Michael Cohen, hunched slightly on the witness stand, began his testimony by outlining the federal charges to which he pleaded guilty and served prison time -- including tax evasion and lying to Congress -- as Trump leaned back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest.

Once Trump's self-described bulldog, Cohen has not shared a room with Trump in five years, he said prior to his testimony.

As he recounted his criminal history, Cohen invoked the names of Stormy Daniels and Karen MacDougal, two women who in 2016 were paid to keep quiet about long-denied affairs with Trump. Defense attorney Chris Kise moved to strike the answer but the judge overruled the objection.

Colleen Faherty, an attorney with the state attorney general's office, asked Cohen if his crimes occurred while he was employed by Trump, to which Cohen responded "Yes" and affirmed his employer was "Donald J. Trump."

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen has begun his testimony in his former boss' civil fraud trial.

Sitting at a cramped counsel table between his lawyers, Trump is about ten feet from his former lawyer and so-called "fixer."

The courtroom itself is at capacity, with attendance appearing to exceed the number of observers during the trial's opening statements.

When Mazars USA said that Trump's financial statements were no longer reliable in 2022, the accounting firm did not conduct an audit or identify any "material discrepancies" in Trump's statements, Mazars General Counsel Bill Kelly testified.

"As we have stated in the Statements of Financial Condition, Mazars performed its work in accordance with professional standards. A subsequent review of those workpapers confirms this," Kelly wrote in a 2022 letter to the Trump Organization entered into evidence.

Both Trump and his lawyer Jesus Suarez seized on the admission from Mazars.

During cross examination, Suarez displayed multiple financial statements and repeatedly asked Kelly about the lack of discrepancies identified in the statements. Exiting court for a break, Trump also focused on that portion of the testimony.

"They found no discrepancies, there was nothing wrong with the financials," Trump said, alleging that his former accountants were "abused" and "hurt very badly" by the New York attorney general.

Trump's accounting firm resigned from engagements with the Trump Organization in 2021 after learning it could no longer rely on former CFO Allen Weisselberg, Mazars USA General Counsel Bill Kelly testified.

The next year, Mazars determined that Trump's statements could no longer be relied upon following a filing related to New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation of the Trump Organization.

"When the NYAG filed a paper in court, you took them at their word and never once conferred with your client?" defense attorney Jesus Suarez asked during his cross examination of Kelly, adding that Trump paid Mazars millions before their relationship ended.

"You just kicked them to the curb, right?" Suarez added, alleging that Mazars tried to "curry favor" to avoid legal problems with authorities.

"We did not kick them to the curb," Kelly responded.

The cross examination of Kelly appeared to test the patience of Judge Engoron, who interrupted the questioning twice.

"That has been asked about five times already," Engoron said at one point. At a later point, he added, "Asked and answered many times. Yes, they were paid."

Donald Trump's accounting expert snapped at a lawyer for the New York attorney general after the lawyer suggested his opinion was bought by the defense team.

As accounting expert Eli Bartov was testifying about Trump's use of disclaimers in his financial statements, state attorney Kevin Wallace interjected, saying, "This is pure speculation from someone they hired to say whatever it is they want."

Still in the witness box, Bartov began yelling at Wallace about the comment as Trump sat watching a few feet away.

"You make up allegations that never existed," Bartov shouted. "I am here to tell the truth. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for talking like that."

Bartov, in his testimony, said that Trump's use of disclaimers functioned "just like the warning from the surgeon general on a box of cigarettes."

The accounting expert said that Trump's disclaimers clearly flagged to his lenders that they should conduct their own due diligence regarding the figures, rather than rely on them at face value. Witnesses from Deutsche Bank -- Trump's primary lender during the 2010s -- previously testified that they conducted due diligence and significantly undercut the valuations Trump provided in his financial statement when deciding to offer him loans.

"I never saw anything that is clearer than that," Bartov said about the language in Trump's disclaimer clause. "Even my nine-year-old granddaughter Emma would understand this language."

In his pretrial summary judgment ruling, Judge Engoron dismissed Trump's argument that disclaimer clauses protect him from allegations of fraud. While multiple defense witnesses have attempted to rebut Engoron's opinion about Trump's use of disclaimer clauses, the judge has signaled he stands by his opinion.

"My summary judgment is the law of the case on the legal effect of this paragraph or these sentences," Engoron said in response to Bartov's testimony, adding that the clauses "would not insulate the client."

Nevertheless, Trump attorney Chris Kise requested that Engoron reconsider his finding.

"I am fairly liberal in reconsidering my opinions," Engoron said before Bartov resumed his testimony.