a personal statement for your CV in first-person does not mean you need to start every sentence with “I.”

There are ways to craft your personal statement to sound snappy, concise and personal, and here are a few examples to help inspire your personal statement. 

CV Personal Statement Examples

It doesn’t matter what chose as your desired career or how much experienc e you have, use these examples to drive the creation of your own personal statement.

You can take snippets from each or write something completely different. Always remember that your personal statement is a reflection of yourself and should align with your own personal goals and experience.

If these examples don’t fit your exact career, feel free to take some pointers and write yours from scratch. 

#1: Personal Statement Example for Recent Graduate CV

“As a recent graduate from university, with an honors degree in communications, I held several internships within leading organizations, including Bertelsmann. These internships enabled me to gain experience in the field and learn how to serve up valuable contributions in a fast-paced, professional environment.”

Explanation: This example should be customized to include the university you’ve graduated from and any relevant internships. A compelling personal statement always highlights relevant skills and experiences.

In this case, a recent graduate does not have extensive experience in the workforce, so soft skills like experiencing success in a fast-paced work environment and becoming a trusted team member become even more critical.

#2: Personal Statement Example for Returning to the Workforce CV

“A highly motivated and experienced office administrator, I am currently looking to resume my professional career after an extended hiatus to raise my family. Proficient in all Microsoft Office programs, I can lead meetings and work with clients to keep your office running smoothly and efficiently. After spending several years volunteering as an administrative worker for a local charity, I am committed to resuming my professional career on a full-time basis.”

Explanation: After time off from a career, it can be hard to break back into the market. This personal statement outlines the reason for the break, the relevant qualifications and what the applicant has been doing in between jobs.

Any volunteer experience becomes highly relevant when there is no concrete professional experience to draw upon, to demonstrate the use of those skills. 

#3: Personal Statement Example for a Career Change CV

“With over 15 years as a sales manager, I have extensive experience building high-functioning sales teams that consistently achieve budget numbers. In fact, my ability to grow talent led to a 20% increase in annual renewals across the board. Now, after 15 years, I am seeking new challenges to flex my marketing muscles in a fast-paced environment.” 

Explanation: When changing careers , it's essential to highlight skills that are transferable between industries.

In this case, leadership and team-building experience can apply to any industry. Homing in on concrete numbers and percentages increases credibility when applying for a position.

The applicant ends with the reason behind the desired career change. This part is not necessary but may be appealing to some hiring managers who are wondering what the impetus for the career change.

#4: Personal Statement Example for a Experienced Professional CV

“As a friendly, professional and highly trained educator, I am passionate about teaching and have an innate ability to understand student’s needs. Creating a safe and productive environment for optimal learning is my top priority. I’ve worked as a teacher for nearly 10 years in a variety of subjects and my experience and skill set make me the perfect fit for your team.”

Explanation: With more experience comes more skills and a better idea of strengths and weaknesses. Showcasing your passion for the industry is a great way to begin a personal statement, as it shows the hiring manager your dedication to the craft. 

A personal statement can be written in many different ways, but it is ultimately up to you to determine what skills you want to highlight for your chosen position.

You can follow these examples or take learnings from each to contribute towards your personal statement. 

If you understand the job you are applying for and know the unique skill set that you bring to the table, you will have a stellar personal statement for your CV that will get you across the table from the hiring manager in no time.  

Suggested Reading:

• How to Write a CV (Curriculum Vitae) in 2024 [31+ Examples]
• 43+ Resume Tips and Tricks to Land Your Next Job
• 150+ Must-Have Skills for Any Resume  [With Tips + Tricks]
• How to Answer “Tell Me About Yourself”

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Writing a personal statement for your CV

CV personal statements are like the sales pitch of your CV, but not everyone thinks they're useful. Discover if they're really necessary, how to write a CV personal profile and templates for inspiration

What is a CV personal statement?

A CV personal statement is a concise paragraph or summary, which details what you can bring to a job or company. It's also known as an opening statement, personal profile, personal summary or executive summary.

Sitting at the top of your CV, it's your opportunity to sell yourself to employers and to highlight the relevant skills and experience you possess.

While effectively and succinctly convincing recruiters that you're a good fit for the role, a personal statement gives you the chance to show off your strengths and share your career goals.

'The focus of your CV statement should be to target your offer to employers - why should they hire you and how are you different to other graduates? Therefore, making your personal statement as unique as possible is crucial to ensure you stand out from the crowd,' explains Alex Proctor, careers consultant at the University of Bradford.

Do I need a personal summary on my CV?

Traditionally, almost all CV types include a personal statement but there is some debate about whether you actually need to include one.

Some recruiters and careers advisers believe that personal profiles are one of the most important parts of a CV, as they provide an easily accessible overview of a candidate's ability, while others feel that personal statements are a waste of valuable space and time.

The latter belief is often the case with graduate CVs, as some employers feel that those just stepping onto the career ladder don't necessarily have enough knowledge or experience to warrant a personal statement. Because of this, a graduate's personal profile runs the risk of being bland and generic and stating things that should be a given, such as, 'I'm hardworking and organised,' which is why some recruiters believe that they are best suited to more senior CVs.

So while your CV doesn't need a personal statement, employers spend only seconds looking at application documents. With this in mind, a CV personal statement gives you an invaluable opportunity to make your application stand out as quickly as possible.

Alex believes 'that a CV personal statement is a good idea, because employers often have so many CVs to read through and the personal statement, if clear and concise, can elevate your chances of getting through to the next stage of the recruitment process.'

If you'd like to include a personal statement on your CV it might be best, as a graduate, to focus on your educational background and the career path you'd like to embrace. If you have relevant experiences use these to make your personal statement unique. 'If you haven’t got much work experience, focus on what experience you can extract from your degree,' advises Alex. 'If you have taken part in various projects demonstrate what your role was. Alternatively, if you have written a dissertation, showcase your topic and what skills you have developed from this experience. Employers will value your individuality even if you haven't had masses of practical work experience.'

If you're struggling to give it context and get it right, make an appointment with your university's careers or employability service and ask an adviser to help you hone your writing. 

What should I include in my CV personal profile?

In terms of length, a CV personal profile should be no longer than 150 words. 'It should be short, impactful and aligned effectively with the CV content,' explains David Ainscough, careers consultant team lead and deputy director at the University of Cambridge.

'A personal CV profile should include details of your educational background, evidence of work experience, as well as your career aspirations. You ideally need to ensure you are telling the reader what you can offer skill-wise and don't be afraid to also share any accomplishments,' adds Alex.  

If you're struggling with what to write, break your personal statement down into three parts. Focus on:

• who you are
• what you can offer
• your career aims.

Start by introducing yourself. For example, 'A recent graduate with a 2:1 in English literature from the Hillview University' or a 'Highly-skilled physiotherapist with five years’ experience…'

Next, detail what you can offer the company. Ask yourself why you're suited to the role and cover any relevant skills or experience. If you lack practical work experience instead draw attention to your academic achievements, such as contributing to university publications, which developed written communication, attention to detail and teamworking skills. Or how you applied skills learned on your physical therapy degree during your time as a physio assistant for university sport teams.

Conclude your personal statement by highlighting your career goals. For example, 'I am looking to start my career in the exciting world of publishing and to develop the skills learned through my university studies and internships.'

It's up to you how you present this information; there is no hard and fast rule. However, personal statements are generally displayed as a single paragraph, without a title or subheading. You'll need to keep it consistent with the rest of your CV formatting, meaning that the font size and type will need to be the same throughout your document.

Also, consider the voice and tense you'd like to use. Personal statements can be written in either the first or third person, but you'll need to maintain this voice throughout - don't switch between the two.

Take a look at  how to write a CV .

How can I make it stand out to employers?

• 'Remember that first impressions count so make sure you're giving the recruiter a comfortable reading experience. Layout and clarity are crucial,' says David.
• Tailor your CV personal statement (and CV in general) to each application.
• Be honest. Untruths are easy to uncover and lying on your CV is a criminal offence.
• Provide evidence of skills and experience but remember to keep it brief. For example, 'experienced event manager, who led a team to organise a charity ball for 150 people, raising £5,000 - a 20% increase on previous years.'
• Use the job description to help form your CV personal profile.
• Stick to the word limit.
• Check for spelling and grammar mistakes. The personal summary sits at the top of your CV so any errors will be immediately apparent.
• 'Keep it fresh. It needs to be reviewed in each application you make so consider something new to say each time,' adds David.
• Read it aloud once you've finished writing to make sure it flows.
• Copy and paste from your  cover letter or from online CV personal statement examples. Your personal summary needs to be unique and personal to you.
• Include unnecessary personal information such as your age, marital status etc.
• Use clichés, slang or jargon.
• Use bland, empty statements like 'I work well independently and as part of a team'. This tells employers absolutely nothing about what you’re capable of.
• Overuse buzzwords.
• Include quotes from previous employers.
• Ramble. Recruiters don't have time to read through waffle, so get to the point.

Think about the connotations of the words you use - 'currently studying' implies things might change, 'trying' implies failure, 'might' or 'maybe' sounds like you're not sure. The words you use have power so choose them carefully. You want to sound confident, positive and enthusiastic.

Find out more about the  top 7 CV mistakes .

CV personal statement examples

To help you get started take a look at the following CV personal profile examples.

As a recent graduate from the University of Townville, with a 2:1 honours degree in marketing, I have undertaken internships at industry-leading agencies such as Beyond Imagination and Noah Freemans. These placements have allowed me to develop sector knowledge and gain hands on experience, as well as expand transferable skills such as commercial awareness, communication and negotiation and analytical skills. My career aim is to gain a role which allows me to further my expertise and take on increased responsibility at a market-leading digital marketing agency.

I am a highly motivated 2:1 forensic science graduate from Groveshire University, looking to secure a graduate position that enables me to use and develop my analytical, attention to detail and communication skills. I have gained relevant experience in both scientific and hospital laboratories, which allowed me to build on my problem solving, concentration and team working skills. My career goal is to assume a role that enables me to analyse and interpret forensic data and to eventually move into crime scene investigation.

Remember; avoid copying and pasting ready-made examples. Instead use them as a guide to craft your own, tailored CV personal statement. Take a look at our  example CVs .

Find out more

• Learn more about  applying for jobs .
• Get more advice on CVs and cover letters .

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CV Personal Statement:  Examples and Actionable Tips

Fact: recruiters spend only 6 seconds reviewing each CV. So poorly organized CVs inevitably get discarded. 

Having an effective CV layout is the first step to attracting their attention. And the second step is topping that CV with a compelling personal statement (also known as a personal profile, personal summary, or executive summary).

What is a Personal Statement in a CV? 

A personal statement for a CV is a short and compelling paragraph that summarizes why you’re the most qualified person for the offered role. It tells the reader who you are and what valuable qualifications you will be bringing to their company.

NB : Opening statement, personal profile, personal summary, or executive summary are the other common names for a personal statement. 

Many believe that the work experience section is the most important element of a CV. Yet, it is your personal statement that can end up making or breaking the success of your job application. 

Because it provides the reader with a quick answer to one question they have on their mind: Are you qualified for the job or not? 

Remember: You’ll be directly competing with numerous other applicants with similar skills and work experiences. A compelling CV statement sets you apart by giving the reader a condensed snapshot of who you are as a person. 

Do I Need To Include a Personal Statement On My CV?

The short answer is YES! A personal statement entices the reader to read your entire CV by giving them a preview of your most valuable skills. It also helps you differentiate from other candidates by explaining your background, motivation, and personal character traits concisely. 

In essence, a personal statement helps you express why you are the right choice for the job in one condensed paragraph.

Where Should a Personal Statement Go in a CV?

A personal statement goes into the header area of your CV. Include it right under your name and contact details as a separate, highlighted area. A good personal statement is about 3-4 sentences long and occupies not more than 1/4th of the page. 

Alternatively, you can design a two-column CV and allocate the upper sidebar area for your personal statement. As a recent survey found, 77% of recruiters prefer two-column CVs to single-column ones.

Sample personal statement placement on a CV template

What Do You Write in a CV Personal Statement?

A compelling personal statement summarizes your professional and educational background; highlights the main skills and accomplishments. It can also express your career objectives and/or interest in the particular industry or subject if you’re a current student or recent graduate.  

Personal Statement Examples for CV 

To give you an idea of how to write your statement, let’s look at some examples.

Remember: You need to write a unique personal statement for your CV. Simply copying and using these examples may not be the best move because the sample CV statements won’t reflect your unique experiences and personality. 

Good CV Personal Statement Examples

Employers want to see experts. Therefore, your personal statement must speak directly to your most marketable skills. 

You should never come off sounding desperate or diminish your worth (even if you have been recently laid off ). Use a confident tone with first-person implied and strong verbs to describe your core competencies and other benefits you can bring to the workplace. 

General Jobseeker Personal Statement Example

Highly motivated, fully trained engineer with 15 years of experience in the telecoms industry. Worked with XYZ Telecoms Ltd, Cool Mobile Carrier, and Acme Telco as a field engineer and project team leader. Successfully managed large commercial telecom infrastructure installations. Currently unemployed due to the relocation of the company. Open to new opportunities in NOC. 

Personal Statement CV Example For an Administration Position 

Adaptable and resourceful facilities manager with experience in supporting enterprise-sized organizations in real estate, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing industries. Strong organizational skillset: Six Sigma, standardized method of procedure (MOP) policies implementation. Was responsible for facilities operations on 2.4 million square feet in a 20-building chemical manufacturing campus, serviced by a 20+ people team of building engineers, electricians, HVAC technicians, and cleaners.

Accountant Personal Statement CV Examples

Below are two samples for a senior and a junior accountant. 

Chartered Accountant 

ACCA-certified accountant for mid-market and enterprise-sized companies. Conducted due diligence and tax audits for FTSE 500 companies. Commenced for a 100% accuracy track record in financial reporting, as well as fast turnaround on complex analytical reviews. Provide on-demand advisory on trust setup, company incorporation, and tax deferrals. 

Account Assistant 

Detail-oriented, certified accounting assistant with experience in payroll administration. Familiar with Gusto, Xero, and Intuit software. Effectively process payroll, benefits, taxes, and social contributions for over 1500 employees per month. Possess a strong foundation in employee classification,  tax reporting, and financial management. 

CV Personal Statement Examples for Students

Whether you’re applying for an internship or looking for a part-time job , a compelling personal is a must-have for a student CV. 

Since your work experience history may be a bit “thin”, you need to persuade the employer via other means — your transferable skills, academic interests, and personal traits. A personal CV allows you to spotlight all of these. 

Remember that you are bringing your energy, dedication, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn to the table. As you will not have any employment history, you need to make sure to get your personality and your soft skills over in your statement.

CV Statement for a Student Looking for a Full-Time Summer Job 

Junior copywriter, enrolled in a BA Writing Program at the University of Manchester (graduation date: fall 2025). Alumni of the 2022 Copywriting Bootcamp program from Matters Agency. Well-versed in target audience analysis, brand positioning, and editorial campaign planning. Writing clips for eCommerce and SaaS brands are available in my portfolio.  

CV Statement for an Internship 

Second-year mechanical engineering student at the University of Leeds, seeking to apply theoretical knowledge in safety system design. Proficient in AutoCAD and completed a series of blueprints for fire and water safety systems as part of my coursework. Fast learner, self-starter, and team player, I’m excited to contribute my technical expertise to a dynamic engineering team.

CV Statement for a Student Looking for a Part-Time Job 

Junior front-end developer (React, Angular JS), seeking a part-time programming position in the Great London area. Current availability is 10-15 hours per week, preferably with hybrid work arrangements. Solid understanding of design systems and UX/UI best practices. Past work experience in finance and eCommerce sectors. 

CV Personal Statement Examples for 16-Year-Olds

Joining the workforce straight after high school makes sense if you want to take a gap year or pursue trade education later on. The wrinkle, however, is that most employers may be wary of your age and lack of experience.

The goal of a personal statement is to dispel those doubts by showing that you’re a serious, mature, and hard-working candidate, eager to learn and hone your craft. 

Personal Statement for a Barista Position 

Genuine coffee lover and frequent guest at Maddie’s Cafe, I would love to join the barista team. As a former head of the prom planning committee, I understand the importance of good teamwork, efficient planning, and following instructions. My main objectives are to learn more about beverage prep and deliver exceptional experiences to customers. 

CV Personal Statement Examples For A Graduate

Your personal statement should focus on your main educational attainments and experiences. If you are applying before you have had your degree results, it is fine to give a projected grade. You can also mention any specific modules you have studied that are relevant to the job on offer and how much you enjoyed working on them.

Remember: Your goal is to explain why you’re interested in this role and what you could bring to the table. 

Graduate Personal Statement Example

Business administration graduate with a 1:1 honors degree from XYZ University. Interested in an entry-level merchandising position within your Commercial Sales Department to expand my knowledge in retail merchandising, procurement, and inventory management. Looking to apply my analytical and data modeling skills for merchandising strategy optimization. 

Personal Statement for High School Graduate 

Energetic and enthusiastic high school graduate (June 2023) with top A-levels grades in English, Maths, and French. Seeking an entry-level role in sales, where I can make use of and develop my language skills. My long-term career goal is to further my language qualifications and position myself as a European sales manager living and working overseas for a global company.

Personal Statement Examples for CV With No Experience

Lack of experience in a particular role or industry should never discourage you from applying. Although you may not tick all the criteria boxes, you still have transferable skills and unique work experiences to showcase.

Moreover, ongoing talent shortages are prompting employees to reconsider their hiring criteria, plus invest more in new hire training and upskilling. Four in five companies now struggle to fill in open vacancies, which is the highest number in the past 17 years. 

So take your chances and apply even if you don’t have sufficient work experience. 

Personal Statement Example with No Relevant Work Experience 

Former front-desk hotel employee, looking for an opportunity to leverage strong service orientation and organizational skills in new roles (Customer Success or Customer Support). Familiarity with appointment booking software, digital chat apps, and CRM software. With my strong commitment to personal growth and my adaptable nature, I believe I could be a valuable asset to customer-centric teams.  

Personal Statement Example with No Industry Experience 

Self-starter with a BA degree in Communication and experience in corporate event management seeking a transition to music festival management. Experienced in organizing off-site events for 100+ people (including location scouting and travel coordination). I thrive in fast-paced environments and am eager to build a strong network of new partners. 

Discover even more personal statements from our collection of CV examples . 

CV Personal Statement For A Career Change

Career change is a big decision, but it can lead to a more fulfilling professional life. Besides, you’re not completely starting anew. Many of the hard and soft skills are quite universal. There is any number of different jobs that need the same set of skills that you have developed, so always try to lead with these and use real-life examples of your experience.

Career Change Personal Statement Example:

Working for the past 10 years as a regional sales manager has allowed me to develop keen skills in building strong working relationships and lucrative networks. Communication skills I developed during my time at my current employer enabled me to win vital contract wins that increased sales revenue by 20% over three years. I am now ready to take on a new challenge and want to work in the charity sector so that I can use my skills to give something back for the direct benefit of others.

How To Write A Strong Personal Statement for a CV 

An effective personal statement summarizes your skills and experience in a relevant way i.e., it indicates how you can be of help to the employer. 

In short, a compelling CV personal statement: 

• Lists your most marketable skills and qualifications 
• Highlights your industry knowledge and work experiences 
• Mirrors some of the key phrases, used in the job description 

And here’s how to write a personal statement that makes a mark.

1. Review the Job Description Once Again 

As you go through the role description, pay attention to the words, used by the employer, to describe the candidate’s requirements, duties, and personality. Keep those in the back of your head. 

These are the keywords you’d want to use all around your CV — in the personal statement, work experience, education, and skills areas. 

2. Do a Mental Tally of Your Skills 

Try to remember the times in your previous work roles when you accomplished notable objectives, went above and beyond expectations , or otherwise did better than your peers.  

Note down everything that springs to mind including your years of experience in a similar role, challenges you took on and the positive results achieved, new projects you kick-started – anything that has close relevance to this new position.

3. Make a Draft Personal Statement 

Write down a sample personal statement. Don’t worry about the length – just put as many details as you’d like on paper. Once you’re done, revisit the job description. See how your personal statement compares to the description. Does it paint a picture of someone who would fit the role? 

4. Edit for Clarity and Briefity 

A good CV personal statement shouldn’t be longer than 3-4 sentences. Take a critical look at your draft version and condense it to the bare essentials: 2-3 main skills, a major accomplishment, and a note on your motivation and/or personal traits. 

Other things that don’t belong in your personal statement are:

• Explanation of employment gaps or present unemployment status 
• Information about hobbies or personal interest 
• Any mention of references or recommendations 
• Irrelevant skills or work experiences 

Want to stand out even more? Add a persuasive opening statement that highlights your strengths as a candidate. 

A compelling personal statement can be the key between your CV making the ‘yes’ pile or the reject bin. Take some time to get your statement right and always write a new one for each job you apply for by mirroring the employer’s language. 

Finally, to give your CV a polishing touch, try out one of our fancy, but free CV templates , coming in multiple styles: professional, modern, simple, and creative!

Elena runs content operations at Freesumes since 2017. She works closely with copywriters, designers, and invited career experts to ensure that all content meets our highest editorial standards. Up to date, she wrote over 200 career-related pieces around resume writing, career advice... more

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Care Assistant With No Experience CV example

Getting a Care Assistant job with no experience can be tough in today’s competitive job market, but having a strong CV will make it much easier.

This guide will show you how to write a winning CV, and even includes a Care Assistant With No Experience CV example to help you get started.

Guide contents

• Care Assistant With No Experience CV example
• Structuring and formatting your CV
• Writing your CV profile
• Detailing work experience
• Your education

CV templates 

Unsure of what your Care Assistant With No Experience CV should look like?

Have a look at the CV example above to get familiar with the structure, layout and format of a professional CV.

As you can see, it provides plenty of relevant information about the applicant but is still very easy to read, and brief – which will please busy recruiters.

Care Assistant With No Experience CV structure and format

Recruiters and employers are busy, and if they can’t find the information they’re looking for in a few seconds, it could be game over for your application.

You need to format and structure your CV in a way which allows the reader to pick out your key information with ease, even if they’re strapped for time.

It should be clear, easily legible, well-organised and scannable – check out some simple tips and tricks below:

Formatting Tips

• Length: Recruiters will be immediately put off by lengthy CVs – with hundreds of applications to read through, they simply don’t have the time! Grabbing their attention with a short, snappy and highly relevant CV is far more likely to lead to success. Aim for two sides of A4 or less.
• Readability : Make sure your CV is easy to read and looks professional by applying some simple formatting tricks. Bullet points are great for making large paragraphs more digestible, while formatting your headings with bold or coloured text will help the reader to find the information they need, with speed.
• Design: Don’t waste time adding fancy designs to your CV. It generally adds no value to your application and may even end up distracting recruiters away from the important written content.
• Avoid photos: Ditch logos, images or profile photos. Not only do they take up valuable space, but they may even distract recruiters from your important written content.

Structuring your CV

As you write your CV , work to the simple but effective structure below:

• Name and contact details – Pop them at the top of your CV, so it’s easy for recruiters to contact you.
• CV profile – Write a snappy overview of what makes you a good fit for the role; discussing your key experience, skills and accomplishments.
• Core skills section – Add a short but snappy list of your relevant skills and knowledge.
• Work experience – A list of your relevant work experience, starting with your current role.
• Education – A summary of your relevant qualifications and professional/vocational training.
• Hobbies and interests – An optional sections, which you could use to write a short description of any relevant hobbies or interests.

Now I’ll guide you through exactly what you should include in each CV section.

CV Contact Details

Tuck your contact details into the corner of your CV, so that they don’t take up too much space. Stick to the basic details, such as:

• Mobile number
• Email address – It should sound professional, such as your full name.
• Location -Just write your rough location, rather than your full address.
• LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – If you include these, ensure they’re sleek, professional and up-to-date.

Care Assistant With No Experience CV Profile

Grab the reader’s attention by kick-starting your CV with a powerful profile (or personal statement , if you’re a junior applicant).

This is a short introduction paragraph which summarises your skills, knowledge and experience.

It should paint you as the perfect match for the job description and entice recruiters to read through the rest of your CV.

Tips for creating an impactful CV profile:

• Keep it brief: The best CV profiles are short, sharp and highly relevant to the target role. For this reason, it’s best to write 3-4 lines of high-level information, as anything over might be missed.
• Tailor it: If recruiters don’t see your suitability within a few seconds, they may close your CV straight away. Your CV profile should closely match the essential requirements listed in the job ad, so make sure to review them before you write it.
• Don’t add an objective: If you want to discuss your career objectives, save them for your cover letter , rather than wasting valuable CV profile space.
• Avoid cliches: If there’s one thing that’ll annoy a recruiter, it’s a clichè-packed CV. Focus on showcasing your hard skills, experience and the results you’ve gained in previous roles, which will impress recruiters far more.

What to include in your Care Assistant With No Experience CV profile?

• Summary of experience: Recruiters will want to know what type of companies you’ve worked for, industries you have knowledge of, and the type of work you’ve carried out in the past, so give them a summary of this in your profile.
• Relevant skills: Highlight your skills which are most relevant to Care Assistant jobs, to ensure that recruiters see your most in-demand skills as soon as they open your CV.
• Essential qualifications: If you have any qualifications which are highly relevant to Care Assistant jobs, then highlight them in your profile so that employers do not miss them.

Quick tip: Even the best of writers can overlook typos and spelling mistakes. Use our quick-and-easy CV Builder to add pre-written content that has been created by recruitment experts, and proofread by our team.

Core skills section

Next, you should create a bullet pointed list of your core skills , formatted into 2-3 columns.

Here, you should focus on including the most important skills or knowledge listed in the job advertisement.

This will instantly prove that you’re an ideal candidate, even if a recruiter only has time to briefly scan your CV.

Work experience/Career history

Now it’s time to get stuck into your work experience, which should make up the bulk of your CV.

Begin with your current (or most recent) job, and work your way backwards.

If you’ve got too much experience to fit onto two pages, prioritise space for your most recent and relevant roles.

Structuring your roles

Lengthy, unbroken chunks of text is a recruiters worst nightmare, but your work experience section can easily end up looking like that if you are not careful.

To avoid this, use my tried-and-tested 3-step structure, as illustrated below:

Start with a 1-2 sentence summary of your role as a whole, detailing what the goal of your position was, who you reported to or managed, and the type of organisation you worked for.

Key responsibilities

Next, write up a punchy list of your daily duties and responsibilities, using bullet points.

Wherever you can, point out how you put your hard skills and knowledge to use – especially skills which are applicable to your target role.

Key achievements

Lastly, add impact by highlight 1-3 key achievements  that you made within the role.

Struggling to think of an achievement? If it had a positive impact on your company, it counts.

For example, you might increased company profits, improved processes, or something simpler, such as going above and beyond to solve a customer’s problem.

At the bottom of your CV is your full education section. You can list your formal academic qualifications, such as:

• GCSE’s

As well as any specific Care Assistant With No Experience qualifications that are essential to the jobs you are applying for. Note down the name of the qualification, the organisation at which you studied, and the date of completion.

Interests and hobbies

The hobbies and interests CV section isn’t mandatory, so don’t worry if you’re out of room by this point.

However, if you have an interesting hobby , or an interest that could make you seem more suitable for the role, then certainly think about adding.

Be careful what you include though… Only consider hobbies that exhibit skills that are required for roles as a Care Assistant With No Experience, or transferable workplace skills. There is never any need to tell employers that you like to watch TV and eat out.

Writing your Care Assistant With No Experience CV

A strong, compelling CV is essential to get noticed and land interviews with the best employers.

To ensure your CV stands out from the competition, make sure to tailor it to your target role and pack it with sector-specific skills and results.

Remember to triple-check for spelling and grammar errors before hitting send.

Good luck with the job search!

Trump trial highlights: DA alleges Trump led 'cook the books' scheme to hide 'porn star payoff'

What to know about trump's trial today.

• Opening statements were delivered today in former President Donald Trump's historic New York criminal trial.
• Lawyer Matthew Colangelo from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office detailed an alleged "catch and kill" scheme with Trump's blessing. Trump's attorney Todd Blanche will deliver the opening statement for the defense.
• A source with direct knowledge of the situation tells NBC News that former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker will be the first witness for the prosecution. Prosecutors have described Pecker as a central figure in the alleged scheme to bury claims from women who said they had affairs with Trump.
• Judge Juan Merchan said that court will end at 12:30 p.m. ET today and at 2 p.m. tomorrow for Passover.
• Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty and denied a relationship with Daniels.

After trial tomorrow, Trump to meet with former Japanese prime minister

Dasha Burns

Rebecca Shabad is in Washington, D.C.

In addition to being in court on Tuesday, Trump is expected to meet with former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. The trial is scheduled to conclude by 2 p.m. tomorrow to allow Passover observations.

Trump's campaign painted the meeting as evidence of his fitness to return to the White House.

“When President Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, the world will be more secure and America will be more prosperous,” spokesman Brian Hughes said.

Trump rails against judge in New York civil fraud case after agreement was reached in $175 million bond hearing

Summer Concepcion

Hours after an agreement was reached at a hearing this morning on the $175 million bond in Trump’s New York civil fraud trial , the former president went on a rant complaining about Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the civil case.

"He had no idea what he did in the trial. He charged hundreds of millions of dollars on something where I’m totally innocent," Trump told reporters after exiting the courtroom.

"But if you look at what happened today, Judge Engoron should not have done that charge, he should have gone to the business division where they have complex business trials. But actually it should have never been brought because I didn’t overestimate it," he added.

Trump attacks Cohen after leaving courtroom

Speaking to cameras outside the courtroom, Trump railed against the prosecutors for indicting him over a "legal expense" and he attacked Michael Cohen, which he's barred from doing by the judge's gag order.

"It’s a case as to bookkeeping which is a very minor thing in terms of the law, in terms of all the violent crime," he said. "This is a case in which you pay a lawyer and they call it a legal expense in the books."

"I got indicted for that," Trump said.

Trump said that the things Cohen got in trouble for "had nothing to do with me."

"He represented a lot of people over the years but they take this payment and they call it a legal expense... and this is what I got indicted over," he said.

Trump said that instead of being at the trial, he should be campaigning in states like Georgia and Florida.

"It's very unfair," he said. "I should be allowed to campaign."

Trial wraps for the day

The trial concluded at 12:42 p.m. — leaving early to allow an alternate juror to make an emergency dental appointment.

Trump's defense team makes objection to part of David Pecker's testimony

Trump lawyer Emil Bove said the defense objected to testimony from David Pecker about Dylan Howard and asked that it be struck from the record.

“We objected to some testimony about the whereabouts of Mr. Howard,” Bove said.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said it's admissible and it could be foundational and goes to witness availability.

Jurors adjourned for the day

Jonathan Allen

Gary Grumbach

Merchan has excused jurors for the rest of the day.

Jurors departed the courtroom at 12:25 p.m.

David Pecker describes relationship with Dylan Howard, former editor-in-chief at National Enquirer

David Pecker said that he was familiar with Dylan Howard, the former editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer and chief content officer at AMI.

Pecker said Howard reported directly to him and said his job was "to make sure we got the most exclusive and current content.”

This line of questioning suggested that Howard will not testify himself.

Pecker says National Enquirer engaged in 'checkbook journalism'

Corky Siemaszko

Trump's longtime pal David Pecker admitted that the National Enquirer paid for some of its scoops.

“We used checkbook journalism and we paid for stories,” Pecker, former publisher of the supermarket tabloid, testified. “I gave a number to the editors that they could not spend more than $10,000 to investigate, produce or publish a story.” 

Trump is more alert as Pecker testifies

Katie S. Phang

Trump is now more alert, paying attention and is leaning into the defense table. He's speaking with his lawyer Emil Bove in an animated way.

His eyes are wide open and he's looking in Pecker's direction.

Who is David Pecker?

David Pecker , a Trump ally who is expected to testify during the trial, was the CEO of the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc. (AMI). He played a key role in the alleged scheme behind the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels in an effort to cover up the affair she claims she had with Trump before the 2016 election (Trump has repeatedly denied her allegations).

Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump, helped cover up potentially damaging stories about him. Prosecutors said Pecker and Michael Cohen had met with Trump at the Trump Tower in 2015 to discuss how Pecker could help suppress negative stories about Trump’s relationships with women. They allegedly discussed an instance involving Daniels, who was paid $130,000 by Cohen to not speak to media outlets about her alleged affair with Trump.

Pecker in 2018 was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in their investigation into Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection to hush money payments issued to women he said he made under Trump’s direction, after he spoke with prosecutors about Cohen’s payment to Daniels.

AMI in 2018 had admitted to paying $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal to silence her over an alleged affair she had with Trump before the 2016 election. Trump has denied having an affair with McDougal.

Court resumes; prosecution calls David Pecker

The prosecution has called David Pecker to the stand.

Pecker, wearing a yellow tie, with gray-and-white hair combed back, enters the courtroom from a side door.

Pecker is 72, he says. He is married, he says. Been married 36 years, he says.

Trump lawyer plays New Yorker card

Blanche wrapped up his opening statement by trying to appeal to the jury as New Yorkers.

“Listen, use your common sense," he said. "We’re New Yorkers, it’s why we’re here.” 

Blanche reminded the panel members that they assured the court they could put aside the fact that Trump was once president and is now running again.

"We trust you will base it on what you hear in this courtroom and it will be a very swift not guilty verdict," he said.

Agreement reached in the Trump New York civil fraud case

Chloe Atkins

In other Trump legal news, an agreement was reached this morning at the $175 million bond hearing in the Trump New York civil fraud case.

Chris Kise, Trump’s attorney said, they agreed with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office to maintain the Schwab account in cash. Knight will have exclusive control of the account, and shall not trade or withdraw the account for any purpose other than to satisfy the condition of the bond.

Kise said that they will provide a monthly account statement to the attorney general’s office and that they will revise the pledge and control agreement so that it cannot be amended without the court approval.

Kise said that the parties will submit a stipulation that will memorialize this by Thursday.

Blanche concludes, trial takes 10-minute recess

Blanche concluded after 35 minutes and 10 seconds.

At the conclusion, the court took a 10-minute recess.

Blanche details Trump's relationship to Daniels

Blanche said that Daniels, though identifying her by her legal name Stephanie Clifford, is "biased against President Trump."

Blanche said that Trump met her in 2006 when he was running "The Apprentice" TV show, and he was looking for contestants. He said that she saw her chance to make a lot of money in 2016, $130,000 by making the allegations about having a sexual encounter with Trump.

“I’m going to say something else about her testimony, and this is important: It doesn’t matter," he told the jury. “Her testimony, while salacious, does not matter."

Trump's lawyer tests Merchan

Blanche said Trump believed the catch-and-kill agreements were lawful because they were made with the involvement of lawyers.

But through an earlier court ruling, Merchan expressly barred Trump from using this diluted “advice of counsel” defense, holding Trump could not protect certain communications from discovery under the attorney-client privilege while, at the same time, telling jurors that Trump believed his actions were lawful because lawyers were involved on both sides.

Trump watches jury as his lawyer argues

As Blanche moves through his opening statement, Trump is watching the jurors — occasionally moving his eyes to Blanche.

It’s hard to detect from the closed-circuit camera trained on his table. But from behind, you can see that angle of his profile shows he has been focused on the jury box for portions of the statement.

Trump’s mouth is drawn in a serious expression that betrays no emotion.

Merchan sustains objection about Cohen

Blanche accused Cohen of lying in a courtroom previously, presumably referencing Cohen’s plea to tax evasion charges, which he has since recanted and said he did only to spare his family.

Merchan summoned the lawyers back to the bench after Blanche said that Cohen has “testified under oath and lied.” 

Merchan sustained an objection from Colangelo.

Blanche rails against Cohen for attacking Trump

Blanche leaned next into calling Cohen's credibility into question.

“He has talked extensively about his desire to see President Trump go to prison," Blanche said. “Last night, 12 hours ago, Mr. Cohen on a public forum said that he had a mental excitement about this trial and his testimony.”

He said that Cohen's goal is "getting President Trump."

Blanche added that Cohen has testified under oath and lied.

Defense trying to poke holes

Laura Jarrett

Blanche’s job as a defense lawyer here isn’t to tell a neat story in the same way as the prosecution — it’s to raise doubt, poke holes and plant questions in the jury’s mind.

We see this on full display today by not disputing the payoff Daniels received. Instead, the defense simply says Trump did nothing wrong. But he doesn’t (yet) tackle how the alleged scheme was first hatched in 2015. He jumps to 2017 and the Cohen reimbursement checks — that’s an easier part of the timeline for the defense side.

Judge calls lawyers to the bench

Merchan has asked the lawyers to approach the bench after prosecutors raised a fourth objection to a portion of Blanche’s opening statement.

There were about a dozen lawyers, between the two sides, huddled around Merchan.

Trump lawyer argues 'there's nothing wrong with trying to influence an election'

“I have a spoiler alert: There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election," Blanche said in his opening statement. "It’s called democracy."

Prosecution objects during defense opening statement

Prosecutors objected to Blanche saying that a nondisclosure agreement is “not illegal.” Merchan sustained.

Blanche rephrased and said it is “perfectly legal.” Prosecution objected again. Merchan overruled and let Blanche continue.

Blanche argues Trump had nothing to do with the whole series of events

Blanche argued that Trump wasn't involved in covering up the payments.

"President Trump had nothing to do, had nothing to do with the invoice, with the check being generated, or with the entry on the ledger," he said.

Blanche argues the events in the case were 'years and years ago'

Ginger Gibson Senior Washington Editor

Blanche is trying to find any hole he can poke in the prosecution's case and starts by pointing out the dates when the events occurred.

Calling the events "pre-Covid," Blanche emphasized that some of the discussions dated back to 2015.

Prosecutors would not have been able to bring the case until after 2021, because Trump was largely shielded from prosecution while he was president.

Trump lawyer argues 'frugal' Trump wouldn't have paid Cohen that much

Blanche moved away from his lectern and the microphone to get a clearer look from the jury as he noted that Trump paid Cohen $420,000, rather than $130,000, trying to cast doubt on the prosecution’s argument that it was a repayment for the Daniels nondisclosure agreement.

“Would a frugal businessman … would a man who pinches pennies” repay a $130,000 debt to the tune of $420,000, Blanche told the jury.

“This was not a payback.”

Trump lawyer paints his client as a man 'just like me'

While making the case for his client’s innocence, Blanche attempted to humanize the former president in the defense’s opening statement.

Trump is a husband, a father, "a man just like me,” he said.

Trump lawyer begins opening statement by declaring Trump didn't commit any crimes

The former president's lead lawyer began his opening statement by saying that Trump did not commit any crimes.

Blanche said that the DA's office should have never brought the case. He said that Trump is presumed innocent and tells the jury that they will find him not guilty.

Trump's lawyer said that the jury has seen Trump for years. "He’s in some ways larger than life. But he’s also here in this courtroom, doing what any of us would do. Defending himself.”

He added that they will refer to Trump as President Trump because he earned that as the 45th president.

"We will call him President Trump out of respect," Blanche said. “It’s the office he’s running for right now, as the Republican nominee ... he’s also a man, he’s a husband, he’s a father and just like me.”

'Penny-pincher' Trump was willing to pay extra for catch-and-kill stories, prosecutor says

Colangelo said Trump was a "frugal businessman" but didn't count coins when it came to covering up his alleged affairs.

Prosecutors will produce evidence to show that Trump “was a very frugal businessman, believed in pinching pennies," he said. "He believed in watching every dollar. He believed in negotiating every bill. It’s all over all of the books he’s written.”

But, Colangelo said, "When it came time to pay Michael Cohen back for the catch and kill deal, you’ll see he didn’t negotiate it down. He doubled it.”

This, the prosecutor said, shows "just how important it was to him to hide the true nature” of the payments.

Prosecutor says Cohen's testimony will be backed up with emails, texts, phone logs, business documents

Colangelo told the jury that Cohen's testimony during the trial will be backed up by emails, text messages, phone logs and business documents.

“And it will be backed up by Donald Trump’s own words on tape, in social media posts, in his own books, and in videos of his own speeches," he said.

Colangelo finishes opening statement

Colangelo finished his opening statement, speaking for 45 minutes and 30 seconds.

The jury watched, he was seeming to hold their attention.

Trump lawyer Blanche is up next.

Prosecutor says jurors will learn Cohen 'has made mistakes in his past'

Colangelo said jurors can expect to hear a lot about Cohen’s backstory as Trump’s fixer.

“You will learn, and we will be very up front about it, the fact that Michael Cohen like other witnesses in this trial, has made mistakes in his past,” he said.

Prosecution uses Trump's words

The prosecution is going to great lengths to echo Trump’s own language in accusing him of committing crimes to steal an election — election integrity, fraud and the like.

Toward the conclusion of his statement, Colangelo called the alleged scheme “an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of a presidential election” and pointed to “the steps that Donald Trump took to conceal that illegal election fraud.”

Prosecutor says it was a 'double lie' how Trump and his team covered up payments

Colangelo said that the Trump Organization was not in the business of paying people twice.

He said the scheme showed how important it was to hide the payment and the overall election conspiracy. He said Trump agreed to pay Cohen back in monthly installments over 2017 with 12 $35,000 payments; and Cohen would send a bogus invoice to make it seem like they were for legal services.

“That was a double lie,” Colangelo said. “There was no retainer agreement.”

“It was instead what they thought was a clever way to pay Cohen back without being too obvious about it,” he said.

Analysis of prosecution's opening statement

Listening to the prosecution’s story this morning, it’s striking to think how differently things might have turned out if federal prosecutors had charged Trump originally in connection with a campaign-related violation. They couldn’t at the time — they charged Cohen because Trump was president and the Justice Department has a policy of not charging a sitting president.

Instead, prosecutors here in New York have charged him with falsifying business records after the fact. The hurdle for prosecutors now is the timeline in their story. How would “cooking the books” in 2017, as they say, after nearly all of the damning facts had already been exposed by tons of reporting, hide anything from voters?

Prosecutor introduces former Playboy model Karen McDougal

Colangelo says a second catch-and-kill scheme was hatched to cover up Trump's alleged affair with former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal.

"The defendant desperately did not want this information about Karen McDougal to become public because he was concerned about the election,” Colangelo said of Trump.

Pecker will testify that Trump met with him after the election to thank him, prosecution says

Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, will testify that Trump met with him after the election to thank him for dealing with the stories about women claiming to have had an affair with him, Colangelo said.

He then noted that Trump brought Pecker to the White House the following year to further show his appreciation.

Prosecutor explains Stormy Daniels situation to jury

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said that another woman, adult actress Stormy Daniels, came forward before the election with an encounter she said she had with Trump while he was married.

He said that Cohen learned about the allegations and discussed it with Trump, who didn't want the story to come out, saying that it would be devastating to the campaign.

Colangelo said that Cohen came up with a deal to buy her story with a nondisclosure agreement and she agreed not to disclose her story for $130,000. Trump wanted to delay payment for as long as possible but ultimately he agreed to the payoff.

They eventually agreed that Cohen would create a shell company to transfer the money and Cohen confirmed that Trump would reimburse him, the prosecutor said. Colangelo said that on Oct. 27, 2016, Cohen wired $130,000 to Daniels' lawyers.

Prosecutor says Trump 'cooked the books'

Colangelo is trying to make the case about why the jury should get from hush money payment to document fraud.

Trump Org. couldn't write a check with "Reimbursement for porn star payoff" on the memo line, Colangelo says.

"So they agreed to cook the books” and make it look like the repayment was actually income," he said.

Judge watches prosecution's opening statement closely

Merchan is watching the prosecution’s opening statement closely, but his eyes are going back and forth — pingpong style — between Colangelo and the jurors. He’s rocking gently in his chair with his chin between his thumb and forefinger.

Prosecutor vows to jurors 'you’ll hear defendant’s own voice on a tape'

Colangelo promised that jurors will hear the defendant's "own voice on a tape" in the alleged scheme to silence women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

Prosecutor is quoting Trump in the 'Access Hollywood' tape

Colangelo just quoted Trump from the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape that came out in October 2016, just weeks before the election, to the jury.

Colangelo quoted Trump saying that he could grab women by the "p----."

He said that those were Trump’s words one month before Election Day and that “the impact of that video on the campaign was immediate and explosive." Merchan ruled that prosecutors can’t play the tape.

Prosecutor explains $30,000 payment to former Trump Tower doorman

Colangelo explained that Pecker and Cohen learned about a former Trump Tower doorman who was trying to sell information about Trump having a child out of wedlock.

He said Pecker contacted Cohen immediately and Cohen told Trump who told him to take care of it. They then negotiated a $30,000 agreement to buy the story, he said.

Colangelo argued that Pecker was not acting as a publisher, but as a co-conspirator.

Trump lawyers listen intently to prosecution's opening statement

Trump lawyers Blanche and Susan Necheles have turned their seats toward Colangelo as he delivers the prosecution’s opening statement. While Trump continues to face forward with hooded eyes, his lawyer Emil Bove is seen taking notes, looking down in his lap.

Blanche, who does not appear to be taking notes, is also watching the jury as Colangelo continues to deliver his opening statement.

Prosecutor explains alleged roles of Cohen and Pecker in scheme

Colangelo explained Cohen and Pecker’s alleged roles in the hush money scheme.

“Cohen’s job really was to take care of problems for the defendant," he said. “He was Trump’s fixer.”

Colangelo said that together, the two conspired to influence the outcome of the 2016 election and that Pecker would act as eyes and ears for Trump. Pecker's job was to gather information that could be harmful and report that to Cohen, he said.

Prosecutor says Trump began reimbursing Cohen after election

Colangelo, in his opening statement, said Trump starting paying back Cohen for making the hush money payments after winning the White House.

"After the election, the defendant then reimbursed Cohen for that payment through a series of monthly checks all of which were processed through the defendant’s company, the Trump Organization," he said.

Merchan advises jurors against reading about or researching the case online or listening on the radio

Merchan urged jurors not to read or listen to any accounts of the hush money case on the radio or the internet. He also instructed jurors to not conduct research on the case at the library, via Google or any other news source.

Merchan stressed that decisions made by jurors must be based solely on evidence presented in the courtroom.

Prosecutor says 'this case is about criminal conspiracy'

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo says in his opening statement, “This case is about criminal conspiracy.”

Laying out the prosecution's case in the courtroom for the first time, he described a conspiracy between Trump and Cohen.

He argued that Trump tried to corrupt the 2016 election.

“Then, he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again," Colangelo said.

Opening statements are beginning

The opening statements are beginning.

Trump's eyes are shut

Trump's eyes are shut and across the aisle, Bragg is catching a glimpse of the former president from his seat in the front row of the gallery.

Merchan reads out jury instructions

Merchan read the jury instructions aloud and explained the stages of the trial. 

He reminded jurors of the basic principles of the law and said that, at the conclusion of the case, he will remind them that the law applies to the crime and that prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

Merchan also explained the role of a court reporter, before going on to tell jurors, “What I say is not evidence.”

“You must decide this case on the evidence,” he said.

“What the lawyers say at any time is not evidence,” the judge added.

Merchan says there are six prior court decisions that are admissible on cross-examination for Trump

Merchan said that if Trump takes the stand, prosecutors can bring up six determinations in four separate proceedings:

• Feb. 16: The N.Y. fraud case in which a judge found Trump violated law in stating the value of his assets.
• Oct. 28, 2022: Failing to remove an untrue personally identifying post about a law clerk on DonaldJTrump.com and was fined $5,000.
• Oct. 21, 2023: Intentionally violated court order by continually attacking court clerk. Fine was $10,000.
• The court will allow people to bring up how the defendant defamed E. Jean Carroll by making a false statement.
• Carroll v. Trump II: The court will allow prosecutors to bring up how a jury found Trump defamed E. Jean Carroll by making false statements with actual malice.
• People James v. Trump: Donald J. Trump Foundation engaged in repeated and willful self-dealing transactions.

Jury being sat

The jury is being brought into the room and seated, for the first time, as a group.

No Trump family members appear to be in the courtroom

It does not appear that there are any of Trump’s family members present in the courtroom this morning.

Bragg has entered the courtroom

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is in the courtroom.

Juror 9 was concerned about media attention but will remain on jury

Merchan said that the court received a call from juror 9 who expressed concern about media attention. After a meeting with the juror and lawyers for both sides, the judge announced, however, that the juror will remain on the jury.

Merchan says court will conclude at 12:30 p.m. today

Merchan said alternate juror 6 would be able to make an emergency dentist appointment at 3 p.m. for a toothache. But the appointment was moved up to 1:20 p.m., prompting the judge to tell her that the court would conclude at 12:30 p.m. today.

Lawyers estimate length of opening statements

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said the prosecution’s opening statement would be about 40 minutes and Blanche said the defense's would be about 25 minutes.

A key source of money for Trump's legal fees is drying up

Ben Kamisar

Trump has covered tens of millions of dollars in legal fees from his leadership PAC, Save America. But a new fundraising report filed over the weekend shows that the revenue stream might be drying up.

Save America started April with just $4.1 million in the bank as the group has paid almost $60 million in legal fees since the start of last year (the majority to firms related to his various trials). But there's a bigger warning sign in the filings for Trump.

Shortly before announcing his presidential bid in 2022, Save America sent the top pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc., $60 million to be used to boost his candidacy from the outside. But amid the former president's legal crunch, MAGA Inc. has been slowly refunding that donation, providing an important injection of funds into Save America as it pays Trump's legal fees. (Note: Virtually all of the money Save America raised last month came from a refund.)

The new filings show that MAGA Inc. has refunded all but $2.8 million of that $60 million donation. So, Trump will need to find new ways to fund his legal defense, as there appears to be no sign those expenses are going away anytime soon.

Court is in session

The judge is on the bench and trial has begun for the day.

Trump's lawyers will work to try to undermine Michael Cohen's credibility.

All the players in Trump’s hush money trial

The charges against Trump stem from an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into an alleged “catch and kill” scheme to bury negative stories about Trump before the 2016 presidential election in a bid to influence the outcome.

According to prosecutors, several people participated in the scheme, which involved paying people off to buy their silence and covering up the payments in Trump’s business records.

Here are the key people in the case who will come up during the trial, potentially as witnesses.

Protesters outside the courthouse

A group of protesters is demonstrating outside the courthouse. Some are holding signs. One says, "Election interference is a crime."

"Slept with a porn star. Screwed the voters," another says, with a photo of Trump's face.

Another has images of dictators and then Trump's face saying that they all believe they're above the law.

Trump arrives at the courthouse

Trump arrived at the courthouse at 8:52 a.m.

Trump criticizes hush money case in overnight post

In an overnight post on his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted Bragg while complaining about the case.

"The Corrupt Soros Funded District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, who has totally lost control of Violent Crime in New York, says that the payment of money to a lawyer, for legal services rendered, should not be referred to in a Ledger as LEGAL EXPENSE," he wrote. "What other term would be more appropriate??? Believe it or not, this is the pretext under which I was Indicted, and that Legal Scholars and Experts CANNOT BELIEVE."

Trump also repeated his claims of the hush money trial being part of an effort to interfere with his presidential campaign.

"It is also the perfect Crooked Joe Biden NARRATIVE — To be STUCK in a courtroom, and not be allowed to campaign for President of the United States!" he wrote.

Here's what you missed last week

Katherine Doyle

• Day 1, April 15 : On the first day of the New York hush money trial , Trump argued that the criminal justice system is being weaponized against him and repeatedly claimed that the prosecution is engaging in “election interference” amid his re-election campaign. Trump sat at the defense trial as the court worked to eliminate jurors who said they could not be fair and impartial in the case — at least 50 out of 96 of the first batch of prospective jurors were excused for that reason.
• Day 2, April 16 : The challenge of finding 12 impartial jurors in Democratic-leaning Manhattan continued as lawyers reviewed old social media posts, pressed jurors on where they get their news and sought to nix candidates they thought could potentially taint the case. Merchan had warned Trump against attempting to intimidate potential jurors.
• Trial off day, April 17 : A day after the first seven jurors were selected out of a pool of nearly 100 people, Trump slammed the jury selection process on the trial’s scheduled off-day. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee erroneously insinuated that he should be entitled to unlimited strikes of potential jurors in the hush money case.
• Day 3, April 18: Jury selection continued and Trump paid closer attention to potential jurors who brought up certain topics that piqued his interest, such as experience in law enforcement, real estate and the media they consume. Two jurors were dismissed after having been seated, with one juror doubting her ability to be fair or impartial and another after prosecutors raised concerns about a potential criminal history he did not disclose. At the end of the day, Merchan swore in the 12-person jury, plus an alternate.
• Day 4, April 19 : The five remaining alternates were chosen and sworn in. In a dramatic moment outside the courthouse, a man set himself on fire and later died of his injuries.

Meet the 12 jury members of Trump’s hush money trial

All 12 jurors, plus an alternate, were selected to serve on the jury last week after they made it clear to both sides that they could render a fair and impartial verdict.

Prosecutors and the defense team  whittled down a pool of nearly 200 people to 12 jurors and an alternate after grilling them on their personal history, political views, social media posts and ability to remain impartial despite any opinions they might have about the polarizing former president.

Read the full story here.

Pecker expected to be first witness

A source with direct knowledge of the situation tells NBC News that David Pecker will be the first witness for the prosecution beginning today. This source says that due to the Sandoval hearing, opening statements and the gag order hearing tomorrow, they don’t expect the cross-examination of Pecker to happen until Thursday.

Prosecutors have said that Pecker, the longtime former publisher of the National Enquirer, is a central figure in the alleged coverup scheme and the architect of the “catch and kill” plots.

Opening statements and first witness on tap for Trump hush money trial

Dareh Gregorian

Opening statements are set to begin this morning at 9:30 a.m. ET in the case of the People of the State of New York versus Donald Trump , the first criminal trial of a former president.

Attorneys on both sides will present their opening statements after the judge delivers instructions to the 12-person jury and six alternates.

Death of Mandisa, 'American Idol' alum, does not appear suspicious, Franklin police say

Franklin Police Department officials said Monday that no foul play is suspected in the death of Christian singer Mandisa — four days after she was found dead in her home.

Mandisa, a Grammy-winner born in Citrus Heights, California, as Mandisa Lynn Hundley, was 47 years old.

The singer died suddenly in her Franklin home and was found on Thursday. Hundley was identified by a medical examiner, police officials said.

"At this time, there is no indication the death was the result of suspicious or criminal activity," said police spokesperson Max Winitz. "The Franklin Police Department send its condolences to Hundley’s family, friends, and fans."

He did not provide a suspected cause of her death on Monday.

Initially, police only said they were working at a home that matched the address provided for the 'American Idol' alum on public records. The Media Collective talent agency that represented Hundley confirmed her death Friday. But the company provided no insight into her cause of death.

Hundley graduated from Fisk University, where she was a member of the famed Fisk University Jubilee singers, in 2000.

In 2005, Hundley appeared on "American Idol" and made it to the top nine contestants. Her career as a Christian artist bloomed from there. She released her first album, "True Beauty" in 2007 and debuted on the Top Christian Album charts with her first single, "Only the World."

Hundley won best contemporary Christian Music Album for "Overcomer" at the 56th Grammy Awards in 2014.

As news of her death spread, other celebrities and people who knew Mandisa have spoken out on social media, saying her music and lyrics served as inspiration to them when they needed it.

"Mandisa's smile was like turning on sunshine," said singer-songwriter Amy Grant on Instagram.

Frequent collaborator TobyMac said: "I have never met an artist who is more encouraging and supportive to other artists than Mandisa."

Tennessean reporters Craig Shoup and Melonee Hurt contributed to this report.

Trump Trial Adjourns Until Tuesday

The jury heard from three witnesses on Friday: a banker, Donald J. Trump’s longtime executive assistant and the former publisher of The National Enquirer, who explained how he had worked to bury negative stories and help elect Mr. Trump.

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Kate Christobek and Jesse McKinley

Five takeaways from the second week of Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial.

The second week of Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial was dominated by four days of testimony by David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, who detailed his efforts to safeguard Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr. Pecker, a longtime associate of the former president, talked at length about a “catch and kill” scheme that he said he had entered into with Mr. Trump and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, during a 2015 meeting at Trump Tower. The publisher said he would purchase the rights to unsavory stories he had no intention of running.

His testimony also teed up the story of Stormy Daniels, a porn star who claims to have had sex with Mr. Trump in 2006 and received a hush-money payment in the days before the 2016 election, a deal at the center of the case.

Mr. Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an effort to conceal the payment. If convicted, he could face four years in prison. Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied that he had sex with Ms. Daniels.

The week also brought more accusations that Mr. Trump had violated a gag order prohibiting him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and jurors. Justice Juan M. Merchan has not ruled on the prosecution’s request to hold Mr. Trump in contempt, and said he would hold another hearing next Thursday to address allegations of new violations.

Here’s what happened during the second week, and eighth day, of Mr. Trump’s trial:

Opening statements displayed dueling strategies.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers presented dueling portraits of Mr. Trump’s actions.

Prosecutors sketched a secret scheme to influence the 2016 election. They said Mr. Trump directed men in his inner circle to suppress negative stories about him and then agreed to cover up the payment to Ms. Daniels after taking the White House.

But Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche said his client’s actions were “run-of-the-mill” business. Nondisclosure agreements are common among the wealthy and famous, he said, and influencing an election is no crime. “It’s called democracy,” Mr. Blanche said.

Mr. Blanche also attacked potential prosecution witnesses. He called Mr. Cohen, who spent time in prison on charges stemming from the matter, a criminal who “can’t be trusted.” He said Stormy Daniels was “biased” and had profited from her story.

The Links Between Trump and 3 Hush-Money Deals

Here’s how key figures involved in making hush-money payoffs on behalf of Donald J. Trump are connected.

A former tabloid titan opened the case.

Mr. Pecker testified that he was the “eyes and ears” of the Trump campaign, keeping a lookout for unflattering stories.

He detailed a deal with a former doorman of a Manhattan building managed by the Trump Organization who said that Mr. Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. Despite the story being false, Mr. Pecker said the tabloid paid him $30,000 to prevent embarrassment.

Mr. Pecker also spoke about a deal with Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump, an allegation that he denies. Ms. McDougal was paid $150,000, but Mr. Pecker said he had no intention of publishing anything about the affair.

After two payouts, Mr. Pecker said he had been unwilling to buy a third story: Ms. Daniels’s account of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump.

How the tabloid sausage was made.

During their cross-examination of Mr. Pecker, Mr. Trump’s lawyers set out to show that such deals were “standard operating procedure” in the tabloid business, and that only about half of all stories purchased made it to print.

One of the defendant’s lawyers, Emil Bove, pushed Mr. Pecker about the real purpose of the deal with Ms. McDougal, whether her top priority was money and whether the agreement had other benefits for her. Mr. Pecker conceded that dozens of articles were published under her name.

But Mr. Pecker later testified that the agreement’s real purpose had been to bury the story of the affair.

Trump continued to speak out.

Mr. Trump has been subdued compared with his appearances at civil trials in Manhattan, where he was known to mutter loudly and twice stormed out.

But occasionally his frustration was apparent. He once shook his head vigorously as Mr. Pecker testified.

When he left the courtroom, Mr. Trump lashed out at the case against him, veering into territory potentially prohibited by Justice Merchan’s gag order.

Who Are Key Players in the Trump Manhattan Criminal Trial?

The first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump is underway. Take a closer look at central figures related to the case.

Next week may offer more drama, if fewer days.

Friday ended with few fireworks. Mr. Trump’s former executive assistant, Rhona Graff, testified briefly, identifying entries from the Trump Organization’s computer system that contained contact information for Ms. McDougal and Ms. Daniels.

Prosecutors also called Gary Farro, a banker who helped Mr. Cohen open an account that he used for the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. Mr. Farro’s testimony is expected to continue next week.

It is not clear who will testify after Mr. Farro, but the weeks ahead could include Mr. Cohen, Ms. Daniels and Hope Hicks, Mr. Trump’s former White House communications director.

Monday is an off day for the court, as is Wednesday. Mr. Trump will use the midweek break to campaign in Wisconsin and Michigan, two battleground states in this year’s election. He is the presumptive Republican nominee.

Nate Schweber

Donald Trump’s motorcade left 100 Centre Street at 4:42 pm. A few dozen gawkers, including a small gaggle of conspicuous Trump supporters waving four large flags, strained in vain for a glimpse of the former president. Through the afternoon, those demonstrators traded chants of “We Love Trump” with another group of protesters, who yelled back, “Lock Him Up.”

Wesley Parnell

Court will not be in session on Monday. We will be back Tuesday morning.

Justice Juan M. Merchan

Presiding Judge

Trump Lawyer

Michael Cohen

Former Trump Lawyer and “Fixer”

Stormy Daniels

Porn Director, Producer and Actress

Rebecca Mangold

Rhona Graff

Trump's former personal assistant

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Jonah Bromwich

And now we're adjourned for the day. Trump looks utterly spent as he rises at the end of the long first week of testimony in his criminal trial. As he passes reporters, he grimaces, then glares, putting on a braver face as he leaves the courtroom.

Kate Christobek

At the conclusion of his testimony today, Gary Farro referenced a document showing that Michael Cohen opened a limited liability company called Essential Consultants L.L.C., and indicated that it was a real estate consulting company. The company was later used to pay Stormy Daniels the hush money.

The defense has already told the jurors that Michael Cohen is a liar who is out to get his revenge on Trump. But the witnesses have painted a slightly different portrait — of a very anxious, harried man, who, while he still worked for Trump, would do whatever he could for his boss. “Every time Michael Cohen spoke to me, he gave me a sense of urgency,” Gary Farro just said.

This material is dry but the prosecutor, Rebecca Mangold, is questioning Gary Farro slowly and deliberately. Farro said that Michael Cohen was eager to connect with him and wanted to open a limited liability company immediately. Farro then took steps to open an account for him and specified with his team that Cohen didn’t want addresses on the checks.

Maggie Haberman

Trump is leaning forward, reading an email that is being read into evidence about Gary Farro missing a call from Michael Cohen.

Michael Rothfeld

Here’s what we know about Gary Farro, the third witness.

The third witness in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump is Gary Farro, a banker who is testifying on Friday about his work with Mr. Trump’s former lawyer and fixer on a $130,000 hush-money deal in 2016.

Mr. Farro spent 15 years at First Republic Bank, where he was a senior managing director, according to his LinkedIn profile. That is the now-defunct institution where the lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, established an account for Essential Consultants L.L.C. Mr. Cohen had created Essential Consultants to pay a porn star, Stormy Daniels, as part of a nondisclosure agreement to bury her claim that she and Mr. Trump had sex in 2006.

Mr. Cohen set up the account in October 2016 and funded it from his home equity line of credit at First Republic. He has previously said he did so to ensure his wife would not know about the transaction. About two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, he wired the payment to Keith Davidson, a lawyer for Ms. Daniels.

After the hush-money payment became public, Ms. Daniels’s lawyer at the time, Michael Avenatti, provided NBC News with an email from an assistant to Mr. Farro confirming the transfer. Mr. Cohen had used his Trump Organization email address in the communications, but said at the time that company funds were not used.

According to NBC, the email, from Oct. 26, 2016, had the subject line, “First Republic Bank Transfer” and confirmed that “the funds have been deposited into your checking account.”

Mr. Trump has denied having had sex with Ms. Daniels.

Enter Michael Cohen, Trump's former fixer. “Do you know someone named Michael Cohen,” Rebecca Mangold, the prosecutor, asks. “Yes I do,” Farro answered. His knowledge of Cohen, who was assigned to him as a client, is the reason he’s here, of course.

For those familiar with Cohen, Farro is making a number of telling statements. He says that he was thought of as someone who was good at working with “individuals who may be a little challenging,” though he says he didn’t find Cohen “difficult.” He also comments on Cohen’s apparent excitement to be working for Trump.

After the first two witnesses testified about Trump’s personal behavior, we’re getting a dry recitation of banking transactions now, a reminder of what this trial’s charges relate to.

First Republic Bank, Gary Farro reminds the jurors, no longer exists. It was seized and sold by regulators last year, one of several banks that were the casualties of bank runs after interest rate hikes. Farro, colorfully, referred to this as “last year’s demise.”

Rebecca Mangold will question Gary Farro for the prosecution. She has been on the team for several years, and she typically sits with Christopher Conroy, another prosecutor, behind the main table. This may be the first time I’ve heard her speak in court.

Justice Merchan is back on the bench. Prosecutors call Gary Farro to the stand as the third witness.

Farro was a banker at First Republic when Michael Cohen was seeking to arrange the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. Cohen, seeking to get the money together, was contacted by Farro’s assistant at First Republic Bank.

Prosecutors forgot something very important — the jury. They will have to call Farro again once the jurors enter. It’s Friday afternoon, all right.

Rhona Graff is now done testifying. Trump stands as Graff is leaving and approaches her, touching her hand. The judge, Juan Merchan, is standing too, waiting for the lawyers to come to the bench. Given all the focus on witnesses and Trump interacting with them, that was a striking moment. The court is taking a brief recess.

Susan Necheles, Trump's lawyer, just asked Graff a clever question: Whether she wants to be here or not. Graff says she does not, and indicates that the only reason she’s testifying is because the Trump Organization is paying her legal fees.

Rhona Graff, who was Trump's longtime executive assistant, was the second witness called and is currently being cross-examined by Trump's lawyer. So far, we have heard her describe her role with Trump, as well as the fact that he had contact entries for both Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, two of the women who claim to have had affairs with him. The prosecutor appeared to be trying to use that information to establish that Trump could have plausibly had contact with both. She also got Graff to confirm she saw Daniels at Trump Tower, a visit that Trump's lawyer later suggested could have been about appearing on "The Apprentice."

Rhona Graff is testifying adoringly upon cross-examination about the success of “The Apprentice,” calling it THE most popular television show and saying that Trump had acquired “rock-star status.” This was typical in the trial of Trump's company in 2022: Many of his former employees remain quite fond of their old boss, and seem happy to sing his praises.

In the past few minutes, we again heard the name of Hope Hicks, Trump’s spokeswoman during the 2016 campaign and in the White House. There was not, to my ear, a key reason to reintroduce Hicks, so it may be that prosecutors are seeking to set her up as a key witness.

Susan Hoffinger, the prosecutor, wraps up. Susan Necheles is now cross-examining Rhona Graff for the defense.

Trump cracks a small smile as Graff speaks glowingly of her time working for Trump. She says she never had the same day twice and called Trump “fair” as a boss.

Rhona Graff testifies that she saw Stormy Daniels at Trump Tower, in the waiting area of the 26th floor, where Trump’s office is located.

We are now looking at redacted entries from the Trump Organization's computer system that contain contact information for Karen McDougal and “Stormy.”

Matthew Haag

Who is Rhona Graff, Trump’s former assistant who is testifying against him?

For decades, few people had access to Donald J. Trump like Rhona Graff. Now, Ms. Graff, his former personal assistant at the Trump Organization, became the second person to testify against Mr. Trump in his criminal trial in Lower Manhattan.

At Trump Tower, Ms. Graff served as Mr. Trump’s gatekeeper . She had an office right outside his door, placing her within earshot of Mr. Trump’s requests to get someone on the phone. And when someone wanted to reach Mr. Trump, they first had to go through Ms. Graff, often requiring a secret code to be put through.

“Everybody knows in order to get through to him,” she once said, “they have to go through me.”

Prosecutors on Friday spent about 15 minutes questioning Ms. Graff before Mr. Trump’s legal team started cross-examination, which also was short.

Asked about her role at the Trump Organization, Ms. Graff told prosecutors that she compiled records that included emails, contact lists and calendar entries. She said the company’s directory had contact information for Karen McDougal and a “Stormy.”

Ms. McDougal is a former Playboy model who has claimed to have had sex with Mr. Trump. Stormy appears to be a reference to Stormy Daniels, who has also claimed to have had an affair and whose hush-money payment is central to the criminal case against Mr. Trump.

Ms. Graff testified that, even though she left the Trump Organization and was testifying in the trial, the organization was paying her legal fees.

Under questioning by a Trump lawyer, she spoke glowingly about her time working for the former president, calling him “fair” as a boss — eliciting a smile from Mr. Trump in the courtroom. She also spoke fondly about Mr. Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice,” adding that it helped him achieve “rock-star status.”

Ms. Graff heard about a job opening in 1987 at the Trump Organization and cold-called to get the position. The job appeared to raise her profile. Six years later, Ms. Graff’s wedding announcement was published in The New York Times. She married Lucius Joseph Riccio, the city’s commissioner of transportation, in a wedding officiated by Mayor David N. Dinkins.

The roles in which she served for Mr. Trump extended far beyond being his assistant, as reflected in her title: senior vice president. She acted as Mr. Trump’s media liaison, scheduler, sometimes spokeswoman, fund-raising planner, co-star on “The Apprentice” and as a Miss Teen USA judge.

Ms. Graff continued her service during his 2016 presidential campaign and after Mr. Trump moved into the White House.

Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Trump’s trial is the latest chapter in the rich history of Lower Manhattan’s courts.

For a decade, Robert Pigott, a lawyer, has led walking tours of the courthouses of Manhattan, guiding visitors around landmarks where the city’s rich legal history has played out. Now the trial of Donald J. Trump has added a chapter to the story he gets to tell.

Mr. Pigott’s tours, which he runs in his spare time, revolve around a cluster of downtown buildings that are the borough’s judicial hub. For now, 100 Centre Street — the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, where the former president’s case is being heard — is the focus.

But just down the street on Foley Square sits Manhattan’s most elegant courthouse building, New York’s Supreme Court, with its sweeping flight of 32 stone steps leading up to a series of imposing Corinthian columns. Other court buildings are dotted around nearby.

“The eyes of the nation and the world are trained on criminal court cases in New York County, whether it’s organized crime, Wall Street cases or federal cases,” Mr. Pigott said.

Mr. Trump’s trial is remarkable because it is the first time that a former American president has been criminally prosecuted. The defendant’s status as this year’s presumptive Republican presidential nominee adds a contemporary political dimension.

For Mr. Pigott, 64, who has written a book about the history of the city’s courthouses, the real significance is what it says about the status of a few blocks of Manhattan as a nexus. He pointed out that Mr. Trump’s civil fraud case and defamation case also both played out this year in courthouses within spitting distance of the criminal trial.

“Now, when I arrive at the expanse of Foley Square midway through the walk, I can point to something truly remarkable — three different courthouses where the same former U.S. president has been on trial,” he said.

Mr. Trump’s trial shows how politics, celebrity and the location of the court itself can reinforce one another to make a big story bigger. New York’s status as a media hub increases the spotlight during high-profile cases and the high-profile cases held over the decades have, in turn, made the city’s courts an attractive setting for fictional courtroom dramas.

In these buildings, a jury convicted Anna Sorokin for grand larceny in 2019 for posing as a German heiress to swindle wealthy New Yorkers — a case that almost by definition blurred fact and fiction. Naturally, the tale has since been turned into a series on Netflix.

The cluster is also where a group of Black and Latino teenagers, then known as the Central Park Five, were wrongly convicted in 1990 of raping a jogger — a case also rendered as a Netflix series — and where Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty in 1981 to murdering the musician John Lennon.

The New York Supreme Court building, a trial-level court, often serves as a symbol of the court complex. It featured prominently in the television show “Law and Order" and the 1957 courtroom film classic “12 Angry Men,” to cite just two examples.

Mr. Pigott, however, is drawn to the history of the legal system before the 20th century and how it evolved through its buildings. The first stop on the tours he runs is a sidewalk nearby with glass blocks embedded in it, through which it is possible to see the excavations of a courthouse built by the Dutch in the colonial era.

The authorities in New York built a judicial infrastructure in this part of Lower Manhattan starting mainly in the 19th century, when the area experienced significant gang violence, he said.

“This one-block radius has been the epicenter of criminal justice in New York since the 1830s,” said Mr. Pigott.

For all the drama associated with the Trump trial, the streets outside the criminal courthouse have generally been calm this week. Reporters and members of the public have lined up for entry to the courthouse. And on Thursday morning, Collect Pond Park across the street, which has been designated for protests, was empty. Its only occupants were some police officers and a few pigeons.

On stand, Pecker fires back after Trump lawyer implies he was untruthful.

The lawyer for Donald J. Trump who on Friday led the cross-examination of David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer and first witness in the trial, used confrontational questioning to try to catch Mr. Pecker in contradictions.

But that strategy, which led to a tense exchange in the Lower Manhattan courtroom, did not seem to pay off. Mr. Pecker repeatedly rejected characterizations and questions posed by the lawyer, Emil Bove, and resisted the suggestion that he had not been forthright in earlier testimony.

For most of Friday, Mr. Bove had struck a polite tone with Mr. Pecker, spending most of the second day of cross-examination focusing on arcane questions about deals to suppress stories, including one with Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump.

But as Mr. Bove wrapped up his cross-examination, he asked Mr. Pecker about his obligations in cooperating with the prosecution in the hush-money trial.

Mr. Pecker did not play along. “To be truthful,” he fired back, adding: “I’ve been truthful to the best of my recollection.”

And with that, Mr. Bove sat down.

Mr. Pecker was the first witness called by prosecutors. Their questions over three days sought to establish that he and his publication suppressed negative stories about Mr. Trump while both promoting him in The Enquirer and attacking his Republican primary rivals.

Matthew Haag and Jesse McKinley

Three witnesses testified on Friday. Here’s the latest.

The hush-money trial against Donald J. Trump adjourned for the week with its third witness on the stand, a former banker whose client was Michael D. Cohen, the former president’s fixer.

The banker, Gary Farro, said that Mr. Cohen was assigned to him at First Republic Bank. Mr. Cohen always had a sense of urgency and a preference for secrecy, Mr. Farro testified, most notably around the time Mr. Cohen arranged an October 2016 hush-money payment to a porn star who said she had a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, Stormy Daniels. Mr. Trump’s reimbursement of that payment is at the heart of the criminal case.

The payment to Ms. Daniels was made through a limited-liability company called Essential Consultants, which Mr. Cohen set up through First Republic. Mr. Farro said that Mr. Cohen called him while he was golfing on his day off and said he needed to create an L.L.C. for a real estate consulting company right away.

Mr. Farro spent an hour on the stand being questioned by prosecutors before the trial was adjourned for the day, ending the first week of testimony in the Lower Manhattan courtroom. The trial will resume on Tuesday.

Mr. Farro was called to the witness stand on Friday afternoon after brief testimony by Rhona Graff, Mr. Trump’s former longtime executive assistant, who was questioned for about 35 minutes.

She said on the stand that the Trump Organization, her former employer, was paying her legal fees. Ms. Graff worked for Mr. Trump for 34 years, starting in 1987 and continuing until after he became president. At the Trump Organization, she was called his gatekeeper, the person who controlled his schedule and access to him.

Ms. Graff noted that a company directory had contact entries for both Ms. Daniels and Karen McDougal, another woman who had claimed to have an affair with Mr. Trump.

She also told prosecutors that she saw Ms. Daniels at Trump Tower. A lawyer for Mr. Trump later suggested that her visit could have been connected to an appearance on “The Apprentice,” his reality show.

The testimony followed multiple days of questioning of David Pecker, the former publisher of the The National Enquirer. A key witness for the prosecution, Mr. Pecker described his involvement in suppressing stories that could have damaged the 2016 presidential candidacy of Mr. Trump, who is charged with 34 felonies.

Mr. Pecker said that he and The Enquirer sought to help Mr. Trump’s campaign through catch-and-kill deals to suppress negative news about him and through positive headlines that promoted him.

On Friday, one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Emil Bove, sought to find inconsistencies related to what Mr. Pecker had said about his interactions with Mr. Trump and his reasons for publishing negative stories about his opponents.

Mr. Pecker responded defiantly. “I’ve been truthful to the best of my recollection,” he said.

The Enquirer’s parent company paid $150,000 to Ms. McDougal, a Playboy model. Mr. Pecker urged Mr. Cohen to handle paying $130,000 to Ms. Daniels, who was shopping her account of the sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, which she said took place in 2006.

Mr. Trump, 77, is charged with falsifying business records to cover up his reimbursement of Mr. Cohen. He has denied the sexual encounters and pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces.

Here’s what else to know:

Mr. Trump is the first American president to face a criminal trial. If convicted, he could receive probation, or up to four years in prison.

This may be the only trial Mr. Trump faces before Election Day. His three other criminal cases are delayed, including one in Washington, where he is accused of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss. On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether Mr. Trump should be immune from prosecution for acts he committed while president. The court’s conservative majority seemed poised to narrow the scope of the case , which could make it hard to conduct the trial before the 2024 election.

Mr. Trump has injected an element of menace into his Manhattan case, attacking both witnesses and the jury, which prosecutors say could put them in danger. The prosecution argued this week that Mr. Trump had violated the gag order placed on him by the court four more times , bringing the number of alleged violations to 15. They have asked the judge presiding over the trial, Juan M. Merchan, to hold Mr. Trump in contempt, but he has not yet ruled on the matter.

Jesse McKinley and Kate Christobek

5 takeaways from David Pecker’s testimony so far.

Follow our live coverage of Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan.

The criminal trial of Donald Trump featured vivid testimony on Thursday about a plot to protect his first presidential campaign and the beginnings of a tough cross-examination of the prosecution’s initial witness, David Pecker.

In his third day of testimony, Mr. Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, described his involvement in the suppression of the stories of two women who claimed to have had sex with Mr. Trump: Karen McDougal, a Playboy model, and Stormy Daniels, the porn star whose 2016 hush-money payoff forms the basis of the prosecution’s case.

Mr. Trump, 77, is charged with falsifying 34 business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels, who has said they had a sexual encounter in 2006 and was shopping that story in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election. He has denied the charges and having sex with Ms. Daniels and Ms. McDougal; the former president could face probation or prison if convicted.

Here are five takeaways from Mr. Trump’s seventh day on trial:

Pecker teed up falsified records charges.

As part of a so-called catch-and-kill scheme, Mr. Pecker testified that his company, AMI, paid Ms. McDougal $150,000 to purchase her story, with no intention of publishing anything about an affair with Mr. Trump.

But Mr. Pecker expected repayment. He said he asked Michael D. Cohen, who was Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, who would handle the reimbursement, and Mr. Cohen responded, “The boss will take care of it.”

Because Mr. Pecker had such a hard time getting Mr. Trump to pay up, he was unwilling to buy a third story: Ms. Daniels’s account of sex with Mr. Trump.

“I am not a bank,” Mr. Pecker recalled saying.

Mr. Pecker suggested that Mr. Cohen buy Ms. Daniels's story instead, leading to the hush-money deal, repayments and records at issue in this trial.

Prosecutors painted a picture of election interference.

The prosecution’s discussion of the deal with Ms. McDougal — brokered in summer 2016 — served another purpose: trying to demonstrate that the payment was part of a scheme to influence that year’s election.

Mr. Pecker said that Ms. McDougal’s payment was disguised as a contract for services, to avoid violating campaign finance laws.

“I wanted to protect my company, I wanted to protect myself and I wanted also to protect Donald Trump,” Mr. Pecker said.

Mr. Pecker was also asked whether he believed Mr. Trump was concerned that his wife or family would find out about the affairs. But Mr. Pecker suggested that Mr. Trump’s concerns were electoral, not personal.

Trump worried about Ms. McDougal, even after his election.

Mr. Pecker told of least two instances in which Mr. Trump inquired about Ms. McDougal, referring to her at a Trump Tower meeting before he took office as “our girl.” He also asked about her during a meeting with Mr. Pecker at the White House, the publisher said.

At the Trump Tower meeting, which also included notables like James Comey, then the F.B.I. director, and Reince Priebus, who was chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mr. Pecker reassured Mr. Trump that everything was fine.

Mr. Trump then told the group that Mr. Pecker probably “knows more than anyone else in this room.”

“It was a joke,” Mr. Pecker testified, adding, “They didn’t laugh.”

Pecker did a lot for Trump, who could be hard to please.

Mr. Pecker said on Tuesday he had agreed to be the “eyes and ears” of the Trump campaign and used AMI to deal with threats to Mr. Trump’s reputation.

After the “Access Hollywood” tape was revealed in October 2016, featuring Mr. Trump’s boasts about groping women, one of Mr. Pecker’s editors scrubbed an AMI publication’s website of a 2008 article describing Mr. Trump as a “playboy man.”

Despite that, Mr. Trump often made his displeasure known, Mr. Pecker testified, either through Mr. Cohen or in phone calls. Mr. Pecker variously described Mr. Trump as becoming “very angry” and “very aggravated.”

Still, Mr. Pecker said he felt no ill will. “I felt that Donald Trump was my mentor,” Mr. Pecker said, adding, “I still consider him a friend.”

Cross-examination continues Friday. More names may drop.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers, led by Emil Bove, started their cross-examination trying to show that such deals were “standard operating procedure” in the supermarket tabloid business and that the magazines published only about half of the stories they bought.

That offered the first intimation of the defense strategy: presenting as commonplace actions that the prosecutors have deemed criminal. The cross-examination also showed the ugly side of the tabloid trade, including the admission that Mr. Pecker’s magazines would buy stories as leverage against celebrities.

Many famous names were mentioned, including that of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie star-turned-Republican politician. Mr. Pecker described a 2002 meeting in which Mr. Schwarzenegger asked Mr. Pecker not to run negative stories about him before his run for governor of California. It worked: the star of “The Terminator” was elected and served from 2003 until 2011.

The name-dropping may well continue when cross-examination continues Friday.

David Pecker recounted a Trump Tower meeting where the president-elect offered his thanks.

David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, painted a remarkable scene for jurors at Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial Thursday, describing a meeting he attended at the soon-to-be president’s office with people who would hold key roles in his administration.

Mr. Pecker, who had helped Mr. Trump suppress damaging stories during the campaign, said he was outside Trump Tower in January 2017 when Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, tapped him on the shoulder and said, “I’ll get you upstairs.”

When he walked into Mr. Trump’s office, he saw Sean Spicer, Reince Priebus, Mike Pompeo and James Comey. Mr. Comey was the director of the F.B.I. at the time and would later publicly turn against Mr. Trump. Mr. Priebus was the chairman of the Republican National Committee and soon to be Mr. Trump’s chief of staff. Mr. Spicer would become White House press secretary, and Mr. Pompeo would be director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Trump introduced me to each of them,” Mr. Pecker testified. “He said, ‘Here is David Pecker. He is the publisher of The National Enquirer.”

Mr. Trump, in the presence of the F.B.I. director and the incoming C.I.A. director, then added slyly that Mr. Pecker probably “knows more than anyone else in this room.”

“It was a joke,” Mr. Pecker testified. “Unfortunately, they didn’t laugh.”

But in the courtroom, Mr. Trump chuckled. His lawyer, Todd Blanche, guffawed.

Mr. Pecker said that at the same meeting, Mr. Trump thanked him for purchasing stories for him during the campaign. The president-elect also inquired about Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model whose story of an affair Mr. Pecker’s company had suppressed in exchange for $150,000.

“How’s our girl?” Mr. Pecker said Mr. Trump had asked, to which he replied: “She’s cool. She’s very quiet. No issues.”

It is unclear whether the other men heard those remarks.

In his testimony, Mr. Pecker also spoke of an earlier postelection meeting at Trump Tower, in December 2016. Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s lawyer and fixer, asked him to persuade Mr. Trump to pay out his holiday bonus, Mr. Pecker said. He also testified that Mr. Cohen had told him he had not yet been repaid for the $130,000 he had spent on a hush-money deal with a porn star, Stormy Daniels.

Mr. Pecker told the jury that he did raise the issue of a bonus for Mr. Cohen with Mr. Trump. “He’s been working very hard, from my perspective, and I believe that he would throw himself under a bus for you,” Mr. Pecker said he had told Mr. Trump.

The publisher recalled that Mr. Trump replied that Mr. Cohen had plenty of money; he owned 50 taxi medallions, valuable licenses to operate a cab in New York City, as well as apartments in Trump buildings. Still, Mr. Pecker testified, Mr. Trump said he would take care of the bonus.

Pecker says he and others around Trump feared his anger.

A recurring theme in the testimony of David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, has been how people around Donald J. Trump lived in fear of his wrath.

At least three times while testifying in Mr. Trump’s criminal trial on Thursday, Mr. Pecker described Michael D. Cohen, the former president’s fixer and lawyer, as warning him that “the boss” — Mr. Trump — would be angry if Mr. Pecker did not follow through with whatever had been asked of him in that moment.

Notably, Mr. Pecker kept his eyes locked on exhibits and prosecutors while discussing Mr. Trump’s temper, not once glancing over at the former president in the courtroom. Mr. Trump appeared subdued during Mr. Pecker’s testimony, as he has for most of the trial, but at one point, he motioned to the lawyers next to him and crossed his arms over his chest.

Mr. Pecker and Mr. Cohen were in frequent contact during the 2016 presidential campaign, strategizing over how to bury threatening news about Mr. Trump before the November election. In urging Mr. Pecker to kill harmful stories, Mr. Cohen often invoked Mr. Trump’s potential anger as a reason for Mr. Pecker to do what he asked.

Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump, received $150,000 from American Media Inc., The Enquirer’s parent company. When Mr. Pecker voiced concerns about the potentially unlawful implications of the deal, Mr. Cohen had a warning.

“The boss is going to be very angry at you,” Mr. Cohen told Mr. Pecker, he testified Thursday.

Mr. Pecker also testified about warning Mr. Cohen that he, too, needed to avoid Mr. Trump’s temper. Mr. Pecker said he did not want to pay $120,000 that Stormy Daniels, a porn star, had asked for to keep quiet about the tryst she said she had with Mr. Trump. But Mr. Pecker urged Mr. Cohen to make a deal.

“If you don’t, and it gets out, I believe the boss is going to be very angry with you,” he said he told Mr. Cohen.

Stormy Daniels’s attempt to sell her story began the road to the trial.

Stormy Daniels tried to benefit from Donald J. Trump’s political momentum in early 2016, setting off the saga that ultimately resulted in his criminal trial.

Her agent reached out to Dylan Howard, editor of The National Enquirer, and editorial chiefs at other publications, seeking about $200,000 to tell her story of having sex with Mr. Trump a decade before when he was at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Ms. Daniels had no takers. Mr. Howard thought her story had little value because it had already been written about on a gossip site in 2011. At the time, she had publicly denied the encounter.

A month before the presidential election, her story’s value suddenly increased. On Oct. 7, 2016, The Washington Post published a recording of Mr. Trump on the set of “Access Hollywood” talking about groping women.

The ensuing uproar revived Ms. Daniels’s negotiations with The Enquirer. Her agent negotiated a price of $120,000 with Mr. Howard, but Mr. Pecker nixed the deal, unwilling to spend more after having already paid a Playboy model to bury her story of an affair with Mr. Trump in what prosecutors have called a “catch-and-kill” scheme to aid Mr. Trump’s candidacy.

“We can’t pay 120k,” Mr. Pecker texted Mr. Howard. They agreed that Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, would have to handle the problem.

“Spoke to MC. All sorted,” Mr. Howard later texted Mr. Pecker. “No fingerprints.”

Mr. Cohen had been in London visiting his daughter, who was studying abroad, when the “Access Hollywood” recording hit. He had gotten on a three-way call with Mr. Trump and Hope Hicks, the campaign’s press secretary, and then spoke to Ms. Hicks alone to discuss damage control.

Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor for Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, said in court last week that after the recording emerged, Mr. Trump was desperate to “lock down the Stormy Daniels story” and prevent more damage.

On Oct. 10, Mr. Cohen began to negotiate a price with Keith Davidson, the lawyer representing Ms. Daniels, settling on $130,000. A nondisclosure agreement identified Ms. Daniels by the pseudonym Peggy Peterson, or “PP,” and Mr. Trump as David Dennison, or “DD.”

But Mr. Cohen delayed paying for weeks, and Ms. Daniels began contacting news outlets again.

With the election rapidly approaching, Mr. Cohen drew the money from his own home equity line of credit and wired it to Ms. Daniels’s lawyer through a shell company on Oct. 27.

Her silence was assured.

Prosecutors say Trump keeps breaking gag order, with four new violations.

Prosecutors on Thursday accused former President Donald J. Trump of violating a gag order four additional times, saying that he continues to defy the judge’s directions not to attack witnesses, prosecutors and jurors in his hush-money trial.

“He’s doing what the order tells him not to do,” said Christopher Conroy, a prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney.

As Mr. Conroy laid out what he said were violations, Mr. Trump whispered to his lawyer Todd Blanche and frowned. After they spoke, Mr. Blanche rubbed his face several times.

With the latest allegations, prosecutors now say that Mr. Trump has violated the gag order 15 times in less than two weeks. The judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, is expected to rule soon on earlier violations and could hold the former president in contempt or issue a fine.

The new instances include two separate attacks on his former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, once during a recent television interview and another while speaking to reporters in the hallway outside the Lower Manhattan courtroom. Another violation, prosecutors said, stemmed from a recent interview in which Mr. Trump referred to the jury as “95 percent Democrats.”

The fourth example, prosecutors said, took place before the trial began on Thursday, at a campaign stop with construction workers in Manhattan . There, Mr. Trump called David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher who took the witness stand for a third time on Thursday, “a nice guy.”

Prosecutors accused Mr. Trump of sending a message to Mr. Pecker and other witnesses to be “nice,” or get attacked. They said they would submit the additional violations to the court.

Justice Merchan imposed the gag order on Mr. Trump in late March, barring him from making public statements about any witnesses, prosecutors, jurors or court staff, as well as their families. But within a week, Mr. Trump found a loophole in the order and repeatedly attacked the judge’s daughter, a Democratic political consultant.

In a hearing earlier this week on the 10 previous violations, lawyers for Mr. Trump argued that the former president had been exercising his right to respond to attacks. Prosecutors noted that the gag order did not include exceptions for Mr. Trump to respond to those who criticize him.

How long should I keep bank statements?

Storing bank statements, disposing of bank statements, how long should you keep bank statements.

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• Bank statements are necessary for loan applications and IRS audits.
• Store hard copies in a locked filing cabinet or digital copies in an encrypted folder.
• Banks are required to keep statements for five years, but you may want to keep yours for seven years.

A bank statement is a record of every financial transaction you've made from an account. It includes the dates and amounts of every deposit, withdrawal, and transfer made within a certain time period.

Having your bank statements on hand is not only helpful for tracking your spending and creating a budget , but is often necessary when financing a large purchase, such as real estate, or verifying tax information with the IRS.

Tax-related reasons

Patrina Dixon , a financial educator and coach, recommends keeping any bank statements or other important financial documents for up to seven years in case you're audited . You may need account transaction information to verify your income, or make a case for claiming credits and deductions on a federal or state tax return.

Major purchases and loans

Lenders often require between one month and a year's worth of bank statements for loan applications. Generally, the larger the loan — a mortgage , for instance — the more financial documentation you will need to provide.

While financial institutions are required by federal law to keep customers' bank statements for at least five years, they may not be easily accessible to you. It's best to keep your own records as well.

Digital vs. paper storage

If you receive paper bank statements in the mail from your bank, collect and store them in a locked filing cabinet in a secure place at home. If you would prefer to minimize your paper trail, Dixon advises opting for online bank statements.

Be sure to download your statements as PDFs so you can access them without an internet connection. If you use a public computer, always clear the search history when you're done.

Keep your bank statements and other sensitive financial documents in a password-protected folder on your Mac or Windows PC. Dixon recommends installing anti-virus software if you're concerned about a potential security breach. And review your computer software periodically to ensure it's up-to-date.

If you're short on computer storage, consider storing your digital bank statements in an encrypted manner on Google Drive or iCloud.

Keep in mind most financial institutions, including the best banks , do not charge fees for receiving online bank statements. Some financial institutions charge fees for receiving paper statements.

Paper documents can be shredded when you are ready to dispose of them. Digital copies of bank statements should be deleted using specialized software. If you've encrypted and stored your documents on Google Drive or iCloud, follow the instructions for permanently erasing the files.

Keeping bank statements FAQs

Bank statements are required for some loan applications and may be necessary when verifying information on your tax return within the last seven years.

You should keep bank statements for at least seven years, in case the IRS needs to verify transactions during an audit. If you have ample storage space, consider keeping them for longer.

Storing digital copies in a secure, encrypted format is probably most convenient. If you prefer to have hard copies of your bank statements, keep them in a locked file cabinet.

Paper statements should be shredded, and digital files should be permanently deleted using specialized software.

Keeping digital copies of your bank statements is increasingly preferred to keeping physical copies. They can be printed if needed and don't take up space in your home.

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Supreme Court hears arguments on Trump immunity case

By CNN's John Fritze, Tierney Sneed, Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand

We've wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can relive today's Supreme Court proceedings as they happened by scrolling through the posts below.

These are the key takeaways from the Supreme Court arguments on Trump’s absolute immunity claims

From CNN's John Fritze, Tierney Sneed and Marshall Cohen

The Supreme Court appeared ready to reject former President Donald Trump’s claims of sweeping immunity and the broad protections he has sought to shut down his federal election subversion case , but also reluctant to give special counsel Jack Smith carte blanche to pursue those charges.

After nearly three hours of oral arguments, several of the justices seemed willing to embrace a result that could jeopardize the ability to hold a trial before the November election.

Much of the hearing focused on whether there should be a distinction between official acts by Trump pursuant to his presidential duties and his private conduct.

Here are key takeaways from today's oral arguments:

• Supreme Court seems unlikely to fully resolve the immunity question: As the justices wrestled with the nuances of the case and a series of complicated hypotheticals, it seemed increasingly unlikely the court would offer a clear answer on whether Trump may be prosecuted for his effort to overturn the 2020 election. The upshot is that the Supreme Court appeared likely to leave much of that work to lower courts, proceedings that could take months and further delay a trial that had originally been set for March 4. That outcome would play into Trump’s strategy of delay and jeopardize a trial before the election.
• Trump attorney concedes some acts may be "private" and not official: In a notable series of concessions, Trump’s attorney D. John Sauer acknowledged that some of the alleged conduct supporting the criminal charges against the former president were private. The admission shows how much ground Sauer gave up during the hearing, after Trump had made more sweeping claims in his legal briefs earlier this year, asserting that the entire prosecution should be thrown out because the actions in question were part of his official duties as president.

Continue reading more takeaways from the arguments.

Justices could give Trump a strategic win if they punt the case back to lower courts, legal correspondent says

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

While it appears the majority of Supreme Court justices are not willing to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith's case outright, they may punt it back to lower courts, which would delay a trial and hand a strategic win to former President Donald Trump, CNN chief legal correspondent Paula Reid said.

"It's pretty clear from what we heard that the majority of justices are not willing to just toss out the special counsel's case," Reid said.

But, she continued, Chief Justice John Roberts "clearly believes that the lower courts did not do enough to suss out exactly what is an official act versus a private act. So what they're setting up here is likely the justices are going to come up with some sort of test, and then send it back down to the lower courts for more litigation."

There is a possibility the case could be brought back to the justices a year from now, "after more litigation at the lower-court level, or if Trump is reelected, he can make this case go away. So, even if he's not likely poised for a legal win at the high court, strategically, it sounded like this is going to be a win for him," Reid said.

Remember: The issue of determining whether Trump's actions were "private" or "official" is central to the former president's claim that his efforts to overturn the 2020 election were part of his official duties as president — and therefore subject to immunity from prosecution.

Arguments in Trump’s historic Supreme Court immunity dispute are over

From CNN's John Fritze

With Chief Justice John Roberts announcing that the “case is submitted,” the court has finished hearing arguments in Trump’s immunity case. 

And that raises an important question that is largely unanswerable: Just how much time will the high court take to hand down its opinion? Usually, a major case argued in April wouldn’t be decided until the end of June.

But in the Trump immunity appeal, the court is already facing criticism for the weeks it took to decide whether to take the case. There is concern, particularly on the left, that the slow pace benefited Trump’s broader legal strategy to delay a trial until after his election. 

On the other hand, the justices operate on their own schedule, and the court was designed to resist external pressures on their work.

Barrett sketches out how case could go to trial this year

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz

In a lengthy and crucial exchange between Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the Justice Department's Michael Dreeben, the Supreme Court heard how Trump's case could see a path to trial this year.

Barrett sketched out that the case could go to trial, and how, if the Supreme Court sends it back to the trial level, it could be heard by a jury without further appeals court involvement.

That would mean no further delays in Donald Trump's case before a trial, once the Supreme Court rules.

She asked Dreeben if the trial-level could sort out what's official or private acts of the presidency in this key, or is there "another option for the special counsel just to proceed on the private conduct?"

Dreeben told her the indictment is substantially about private conduct. He says the special counsel's office would like to present a full picture of the allegations to the jury.

But in Trump's legal world, leaving determinations about his allegations in the case could be disastrous before the election, according to polls as well as the jury pool makeup in Washington, DC.

Justice Jackson: In "ordinary" case, trial would proceed even if defendant has some immunity protection

From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson says in an “ordinary” case, a trial would move forward even if a criminal defendant had immunity for certain actions.

“There is sufficient allegations in the indictment, in the government’s view, that fall into the 'private acts' bucket that the case should be allowed to proceed,” Jackson said.

“Because in an ordinary case, it wouldn’t be stopped just because some of the acts are allegedly immunized. Even if people agree that some are immunized. If there are other acts that aren’t, the case would go forward.”

“That is right,” Michael Dreeben, the special counsel’s attorney, said.

Dreeben has repeatedly said many of Trump’s actions around the 2020 election were part of his presidential duties, and therefore aren’t protected by immunity – even if the high court said the former president had some level of protection.

Special counsel attorney tells Barrett that SCOTUS ruling could impact state Trump prosecutions

From CNN's Holmes Lybrand

The attorney for special counsel Jack Smith suggested that if the Supreme Court found that presidential immunity was implicit, it could also protect the president from state prosecution.

“If the president has some kind of immunity that’s implicit in Article Two (of the Constitution) then that immunity would protect him from state prosecution as well?” Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked.

“Of course,” attorney Michael Dreeben said.

Trump has been charged in a widespread conspiracy case in Fulton County, Georgia, for his actions to subvert the 2020 election results.

Meanwhile, judge upholds jury verdict against Trump in E. Jean Carroll defamation case

From CNN's Kara Scannell in New York

In New York on Thursday, a federal judge upheld the E. Jean Carroll defamation verdict and $83 million damages award, denying Donald Trump’s motion for a new trial.

Judge Lewis Kaplan, in a written opinion Thursday, said Trump’s legal arguments are without merit. The judge also found that the punitive damages the jury awarded Trump “passes constitutional muster.”

Trump is also separately appealing the verdict.

Gorsuch and Kavanaugh highlight the historical importance of immunity case

When discussing the issue of determining motivation in the case, Justice Neil Gorsuch highlighted the historical importance of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the matter of presidential immunity.

The justice added: “We’re writing a rule for the ages.”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh echoed that sentiment, noting that the case has future implications for the presidency and the country as a whole. 

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