The Latest | Prosecutors likely to call just 2 more witnesses in Trump's hush money case

NEW YORK — Prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial said Friday that they expect to call just two more witnesses to the stand, potentially laying the ground for resting their case next week.

One of those witnesses is expected to be Michael Cohen on Monday, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The people could not discuss the matter publicly and and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

The updates on witnesses came after testimony adjourned for the day, capping a feverish week that saw porn actor Stormy Daniels take the stand, two failed attempts by the defense to have a mistrial declared, gag order sanctions and more.

Friday's witnesses included Madeleine Westerhout, a former Trump White House aide, two paralegals from the Manhattan district attorney's office, and two telecommunications employees — one from AT&T and one from Verizon — who authenticated phone records as part of their testimony.

The intensity of the week largely revolved around Daniels' sometimes graphic testimony, which riveted jurors and drew upset from defense attorneys who decried it as prejudicial and overly gratuitous. The prosecution defended its questioning and Daniels' details of the alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump and ultimately, the judge denied the requests for a mistrial — chiding the defense for not objecting more during testimony.

Trump has denied the two ever had sex.

Prosecutors are ramping up for star witness Michael Cohen, who arranged the $130,000 payment to Daniels and later went to prison for orchestrating the payments and other charges.

Prosecutors say Trump and two of his associates orchestrated a scheme to influence the 2016 election by purchasing and then burying stories that might damage his campaign.

Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records to cover up the hush money payments by recording them as legal expenses. He has pleaded not guilty.

The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.

Currently:

— Trump is limited in what he can say about his court case. His GOP allies are showing up to help

— Here's what happened on Thursday: Stormy Daniels’ testimony, a denied mistrial and an Oxford comma

— Hush money, catch and kill and more: Terms to know in Trump trial

— Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial

— The hush money case is just one of Trump’s legal cases. See the others here

Here's the latest:

TRUMP SPEAKS AFTER COURT

Speaking to reporters in the courthouse hallway on Friday, Donald Trump addressed the allegation at the heart of the case: that he falsified his company’s records to conceal the nature of hush money reimbursements to Michael Cohen.

“A very good bookkeeper marked a legal expense as a legal expense,” he said. “He was a lawyer, not a fixer, he was a lawyer,” he added, referring to Cohen.

COULD WEISSELBERG MAKE AN APPEARANCE AFTER ALL?

After the jury in Donald Trump's criminal trial left for the day Friday, Judge Juan M. Merchan took up an issue related to Allen Weisselberg's absence from the trial, where he’s been mentioned as a key figure in orchestrating reimbursement payments to ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

Weisselberg, 76, is currently jailed at New York City’s Rikers Island complex, serving a five-month sentence for lying under oath in his testimony in the state attorney general’s civil fraud investigation of Trump. He pleaded guilty in March and was sentenced last month. His plea agreement does not require his cooperation or testimony in the criminal case.

Prosecutors weren’t planning to call Weisselberg as a witness, but Merchan encouraged them to see if they can get him to court before seeking to introduce evidence to explain his absence.

“Right now it’s seems to me we’re trying to jump the gun. We’re trying to explain why he’s not here without making any effort to get him here,” Merchan said.

Trump lawyer Emil Bove noted that his absense “is a very complicated issue” and may require a jury instruction about uncalled witnesses.

The reason Mr. Weisselberg is not available as a witness is that the district attorney's office “initiated a perjury prosecution in the lead up to this case,” Bove said.

Prosecutors argued that subpoenaing Weisselberg to testify would probably be a waste because he remains loyal to Trump and would likely invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

“If counsel prefers, we’d be willing to stipulate that Weisselberg is in jail for perjury,” Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy responded.

“I think that would be one way to resolve it,” Merchan said before expressing his desire for prosecutors to first see if they could summon Weisselberg to court.

COHEN EXPECTE

D TO TESTIFY ON MONDAY

Michael Cohen is expected to take the stand in Donald Trump's hush money case on Monday, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The people could not discuss the matter publicly and and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.