The best courtroom sketches from Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has presented us with a particularly colourful cast of characters, from the defendant himself and his hulking lawyer Todd Blanche to the pensive presiding judge Juan Merchan and the larger-than-life key witnesses David Pecker, Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen. The sketch artists have been such a phenomenon that Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost was able to joke during the recent White House Correspondents’ Association dinner: “Though this may be the worst time in history to be a print journalist, it is the best time in history to be a courtroom sketch artist. Every sketch of Trump looks like the Grinch had sex with the Lorax.” The trial in Judge Merchan’s courtroom is currently drawing to the end of its fifth week, with the fiery cross-examination of Cohen over his role in the $130,000 payment made to Ms Daniels in October 2016 to stay quiet about the sexual encounter she alleges she had with Mr Trump set to bring an end to the prosecution’s case. An evocative overview of the scene inside Juan Merchan’s courtroom, with Donald Trump and his defence attorneys assembled on the front bench National Enquirer publisher David Pecker on the witness stand, whose exhaustive testimony took almost the entire second week in court A more casual scene of Donald Trump getting up to stretch his legs and chat with his visiting son Eric Trump Former White House communications director Hope Hicks briefly breaks down in tears while giving evidence Adult film star Stormy Daniels in a portrait capturing her sly self-assurance Ms Daniels imitates Mr Trump with a signature hand gesture during her witty but determined testimony A stern Mr Trump confronted with a 2006 photograph of himself with Ms Daniels at the Lake Tahoe celebrity golf tournament at which she alleges their sexual encounter took place Another emotional moment on the stand, this time from Madeleine Westerhout, former director of Oval Office operations Donald Trump shakes his head in obvious disapproval of the evidence given by Michael Cohen A frowning Michael Cohen is seen on the witness stand Another rather unflattering portrait of Cohen A glaring Mr Trump is confronted with a cheque bearing his signature during the cross-examination of Cohen