NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
The Martha Stewart trial will resume Tuesday with the home decor maven's tearful personal assistant set to take the witness stand again and testify about Stewart's sale of ImClone shares.
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 A lawyer for Martha Stewart completed his cross-examination of the government's star witness, Douglas Faneuil. CNNfn's Allan Chernoff reports on whether the lawyer dented Faneuil's credibility.
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Stewart's secretary Ann Armstrong testified she was in her office Dec. 27, 2001 -- the day of Stewart's now well-known sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone -- and was relaying messages to Stewart, who was flying to Mexico.
Armstrong testified that it was the first time she'd spoken to her boss since Christmas and that she thanked Stewart for her Christmas gift, a plum pudding. Armstrong then broke down crying on the stand and tried to compose herself.
"I gave her the messages," she said. "There weren't many that day."
Armstrong tried to continue but then broke down again. After a five-minute halt, the judge recessed the trial until Tuesday, when Armstrong's testimony is expected to continue.
The dramatic moment came not long after Douglas Faneuil, the government's star witness, ended his testimony in the obstruction of justice trial.
Armstrong had testified a few minutes earlier that Peter Bacanovic, Stewart's Merrill Lynch broker at the time, had left a message that day saying he needed to speak with Stewart about ImClone. "He thought ImClone was going to start trading downward," Armstrong said part of the message read.
Stewart and Bacanovic are accused of lying to cover up the reason for Stewart's ImClone sale, which the government contends was an inside tip -- passed from Bacanovic through Faneuil to Stewart -- that ImClone founder Sam Waksal was trying to sell that day.
Stewart and Bacanovic say they had a long-standing pact to sell ImClone stock if the shares fell below $60. Faneuil pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for his part in the scheme and agreed to testify about Stewart's sale, and much of the government's case will hinge on whether jurors believe him.
Earlier Monday, Stewart's lawyer took aim at Faneuil by asking him how he could so clearly recall a conversation that occurred more than two years ago. Faneuil insisted he could recall their exchange precisely even though the events occurred in late December 2001.
"I don't remember every word exactly, but for the most part, I believe I remember it word for word," the former assistant testified.
Over four days on the witness stand Faneuil has told jurors repeatedly that he gave Stewart the tip that Waksal and members of his family were trying to sell.
But Monday he conceded that he never discussed a cover-up with Stewart and she never encouraged him to lie about their conversation.
"You were never asked by Martha Stewart to commit a crime, were you?'' asked Robert Morvillo, Stewart's attorney and a respected veteran white collar defense lawyer, according to Reuters.
Faneuil admitted that Stewart never spoke to him about covering up the stock tip.
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Faneuil testified last Thursday that he took part in a cover-up of Stewart's controversial ImClone sale because he was afraid he would lose his job.
Bacanovic's lawyer David Apfel asked Thursday if Bacanovic had told Faneuil his pay would be docked if he didn't lie to investigators. Faneuil responded, "I felt I would be fired if I didn't lie." Apfel objected, and Faneuil conceded he was not explicitly told he would lose his job if he didn't lie.
Stewart, the lifestyle expert who founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO: Research, Estimates), faces up to 30 years in prison while Bacanovic could be sentenced to 25 years if convicted on all counts, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Waksal is serving a seven-year prison term after pleading guilty to charges of trying to sell ImClone (IMCL: Research, Estimates) stock a day before a negative announcement started ImClone shares tumbling.
Meanwhile, there was a report Monday that Stewart's defense could put Faneuil's former attorney, Jeremiah Gutman, on the stand in a bid to counter his testimony.
The Wall Street Journal said Jeremiah Gutman, an 80-year-old civil rights lawyer who has represented Hare Krishnas and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, could be asked questions aimed at discrediting Faneuil.
But the newspaper added that calling Gutman would be a gamble by Stewart's team, since he could possibly give Faneuil more credibility. Gutman has declined to meet with the defense lawyers, the report said.
-- with CNNfn's Kelly Marshall and staff and wire reports
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