Stormy Daniels’ former lawyer testifies in Trump’s hush money trial

Douglas Daus said he was assigned to analyze two iPhones in the investigation related to Donald Trump: an iPhone 6s and an iPhone 7.

The cell phones belonged to Michael Cohen, Daus said.

One of the phones had a gold case, he confirmed.

The former attorney for Stormy Daniels admitted on the witness stand Thursday that he told Cohen if Trump lost the election, Daniels would lose her leverage against Donald Trump.

“‘This case is worth zero.’ Do you recall saying that to Mr. Cohen?” Trump attorney Emil Bove asked.

Davidson confirmed he said this.

It was also revealed that Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt offered $1 million to Daniels to get out of her deal with Trump. Daniels wanted to get out of the settlement agreement in 2018 – and Flynt offered her the money and payment of her legal costs to get out of the deal, Davidson said.

Bove also brought up former attorney Michael Avenatti and his representation of Daniels.

He asked Davidson whether he said Avenatti had “driven a serious wedge” between Daniels and her then-publicist Gina Rodriguez. Davidson confirmed, saying, “Sounds like something I recall, yes.”

Just before finished his cross-examination, Bove asked Davidson about Trump’s agreement with Daniels, noting it was not signed by Trump.

“It’s blank here in the DD space?” Bove asked, referring to Trump’s pseudonym, David Dennison. 

“Yes,” Davidson said.

Douglas Daus is explaining how his office processes devices that are obtained via search warrant.

Daus is also testifying about metadata that is obtained via devices.

The next witness is Douglas Daus, who works for the Manhattan district attorney’s office and is a records custodian.

Daus processes digital evidence in a unit called the High Technology Analysis Unit.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy is questioning Daus.

The jury just heard a series of audio recordings submitted by the defense, including several that we’ve heard described in court previously today.

The clips included:

Donald Trump is reading the transcript on the screen in front of him as the audio is played of Keith Davidson and Michael Cohen in the courtroom.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is playing another recording where Keith Davidson is talking about former attorney Michael Avenatti driving a “serious wedge” between Stormy Daniels and her agent Gina Rodriguez.

Some background: In 2022, Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $11 million in restitution for embezzling millions of dollars from four of his clients and obstruction. Avenatti pleaded guilty earlier that year to four counts of wire fraud for each client he stole from and one count of endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue Code. Prosecutors said he obstructed the IRS’ effort to collect $5 million in unpaid payroll taxes for Tully’s Coffee.

Donald Trump’s lawyers are back for re-cross-examination, and attorney Emil Bove has entered audio recordings into evidence.

Now the jury is hearing a recording that previously only the witness, judge and attorneys had listened to: Davidson discussing the idea of “settler’s remorse” with then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen.

Remember: Davidson negotiated the hush money deal for Stormy Daniels regarding her story about Trump.

The prosecution is done with redirect, after a line of questioning that led to the jury hearing audio from a phone call with Michael Cohen.

Prosecutors are playing an audio clip of Michael Cohen for the jury.

This is the first time the jury has heard Cohen speak directly. Cohen’s voice is beaming through the courtroom.

“I’m sitting there saying to myself, ‘what about me. What about me.’ I can’t even tell you how many times he said to me ‘I hate the fact that we did it,’ and my comment to him was ‘but every person that we’ve spoken to tells you it was the right move,” Cohen is heard saying in the audio clip.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass brings up Davidson’s testimony after questions from Trump attorney Emil Bove about Stormy Daniels and “leverage.”

In that recorded conversation with Michael Cohen, Davidson said, “She wanted this money more than you could ever imagine and you better f**king get it.”

Davidson says that when he was saying “If he loses the election we lose all leverage” he was referring to what Gina Rodriguez’ boyfriend said, not something said by Daniels.

Now Bove is asking for a moment to consult with Steinglass before accepting a transcript of the call into evidence.

Bove does not object.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is back at the podium, having returned from the break he requested to gather an exhibit.

The prosecutor begins by asking Davidson about the context of the April 2018 conversation Michael Cohen recorded.

Steinglass asks Davidson whether Michael Avenatti at that point was representing Daniels, and had sued Cohen and Davidson. “I believe so,” Davidson says.

Judge Merchan is back on the bench and Keith Davidson is back on the witness stand.

Also in the courtroom is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump glanced briefly in Bragg’s direction as he walked in, though he was already facing him while talking to Boris Eyshteyn.

The jury has also just come back in.

During the brief break, Donald Trump is still in the courtroom with his attorneys.

At one point, he stood to chat with Boris Epshteyn and one of his attorneys, Susan Necheles.

Emil Bove also chatted with Epshteyn during the break.

Fellow Trump attorney Todd Blanche patted Bove on the back.

Prosecutors are huddling at their table.

The court is taking a five-minute break.

The jury and witnesses have left the courtroom. Trump is still here with his attorneys. Prosecutors are huddling at their table.

Trump attorney Emil Bove has wrapped up his cross-examination of Keith Davidson, the key witness who negotiated the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush money agreements.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass has asked for five minutes to gather an exhibit.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is now walking through the agreement with Stormy Daniels, noting it was not signed by Donald Trump.

“It’s blank here in the DD space?” Bove asks, referring to Trump’s pseudonym, David Dennison.

“Yes,” Keith Davidson says.

As the defense asks Davidson a series of questions, having him listen to audio recordings to refresh his memory of certain statements, Trump leans back, stretching his arms out and yawning.

Emil Bove confronts Keith Davidson with a recording in which he told Michael Cohen that Stormy Daniels wanted the money “more than you could ever imagine,” – and that he said: “If he loses this election, and he’s going to lose, we all lose all f**king leverage.”

“‘This case is worth zero.’ Do you recall saying that to Mr. Cohen,” Bove asks.

Davidson confirms he said this.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is now bringing up Michael Avenatti and his representation of Stormy Daniels.

He is asking Keith Davidson whether he said that Avenatti had “driven a serious wedge” between Daniels and her then-publicist Gina Rodriguez.

Davidson confirms, “Sounds like something I recall, yes.”

Some background: In 2022, Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $11 million in restitution for embezzling millions of dollars from four of his clients and obstruction. Avenatti pleaded guilty earlier that year to four counts of wire fraud for each client he stole from and one count of endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue Code. Prosecutors said he obstructed the IRS’ effort to collect $5 million in unpaid payroll taxes for Tully’s Coffee.

Stormy Daniels wanted to get out of the settlement agreement in 2018 – and the founder of “Hustler” magazine, Larry Flynt, offered her $1 million and payment of her legal costs to get out of the deal with Donald Trump, Keith Davidson says.

Keith Davidson confirmed he used the word “leverage” in his conversation with Michael Cohen.

“That was Ms. (Stormy) Daniels’ goal to use leverage against President Trump?” Defense attorney Emil Bove asked.

“No,” Davidson responded.

The defense is asking Davidson whether he ever spoke to then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen about adult film star Stormy Daniels having “settler’s remorse” regarding the hush money deal she reached for her story on Trump.

“I may have,” Davidson says.

Davidson, the judge and all of the attorneys then donned headphones to listen to an audio recording.

Afterward, Davidson confirmed that he can be heard on the audio saying, “Sometimes people get settler’s remorse, you know? In other times people think, ‘I need to resolve this case by a certain date, because this is when I have the most.’”

Some witnesses taking the stand in the hush money trial against Donald Trump have unsavory reputations, which allows the defense to potentially poke holes in the case, CNN’s Phil Mattingly said.

“But that also means the the defense has real opportunities,” Mattingly said.

One, the defense could poke holes in people’s credibility. Two, the defense has the opportunity to prove this overarching point, “‘prove to me that Donald Trump knew about all of this.’” And three, actually making the case that’s alleged here, “actually getting at conviction, actually getting all 12 people aligned with what prosecutors are alleging,” Mattingly said.

He also added that Trump’s legal team is also very good and they’re going to take advantage of the fact that a lot of these witnesses aren’t “exactly the purest form of individuals.”

Keith Davidson, the judge and all of the attorneys are now wearing headphones to listen to an audio recording, which is a defense exhibit.

Trump did not put headphones on, and the jury and public cannot hear it.

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said he didn’t fall asleep in court – he just sometimes closed his eyes.  

“Contrary to the FAKE NEWS MEDIA, I don’t fall asleep during the Crooked D.A.’s Witch Hunt, especially not today. I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump has repeatedly closed his eyes and leaned back during the trial, including minutes after this most recent social media post.

Earlier in court: Trump attorney Susan Necheles provided the judge a stack of newspaper articles from legal commentators, saying the former president wanted to post on his Truth Social account. “We think they are perfectly fine. We think there is ambiguity in the gag order,” Necheles said.

Merchan said he was not going to be in the position of looking in advance at Truth Social posts. “If in doubt, steer clear,” he told them, adding, “There is no ambiguity, I believe, in the order.”

Keith Davidson said he suspected at some point that Donald Trump’s then-fixer Michael Cohen was recording some of their conversations.

“Ordinarily he was all over the place and these calls it was a very structured conversation, which wasn’t really his personality,” Davidson said.

“I recall a few conversations speaking with Mr. Cohen, when his conversations were odd and that led me to believe that I was being recorded,” Davidson testified.

“Less pants on fire, more straightforward?” Trump attorney Emil Bove asked.

“Maybe a little more self-serving,” Davidson said.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is bringing up an allegation of a sexual relationship between Elliot Broidy, who was Michael Cohen’s client, and Playboy model Shera Bechard, who was represented by Keith Davidson.

It involved a $1.6 million settlement.

Bove asks him if this was similar to the agreement he negotiated with Trump and Stormy Daniels, except it was for a higher amount.

Some background: Bechard alleged in court documents that she was physically abused by Broidy, and she charged that he was emboldened by President Donald Trump’s alleged mistreatment of women and belief that he could get away with it.

The allegations about the relationship between Broidy and Bechard were unsealed in September 2018 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Broidy and Bechard had signed a $1.6 million agreement that was to be paid to Bechard for an undisclosed “personal injury.” The deal required the parties to keep the details of the relationship confidential, but the agreement was breached and it spilled into public view.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is asking Keith Davidson whether he continued to work with Michael Cohen after the Stormy Daniels deal in 2018.

“He sent me work,” Davidson says.

“It’s not as if the experience with him was so horrific that you ceased interacting with him, correct?” Bove asks.

“Our relationship changed over time,” Davidson says, adding that he and Michael Cohen continued to interact professionally.

Attorney Emil Bove asks Keith Davidson whether Gina Rodriguez, Stormy Daniels’ agent, wanted thedirty.com post taken down because they were seeking a more lucrative opportunity with another outlet.

Davidson says he learned this later.

Trump is currently leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed as the cross-examination continues.

Emil Bove has resumed by asking Keith Davidson about the 2011 blog post on thedirty.com.

The boyfriend of Gina Rodriquez, who was Stormy Daniels’ manager, worked for the website, Davidson testified.

Bove asked whether Karen McDougal’s ex-husband also worked for gossip website. Davidson says he does not know.

The Trump attorney suggested Rodriguez’s boyfriend wrote the post about Daniels’ alleged affair with Trump at the time. Davidson said he didn’t know.

Bove asks whether he was able to get the post taken down because it was written by Rodriguez’s boyfriend.

Davidson says he doesn’t know if they were dating. “If she was, I don’t think she would have needed me,” Davidson says.

Defense attorneys Emil Bove and Todd Blanche are huddling with Trump before the jury is brought in.

Attorney Keith Davidson, a key witness who negotiated the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush money agreements, is back on the stand.

Trump attorney Emil Bove has resumed questioning.

Trump attorney Susan Necheles is raising an issue involving the gag order before testimony resumes, providing the judge a stack of newspaper articles from legal commentators.

They are all articles that Trump would like to post on his Truth Social account, Necheles says.

“We think they are perfectly fine. We think there is ambiguity in the gag order,” Necheles says.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy says his team would need to go through the articles. “It seems odd they’re asking the court for an advance ruling,” he said.

Merchan says he “appreciates what you’re bringing to my attention,” but says he’s not going to be in the position of looking in advance at Truth Social posts.

Merchan says he has already ruled, and the appeals court has “found nothing wrong” with the gag order.

When Necheles tries to argue there was ambiguity, Merchan cut her off: “I’m not going to argue with you, Ms. Necheles.”

Judge Juan Merchan is on the bench and the court is back in session after taking a lunch break.

Donald Trump walked into the courtroom, looking toward the press gallery and pointing toward someone before taking his seat at the defendant’s table with his attorneys.

Prosecutors are also in the room.

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump, Emil Bove, left, and Todd Blanche, right, exit the New York State appellate court, on Monday, April 8, in New York.

Donald Trump’s legal team is led by Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, two former federal prosecutors from New York, and Susan Necheles, a veteran criminal defense lawyer with deep experience in New York and with appearing before Judge Juan Merchan.

Bove has been conducting the cross-examination of witness Keith Davidson so far today.

Here are the key things to know about Trump’s legal team:

Prosecutors and the defense have been zeroing in on key moments related to the hush money case.

Keith Davidson, the former lawyer of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, has been testifying about the negotiations that led to the tabloid deals with both women.

CNN compiled a timeline of the events leading up to the historic trial. Read up on the moments below:

See the full timeline. 

Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’ former attorney, was connected at some point in past years with potential controversies involving various celebrities. It’s something Trump attorney Emil Bove brought up while questioning Davidson.

Actor Charlie Sheen, former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, Filipino former professional boxer Manny Pacquiao, and TV and social media personality Tila Tequila were among the celebrities mentioned in court.

Here’s why Bove is asking about celebrities:

 “Your memory seems a little fuzzy around some of these issues,” Bove jabs at Davidson.

Keith Davidson testifies during direct examination as former President Donald Trump watches from inside the courtroom on Thursday, May 2.

Photography is not allowed in the courtroom during the proceedings, so sketch artists are providing a glimpse of what is going on inside as Donald Trump’s hush money trial is underway.

These sketches show testimony from attorney Keith Davidson, a key witness who negotiated the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush money agreements. They also show Trump talking to his attorney Todd Blanche during the gag order hearing that preceded the testimony.

Trump whispers with attorney Todd Blanche on Thursday.

Trump confers with Blanche during Thursday's gag order hearing, when examples of social media were being shown.

Davidson testifies on Thursday.

Trump attorney Emil Bove says he is making adjustments and thinks he has under an hour left of Keith Davidson’s cross-examination.

Court is breaking for lunch and will be resuming at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is now going through the Los Angeles meeting National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard had with Karen McDougal and Keith Davidson.

This is the meeting where Howard vetted McDougal’s story.

Davidson says that he knew Howard was going to report back to David Pecker, the head of AMI, the National Enquirer’s parent company. Davidson confirms he was informed initially after the meeting that AMI was not interested in McDougal’s story because it lacked corroborating evidence.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is trying to drill down on whether it was helpful for Keith Davidson to be able to tell Karen McDougal that he’d already started generating interest in the story from the National Enquirer, showing text messages between Davidson and Dylan Howard.

“Maybe or maybe not,” Davidson responded.

One of Donald Trump’s attorneys, Emil Bove, is asking Davidson about how he retained actress and model Karen McDougal as a client.

Bove notes that the attorney, who negotiated McDougal’s hush money deal, was referred by her brother-in-law, who was Davidson’s former client.

Bove asks Davidson whether the agreement was ever actually signed by McDougal.

“It’s my recollection I had a fully executed retention agreement with Ms. McDougal,” Davidson says.

The initial retainer agreement said the attorney’s fee would be 35%, though Davidson testified he received 45%.

Bove goes on to question Davidson about how McDougal’s brother-in-law and another man who provided security were paid in the agreement. Davidson says the other players in the deal who aren’t lawyers were not paid out of his own cut.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is questioning Keith Davidson about Karen McDougal again.

Davidson said that when Donald Trump was ascending in the polls, a “former friend” of McDougal attempted to publicize her interactions with Trump in the press.

Trump attorney Emil Bove has been asking a series of questions relating to the time Davidson, the witness, was investigated as part of a 2012 extortion probe tied to Hulk Hogan.

After several exchanges surrounding the investigation, Davidson confirmed in his testimony that he was not charged in connection with the case.

Bove asked again if the experience “gave him familiarity” with extortion law.

“Perhaps, I don’t know,” Davidson responds, shaking his head.

Trump is leaning forward to look closely at documents his attorney Emil Bove also showed to Keith Davidson to refresh Davidson’s memory.

These documents are not being shown to the public or the jury.

Trump attorney Emil Bove asked whether there was a “settlement” between Keith Davidson’s client and Charlie Sheen.

“I’m not going to answer that,” Davidson said.

Bove asked Judge Juan Merchan to instruct Davidson to answer the question about the settlement.

Merchan said Davidson is asserting privilege and told Bove to ask another question.

After Davidson responded with little or no detail to a line of questions from Trump attorney Emil Bove, Bove jabbed at the witness — who is also an attorney — about his “fuzzy memory.”

That led to a testy exchange.

Merchan sustained an objection to that remark

“You’re getting truthful answers, sir,” Davidson says.

He also took exception to some of the specific terminology Bove was using in his questions.

“If you’re not here to play legal games, then don’t say ‘extract,’” Davidson told Bove.

There is a sidebar at the bench. Trump attorney Emil Bove asked Judge Juan Merchan to instruct Keith Davidson to answer a question.

Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’ former attorney resumed his testimony Thursday morning walking through more communications in the lead up to the hush money payment in 2016.

Here’s how it played out:

Remember: The deal with Stormy Daniels was also executed before election night. “It was on election night as the results were coming in. There was sort of surprise among the broadcasters and others that Donald Trump was leading in the polls and that there was a growing sense that folks were about ready to call the election.”

“There was an understanding that our efforts may have in some way — strike that — our activities may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.”

“Who won the election?” Steinglass asks, just for the record. “Donald Trump,” Davidson says.

CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia contributed reporting to this post.

Keith Davidson is now being questioned by Trump attorney Emil Bove about various celebrities and stories related to them and his alleged involvement.

Davidson has said “I don’t recall” to numerous questions.

“Is it fair to say your memory seems a little fuzzy around some of these issues?” Bove asks Davidson.

Davidson responds that he’s had 1,500 clients, and these issues were from many years ago.

Donald Trump is paying close attention to Keith Davidson’s testimony as his lawyer cross-examines him. He’s turned in his chair toward the witness stand.

Trump attorney Emil Bove asked, “You made no threats to Michael Cohen related to the 2016 election, is that the answer?”

“I made no threats to anyone,” Keith Davidson replied.

“You never linked these negotiations to the 2016 election with anyone, is that your testimony?” Bove asks.

“That’s fair,” Davidson says.

Trump attorney Emil Bove and Keith Davidson continue to go back and forth about the degree to which Davidson was familiar with extortion law around the time he was helping arrange hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.

Davidson has agreed that he knew in 2016 he “had to be careful” not to violate the law prohibiting extortion. But he does not agree when asked in 2016 if he had familiarized himself with the law of extortion.

Bove raised that in 2012, Davidson was investigated in connection with an alleged extortion situation involving Hulk Hogan. The witness confirmed this was true.

“I did everything I could to make sure my activities were lawful,” Davidson said.

Defense attorney Emil Bove is asking Keith Davidson to confirm that nondisclosure agreements are common in the media law space and that they are enforceable and often litigated over in court.

Tim Parlatore, a former lawyer for Donald Trump, said on CNN Thursday that the defense attorneys should focus on discrediting Michael Cohen when questioning Keith Davidson.

Parlatore added: “I would use him to kind of separate him from Donald Trump because there’s a lot of things that Cohen is apparently doing on his own without getting approval from above.”

Trump attorney Emil Bove asked witness Keith Davidson if he’s thought about his legal exposure to extortion charges in connection to the Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels deals.

“I have no idea,” Davidson responded.

“In your mind, you were concerned about avoiding creating evidence of extortion, correct?” Trump’s attorney asked.

“Not particularly,” Davidson responds.

“One of the issues you had to be sensitive about was not to threaten [that] the payment needed to be made prior to the election,” Bove asked.

Davidson says, “I don’t recall that.”

Bove asked Davidson again to admit that in 2016 he was going “right up to the line without committing extortion”

Davidson says, “I don’t understand the question”

Trump attorney Emil Bove asks Keith Davidson about his testimony a short time ago that Michael Cohen could be an “aggressive guy.”

“You could be aggressive, too?” Bove asks Davidson.

Davidson responded he didn’t know.

Donald Trump is seated at the defendant’s table looking forward as the lawyers are at the bench talking to the judge.

Susan Necheles is two seats down at the table looking at papers.

Attorneys have walked up to speak with Judge Juan Merchan after an objection from prosecutor Joshua Steinglass.

Merchan sustained the objection, and Trump attorney Emil Bove is continuing.

Keith Davidson says that Michael Cohen had at times talked with him about being Donald Trump’s chief of staff or attorney general.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is zeroing in on the call Keith Davidson had with Michael Cohen in December.

As he continues with cross-examination, Trump attorney Emil Bove is going over the agreement with Stormy Daniels that Keith Davidson negotiated.

“You’re providing legal services to Ms Daniels?” Bove asked, noting he has used terms like plaintiff and defendant in describing the agreement.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is going over Keith Davidson’s history in cross-examination.

In 2011, Stormy Daniels’ publicist Gina Rodriguez reached out to Davidson to get a story removed from a gossip site called The Dirty.

“I was asked, I was in essence retained,” to get the blog post on the site taken down, Davidson says.

Bove notes that the New York Daily News had repurposed The Dirty article, and Davidson says he believed he worked to get that taken down too.

Davidson confirmed that model and actress Karen McDougal had an interest in rejuvenating her career around the time he helped her reach the hush money deal, when asked by Trump attorney Emil Bove.

McDougal called the agreement she reached with American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s parent company, her “dream deal,” Davidson confirmed.

Part of the contract included plans for McDougal to get a monthly column on aging and fitness in Star and OK Magazines.

“There was ongoing value in her image and likeness, right?” Bove asks. “Yes,” Davidson says.

Witness Keith Davidson confirmed he testified before the grand jury in the hush money case. He also confirmed this during direct examination by the prosecution.

Davidson confirmed that Karen McDougal never wanted her story to be public.

One of Donald Trump’s attorneys, Emil Bove, has returned to 2016 in his cross-examination of witness Keith Davidson

Bove asks how Davidson met the National Enquirer’s former top editor, Dylan Howard.

“I’m not sure,” Davidson says. Asked if it was through work, Davidson says, “I believe so.”

Davidson said “yes” when asked if it would surprise him that Howard considered him a major source.

Trump is looking at Keith Davidson as defense attorney Emil Bove begins the cross-examination.

Keith Davidson says he had never met Donald Trump, and that he had never been in the same room as Trump until Tuesday.

“I have had no personal interactions with Donald Trump,” he says.

Trump attorney Emil Bove will now cross-examine Keith Davidson, the lawyer who negotiated the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush money agreements.

Remember: Defense attorneys can cross examine the prosecution’s witnesses and typically aim to discredit their testimony.

Witnesses’ responses are considered evidence, but not the questions posed by an attorney.

The jury is entering following the break. Testimony will resume soon.

Attorney Todd Blanche was in tow whispering in Trump’s ear as they walked in.

Judge Juan Merchan is back on the bench and called witness Keith Davidson to the stand.

Donald Trump has a large stack of papers with him as he walked out of the courtroom for the break. He exhaled heavily as he exited.

Trump panned the room as he walked out looking around at reporters

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is finished with his direct examination of Keith Davidson. The defense will start their cross-examination after the break.

Steinglass’ final question to Davidson was whether he had any “stake” in the outcome of this trial? No, Davidson says.

The court is taking a short morning break and the jury has left the courtroom.

Attorney Keith Davidson, a key witness who negotiated both the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush money agreements, is expected to return to the stand when the trial resumes.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is continuing to show 2018 texts from then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen to Keith Davidson, who helped arrange the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

On February 13, Cohen texted Davidson an email address for Chris Cuomo, then a CNN anchor.

When asked about the context of the message, Davidson testified that he thinks Cohen “was under some fire and wanted validation or cooperation” that the $130,000 payment to Daniels “was in fact paid from him, not anyone else.”

Davidson texted Cohen a statement, which said he agreed that Cohen’s public comments that the $130,000 was paid from Cohen’s personal funds was “in complete harmony with what he informed me of at the time of the transaction.”

“Perfect. Send to Cuomo,” Cohen responded.

Davidson confirmed he sent that statement to the anchor.

Keith Davidson is testifying about the pressure that Michael Cohen was applying on Stormy Daniels.

Davidson says that “he wanted her to deny her story to protect his client.”

Michael Cohen threatened to sue Stormy Daniels “many times,” Keith Davidson testifies, adding, “He can be a very aggressive guy.”

“We’re trying to placate him while also trying to meet Stormy’s desires,” Davidson said of Cohen.

Cohen threatened to “rain legal hell down upon her,” Davidson said.

The texts from Michael Cohen continued the next day, on January 31, Keith Davidson says.

In one text, Cohen asked Davidson to tell Stormy Daniels’ publicist to talk to Daniels.

“Please tell Gina to ensure she responds the same as your statement tomorrow when she does ‘The View.’ This is not a comedy show!” Cohen wrote to Davidson.

“It’s a signal of exasperation,” Keith Davidson said when asked to explain the “WTF” text.

Davidson said he wasn’t watching Kimmel at the time and was learning this all for the first time from Michael Cohen in these texts.

Some of the jurors were smiling as Davidson explained the text message and what he meant by “WTF.”

Remember: The jury is comprised of 12 seated jurors, along with six alternate jurors. Read about them here.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is now showing a series of texts from then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen on the evening of January 30, 2018, when Stormy Daniels appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

During the interview, Kimmel repeatedly tried to pin Daniels down on whether or not the signature on her January 30 statement denying an affair with Donald Trump was actually her signature.

“She just denied the letter,” Cohen wrote to Davidson, according to the texts shown in court. “Claiming it’s not her signature.”

“You said she did it in front of you,” he added.

“She did. Impossible – she posted it on her own Twitter page,” Davidson responded.

“They showed her signature and she claimed it was not hers on Kimmel,” Cohen responded.

Keith Davidson digs in on this statement of Stormy Daniels denying an affair with Donald Trump.

“I think it’s technically true,” he says.

Asked how that is true, Davidson says, “Because I don’t think that anyone had ever alleged that there was a relationship between Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump. I believe a relationship is an ongoing interaction.”

Davidson says he would give the same explanation as earlier for why he does not believe Daniels was paid “hush money” in the agreement.

Keith Davidson is now explaining there was “another statement” that was prepared for Stormy Daniels and released on January 30, 2018.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is showing the statement now. “I am denying this affair because it never happened,” Daniels said in the statement.

Davidson says he wrote the statement while in the Marylin Monroe suite at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. He was there with Daniels, her publicist Gina Rodriquez and hair and makeup artists.

The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” team put Daniels up in the hotel before she went on the show, Davidson says.

Keith Davidson is now going through texts from January 30, 2018, after a news article was published and he was receiving “hundreds” of calls from reporters.

“She’s stating she authored it & she released it of her own volition,” Davidson texted Cohen about Stormy Daniels. Davidson explains that Cohen had requested another statement from Daniels on the day she appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and he wanted to know whether she was going to release it.

On January 26, 2018, then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen texted Davidson to ask why Stormy Daniels was going on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show after that year’s State of the Union, according to messages shown in court.

“Idk I was pissed. She said this is her shot. I’m meeting with her this weekend to prep her and get the statement,” Davidson responded.

Davidson says in court that this was a tough spot for Daniels. She was hamstrung by the settlement agreement with Trump.

Cohen said at the time that she could speak publicly with restrictions but, “She wanted to talk about her life and reinvigorate her career,” Davidson explains.

Later on January 17, Michael Cohen texted Keith Davidson about Stormy Daniels:

Davidson responded, “100%”

Davidson reiterates on the stand that this was a part of Cohen’s “pants on fire” stage where he’d run around planning things, but then when he’d run them up the flagpole, plans would change.

“Thanks pal,” Cohen responded to Davidson.

“Just no interviews or statements unless through you,” he said in another text the evening of January 17.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said Trump’s then-fixer Michael Cohen was in a “pants on fire moment” with Stormy Daniels’ story percolating in the media.

Cohen texted Davidson on January 17 saying he had tentatively booked Daniels on Hannity’s Fox show that night.

“I have her tentatively scheduled for Hannity tonight. Call me after your trial,” Cohen said.

She did not appear on his show, however, Davidson said.

Davidson said that he understood at that point that Cohen felt that Daniels going on Hannity would somehow help him and Trump, “with the understanding that she would further deny the interaction.”

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is asking Keith Davidson a series of questions around the phrase hush money.

“Would you use the phrase hush money to describe the money that was paid to your client by Donald Trump?” he asks.

“I would never use that word,” Davidson says.

Steinglass asks him what’s the word he would use.

“Consideration,” Davidson says, explaining earlier that it was like a contact where someone pays you $5 to mow their lawn.

Keith Davidson, who negotiated both the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush money agreements, is pushing back on prosecutor Joshua Steinglass’ language in the latest series of questions.

“It wasn’t a ‘payout’ and it wasn’t ‘hush money.’ It was consideration in a civil settlement,” Davidson said of the deals.

Steinglass asked the witness how his client’s statement is true when it says, “Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false.”

The prosecutor asks if that was “cleverly misleading” in its wording, to which Davidson says he doesn’t understand the question.

Judge Juan Merchan held another gag order hearing earlier Thursday to consider the prosecution’s four additional allegations against Trump.

Prosecutors are asking for a $1,000 maximum fine for each alleged violation, but they are not yet seeking incarceration. Merchan did not immediately issue a ruling.

Here are the key takeaways:

Prosecutors allege several gag order violations:

Trump’s defense argues he did not violate gag order:

Asked about the part of the Stormy Daniels’ 2018 statement in which she denied having a “sexual and/or romantic affair” with Donald Trump, Keith Davidson says, “I think you’d have to hone in on the definition of ‘romantic,’ ‘sexual’ and ‘affair.’”

“I don’t think that anyone had alleged that any interaction between she and Mr. Trump was romantic,” Davidson explains.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is asking Keith Davidson more about the 2018 statement from Stormy Daniels.

He asks Davidson: “How would you categorize the truthfulness of this statement?”

The jury is being shown a January 10, 2018, statement from Stormy Daniels.

“I am saying with complete clarity that this is absolutely false,” the statement reads in part, referring to the alleged romantic affair between Daniels and Donald Trump.

Keith Davidson is asked whether he prepared the statement. “I believe so,” Davidson says.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is now showing texts between then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen and Davidson. These messages are regarding a Wall Street Journal article about adult film star Stormy Daniels.

“WSJ called Stormy. She didn’t answer. They say they are running story & have a deadline of tonight for her to comment,” Davidson texted Cohen on January 10, 2018.

In court, Steinglass asks Davidson if the email was about the Daniels payout. Davidson corrects him and refers to it as the Daniels “settlement.”

“Write a strong denial comment for her like you did before,” Cohen texted back five minutes later, according to the court exhibit.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is now showing Keith Davidson’s January 2018 email response to the Wall Street Journal before they published an article about Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump.

“Comment: Nothing about the present day regurgitation of these rumors causes us to rethink our prior denial issued in 2011,” Davidson wrote to the WSJ reporter.

Davidson forwarded that email thread to Michael Cohen to let him know how he handled the story.

Donald Trump’s eyes remain closed while Keith Davidson is testifying about his conversations with Michael Cohen.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche whispered something in his ear while his eyes stayed shut, which the former president acknowledged but didn’t react to.

“That f**king guy is not even paying me the $130,000 back,” Keith Davidson recalls Michael Cohen telling him during the December phone call.

Keith Davidson is recalling a time near the holidays that year while in a “strangely decorated department store” he got a call from “a very despondent and saddened Michael Cohen.”

“He said something to the effect of ‘Jesus Christ, can you f**king believe I’m not going to Washington after everything I’ve done for that f**king guy? I can’t believe I’m not going to Washington. I’ve saved that guy’s a** so many times, you don’t even know.’”

Trump is not paying attention to Davidson as he recalls this.

Davidson is shown the receipt from the store where he was shopping at the time he got the call from Cohen to remind him of the date of the call. It was December 9.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked him how the store was decorated. Davidson, after a pause, described it as a warehouse-like big box store decorated like Alice & Wonderland. “There were these huge rabbits,” he says.

Keith Davidson says his text to National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard saying “what have we done?” was “sort of gallows humor.”

“There was an understanding that our efforts may have in some way — strike that — our activities may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump,” he continued.

“Who won the election?” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asks, just for the record. “Donald Trump,” Davidson replies.

Davidson is looking at the jury as he’s speaking.

Keith Davidson says he texted National Enquirer Dylan Howard as the results were coming in on election night 2016.

“What have we done?” Davidson says he texted Howard.

“Oh my god,” Howard responded, according to Davidson.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass has moved back to Karen McDougal, the other woman for whom Keith Davidson helped arrange a hush money payment in exchange for the story of an affair with Trump.

Steinglass has pulled up a Wall Street Journal story about McDougal published November 4, 2016.

Davidson says he spoke to Cohen at the time “more than once.”

Davidson says Cohen’s complaint about the timing of the article was in reference to the “close proximity to the election of 2016.”

Steinglass asks Davidson if he knows when the election was that year. Davidson says he isn’t sure and guesses November 6 (it was November 8, four days after the WSJ article was published).

Cohen said “his boss” — Trump — was very upset and threatened to sue McDougal, Davidson testifies.

Keith Davidson was just asked how much money he disbursed to Stormy Daniels.

“I fear that invades attorney-client privilege. I disbursed everything other than my attorney fees,” Davidson replies.

Keith Davidson said he was paid $10,000 for his role in the Stormy Daniels deal.

The side agreement lists Peggy Peterson a.k.a. Stephanie Gregory Clifford a.k.a. Stormy Daniels. But it just says David Dennison a.k.a. _____.

Keith Davidson says he never saw a copy of the agreement where there was a signature on the line for “David Dennison,” only that Michael Cohen signed the agreement on Donald Trump’s behalf.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass has been showing a series of messages and documents during this opening portion of today’s questions for Davidson.

Most jurors are looking at the monitors in front of their seats as the latest document is displayed on it.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is now showing Keith Davidson a side agreement which includes Donald Trump’s real name and not the pseudonym used in the agreement, David Dennison.

Davidson says Trump’s name in the agreement is written in Davidson’s handwriting.

The document reads: “It is further agreed that neither party shall keep a copy of this document,” and it’s noted that only Davidson and Cohen as counsel for the parties would maintain possession of it.

The side letter agreement “decodes” the agreement that uses the pseudonyms, Davidson explains.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked who was accepting service on behalf of “David Dennison,” who Keith Davidson testified is Donald Trump.

“Essential Consultants, in care of Michael Cohen Esq.,” Davidson testified.

“David Dennison” and “Peggy Peterson” are the pseudonyms that Davidson had come up with for Trump and Stormy Daniels.

The prosecution is now going over the liquidated damages provision in the agreement. The stated amount was $1 million per breach of contract.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked if it was unusual to have an amount so much higher than the amount tied to the contract.

Keith Davidson replies he doesn’t think that would’ve been legally enforceable because “it is so far in excess of the settlement amount of the contract.”

He says Cohen demanded that provision be included and set at that amount.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is now walking Keith Davidson through the confidential settlement agreement paperwork between Stormy Daniels and Trump.

This was the agreement between “David Dennison” and “Peggy Peterson,” the pseudonyms that Davidson had come up with for Trump and Daniels.

“Money wired I am told,” then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard wrote in a message to Davidson at 2:32 p.m. on October 27, 2016, according to an exhibit being shown in court.

“Funds received,” Davidson texted back at 4:03 p.m.

“Unbelievable,” Howard wrote two minutes later.

“Was never really sure…,” Davidson texted back.

Keith Davidson noted that initially Michael Cohen’s entity to fund the Stormy Daniels deal was named Resolution Consultants LLC.

“At some point between then and the final documents did the entity name change?” Joshua Steinglass asks.

“It did,” Davidson testified.

After showing the jury an email from October 26, 2016, they are looking at an email response from Michael Cohen at 6:47 a.m. on October 27, in which he asked Keith Davidson to confirm “that the wire received today” would be held in the attorney trust account.

Davidson responded less than an hour later: “I confirm that I will work in good faith & no funds shall be disbursed unless & until the plaintiff personally signs all necessary settlement paperwork.”

Davidson also wrote that the settlement documents would name the “correct corporation,” Essential Consultants LLC.

Davidson said in the email that he would act in “good faith,” telling Cohen he would only release the funds to Stormy Daniels after Cohen confirmed he received the signed agreement via FedEx.

Keith Davidson is testifying that eventually he “lost trust” in Michael Cohen, explaining it had to do with “the delays in funding.”

At this point, Dylan Howard got back involved as the mediator, he says.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass has begun by having the court look at an email from Dylan Howard, then-lead editor at the National Enquirer, to Davidson and Michael Cohen, who was then Trump’s personal attorney.

The October 26, 2016, email from Howard reads, “Thank you both for chatting with me earlier.”

Howard referenced the agreement, a change to reflect an updated name for an LLC to be used, and the “transfer of funds on Thursday AM to be held in escrow until receipt of agreement.”

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass has resumed questioning of Keith Davidson.

The jury is walking into the courtroom ahead of Keith Davidson’s testimony.

Keith Davidson, a key witness who represented Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, was questioning by prosecutors in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial Tuesday April 30, 2024.

Attorney Keith Davidson is continuing his testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial. He was the lawyer who was at the center of the so-called hush money agreements with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.

The lawyer helped negotiate the deals to silence Daniels and McDougal over their alleged encounters with Donald Trump. Davidson said in an interview with CNN in 2018 that he’d spoken with Michael Cohen on several occasions about the two women.

Davidson also said he called Cohen in the late summer of 2016 to inform him that he’d settled a case involving Playboy model McDougal. McDougal sold the rights to her story to American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, for $150,000 and other perks. Davidson said he informed Cohen of the deal as “a professional courtesy.”

During his testimony last week, David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, testified about his communications with Davidson throughout the process of negotiating the payments.

CNN’s Scott Glover and Sara Sidner contributed reporting to this post.

Keith Davidson is back on the stand. He glanced into the gallery while he walked to the witness stand.

Donald Trump has a stack of papers with him that he is shuffling.

Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who remains one of Trump’s closest advisers, walked to the back of the courtroom and hugged and patted Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, on the back. He is seated in the very last row of the courtroom.

Judge Juan Merchan is back on the bench.

Trump is still seated while prosecutors are walking out the side door of the courtroom.

The gag order hearing has concluded and Judge Juan Merchan is off the bench.

The court is taking a short break before the jury is brought in.

The judge is yet to rule on the the prosecution’s four additional allegations against Donald Trump.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche argues that Donald Trump didn’t single out any specific jurors when he made an overarching statement about the jury.

He also said some members of the press have broken down the political beliefs of jurors.

Trump did not specifically call out the political party affiliation of a juror, Blanche argues.

Donald Trump is leaning back in his chair with his hands hands clasped together in front of him as his attorney Todd Blanche argues he didn’t violate the gag order.

Judge Juan Merchan asked Trump attorney Todd Blanche to address the comments the former president made about the jury.

Blanche said it was about 15 seconds of an interview that was over 20 minutes long.

“We very much believe this is a political persecution,” Blanche said.

Merchan cuts him off, “Did he violate the gag order, yes or no?”

“Did he violate the gag order, that’s all I want to know,” the judge said.

Blanche responded, “absolutely no”

Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche says Michael Cohen “is not a man who needs protection from the gag order.”

He notes Cohen is “almost poking President Trump” about the gag order, and claims Cohen “has started going on TikTok nightly and literally making money.”

Blanche adds Stormy Daniels shouldn’t be covered by the gag order either, though acknowledged that her comments about Trump are not so “voluminous”

“They’re not people who need to be protected,” Blanche says of Cohen and Daniels.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now showing articles quoting Michael Cohen “talking extensively” about Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

After Blanche shows two more articles about Michael Cohen attacking Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchan interrupts him saying, “You made your point, you made your point.”

Blache also says “there’s multiple examples of the Mea Culpa podcast that are over the top,” and he shows a repost by Cohen of an X post that quoted businessman Barry Diller calling Truth Social “a scam.”

Defense Attorney Todd Blanche is now showing one of Michael Cohen’s retweets from April 8, as well as a post from April 14 where Cohen posted a photo Trump in an orange jumpsuit.

Blanche adds there are repeated attacks on Trump and his candidacy on Cohen’s podcast and TikTok account.

Donald Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now moving on to the alleged gag order violation involving Michael Cohen.

“Cohen has been inviting and almost daring President Trump to respond to almost everything he’s saying,” Blanche argued.

“Personal attacks on his character. Mocking him for being on trial. And also his candidacy for president of the United States,” Blanche continued.

Attorney Todd Blanche is arguing Trump calling David Pecker “nice” didn’t violate the gag order.

“There’s no animosity between the two of them. There’s no threatening, menacing statements,” Blanche says.

Judge Juan Merchan cuts him off and says he’s “not terribly concerned” about that.

As Judge Juan Merchan discusses Donald Trump’s right to speak as a presidential candidate, Trump leaned forward and watched the judge.

Judge Juan Merchan says Donald Trump doesn’t have to turn right and make a statement to the media before coming into the courtroom each day.

“He went to the press,” Merchan says. “Nobody forced your client to stand where he went that day.”

Trump attorney Todd Blanche said he agrees with that, but said the former president has to speak to the press because he’s running for president and needs to defend himself.

Judge Juan Merchan said there are no surprises when it comes to the media coverage of this trial.

“The former president of the United States is on trial. He’s the leading candidate for the Republican Party, right now,” he said.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche again argues that Donald Trump can’t respond to 24/7 social media posts of everything that’s taking place in the courtroom, including their whispering conversations.

Judge Juan Merchan says Donald Trump’s alleged violations of the gag order are about ” what the other witnesses see.”

“It’s not about just Mr. Pecker,” the judge says, referring to David Pecker, the first witness in the trial. “It’s about what the other witnesses see.”

“It affects those witnesses as well,” the judge adds. “I expressed concerns about Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels in my decision, and those are valid. I get it. It’s not just about those individuals.”

As he argued against the alleged gag order violations, Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche said the former president “can’t just say no comment repeatedly. He’s running for president.”

Defense attorney Todd Blanche argues that Donald Trump’s comments on David Pecker “sidestepped” the question about Pecker’s testimony, and that Trump gave “a very factual” and “neutral” answer.

Blanche says that Trumps comments about the former CEO of the National Enquirer’s parent company were not “a warning or commentary” on what Pecker would say.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche has more exhibits to give Judge Juan Merchan on a thumb drive — in addition to the 500 pages that defense attorneys just submitted.

The new supplemental materials are in response to Merchan’s order on Tuesday holding Trump in contempt for the other gag order violations.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche is raising recent tweets and retweets from Michael Cohen, as well as excerpts from Cohen’s podcast.

Judge Juan Merchan responds to the defense team’s claim the gag order means Donald Trump can’t respond to attacks from President Joe Biden, his 2024 campaign rival.

Merchan says the order means Trump is “not allowed to refer” to foreseeable witnesses.

“Nothing in the gag order that says he can’t” respond to Biden, Merchan says.

Donald Trump attorney Todd Blanche is bringing up comments President Joe Biden made last weekend as he argues against the alleged gag order violations brought against his client.

“Last weekend, President Trump’s rival President Biden said in a public forum he talked about this trial and he talked about a witness that’s going to be in this trial. He mocked President Trump: ‘Donald has had a few tough days lately, you might call it stormy weather’,” Blanche said.

“Stormy weather was an obvious reference to Stormy Daniels,” he said.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche argues that the context of Michael Cohen’s attacks should date back to since Trump announced his presidential campaign in November 2022.

“There have been multiple and repeated attacks on him from among other people, Michael Cohen, and folks that Michael Cohen has on his podcast regularly,” Blanche argues. 

Judge Juan Merchan says exhibits that old will not weigh heavily on his decision today.

Now an attorney for Donald Trump, Todd Blanche, is up.

Judge Juan Merchan nodded as Blanche says he acknowledges the judge doesn’t want the gag order to cause unfettered attacks of Trump.

Blanche also says, “Part of the campaign takes place outside this courtroom.”

Judge interrupts Blanche by saying, “My main concern is with conduct that took place after the gag order was implemented.”

Prosecutor Chris Conroy says the Manhattan district attorney’s office wants the highest fine of $1,000 imposed for each alleged gag order violation again, but they “are not yet seeking jail.”

Merchan did not have any follow up questions for Conroy.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy is now reminding the court that Donald Trump attorney Todd Blanche assured Judge Juan Mechan last week that the former president “does in fact know what the gag order allows him to do and not allow him to do.”

Prosecutor Chris Conroy says of Donald Trump’s alleged gag order violations: “His statements are corrosive to this proceeding and the fair administration of justice.”

“The defendant is doing everything he can to make this case” about politics, Conroy adds.

According to prosecutors, the fourth alleged violation occurred on April 22 when Trump spoke to cameras outside the courtroom.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy says Trump spoke to the cameras outside this courtroom for almost nine minutes about a witness expected to testify later in trial. That witness was Michael Cohen.

Part of what Trump said, “When are they going to look at all the lies that Cohen did in the last trial. He got caught lying in the last trial.”

Trump has leaned back in his chair and is tuning out the proceedings now with his eyes closed.

“We understand the courts concern about Michael Cohen,” Conroy says, adding that Trump is not responding to “anything in particular.”

The third alleged gag order violation centers on a TV interview on April 23 in which Donald Trump called former attorney Michael Cohen a “convicted liar.”

The prosecutor calls Cohen and his credibility a theme here for Trump.

The next alleged gag order violation came from Donald Trump’s campaign stop where he commented on David Pecker, who was the first witness called in the trial.

His comments about Pecker were calculated, prosecutor Chris Conroy says.

“The defendant knows what he’s doing,” Conroy says, noting he “talks about the testifying witness, says nice things, does it in front of the cameras.”

Conroy says the comments about Pecker were “deliberate shots across the bow” to anyone that might come to this courtroom and talk about what the defendant did.

Judge Juan Merchan’s original gag order “was issued because of the defendant’s persistent and escalating rhetoric” aimed at those involved in this trial, pushing back on Donald Trump’s claim that the order let others attack him while he couldn’t respond, prosecutor Chris Conroy says. 

Judge Juan Merchan is holding another gag order hearing this morning to consider the prosecution’s four additional allegations against Donald Trump.

Here are the four additional gag order allegations against Trump in order of how they are listed in the motion filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. 

The first alleged gag order violation relates to Donald Trump’s statement related to the jury.

In part, the statement read, “That jury was picked so fast. 95% democrats.”

Prosecutors said Trump “used his platform here to criticize the seated jury in this case.”

The prosecutor said no inference is needed and he’s referring to the jurors who will be in the courtroom in a few minutes.

“By talking about the jury at all,” Prosecutor Chris Conroy said, Trump places the process of the trial “in jeopardy.”

“That is what the order forbids and he did it anyway,” Conroy says.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy is up right and now describing the alleged violations.

“He’s already been found to have violated the court’s order nine times and he’s done it again here,” Conroy says.

Donald Trump’s legal team has provided 500 pages of exhibits. Meanwhile, prosecutors have provided four exhibits, one for each of the alleged gag order violations.

Judge Juan Merchan is on the bench for today’s gag order hearing.

Earlier in the week, the judge levied a $9,000 fine against Trump for multiple violations of the judge’s gag order barring public discussion of witnesses in the case or the jury.

Trump was also required to take nine posts down between Truth Social and his campaign website. The prosecution Thursday will now argue he should be sanctioned for four more allegations.

Merchan has allotted approximately 30 minutes for the hearing and said he wants to bring in the jury at 10 a.m. ET to continue with the testimony of sixth witness Keith Davidson.

CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia contributed reporting to this post.

Former President Donald Trump attends his trial in New York on Thursday.

Donald Trump is hunched forward in his chair waiting for court to start.

He chatted briefly with his lawyer Emil Bove and gave a quick smile to one of the staffers in the courtroom.

Trump also chatted with his other lawyer, Todd Blanche, as they await the judge. He’s gesturing with his hand and Blanche is nodding along as Trump speaks.

Prosecutors are entering the courtroom ahead of the gag order hearing.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he arrives for his trial Thursday.

Former President Donald Trump again complained about having to attend his criminal hush money trial while speaking to reporters in the hallway ahead of the tenth day of the trial.

He said it was “nice to be able to campaign one day without being in this ridiculous show trial,” speaking to reporters before court got underway.

Trump said he visited Michigan and Wisconsin to campaign on Wednesday.

Donald Trump walked down the center aisle of the courtroom with a serious look on his face. The gag order hearing is expected to begin soon.

Donald Trump’s motorcade just pulled up to the courthouse.

Judge Juan Merchan is holding another gag order hearing this morning to consider the prosecution’s four additional allegations against Trump before testimony in the hush money trial continues.

Judge Juan Merchan levied a $9,000 fine against former President Donald Trump for multiple violations of the judge’s gag order barring public discussion of witnesses in the case or the jury on Tuesday. Today, he’s again holding another hearing into whether Trump has made four further violations.

As a reminder, these are the details of the gag order imposed on Trump by Judge Juan Merchan in late March:

Why was it imposed? Merchan implemented the gag order because, he said, the former president has a history of making “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” statements against people at all levels of the justice system, including jurors. According to CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, the fundamental reason for the gag order is to protect members of the jury.

What does it do? The ruling limits the former president from making statements about potential witnesses in his hush money criminal trial. It prevents Trump from criticizing his former attorney, Michael Cohen, or adult film star Stormy Daniels, who will be witnesses at trial. But it does not prevent Trump from talking about New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a public figure, or Merchan himself.

Merchan also ruled that Trump can’t make statements about attorneys, court staff or the family members of prosecutors, lawyers, family members of the court and family members of the Manhattan district attorney. Trump is also barred from making statements about any potential or actual juror.

What does Trump say? Trump and his attorneys have argued that as the leading Republican candidate for president, Trump’s speech should not be restricted as he appeals to voters in the 2024 election. When Merchan expanded the original order to include family members of the court in early April, Trump’s lawyers indicated they would appeal it, arguing it went too far.

Former President Donald Trump’s motorcade is en route to the Manhattan courthouse where Judge Juan Merchan will hold a gag order hearing.

Attorney Keith Davidson, who negotiated both the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush money agreements, is also expected to return to the stand to continue his testimony in the hush money trial.  Attorneys have been tight lipped about their witness lists, so it’s unclear who will come after Davidson.

More on the gag order hearing: Earlier in the week, the judge levied a $9,000 fine against Trump for multiple violations of the judge’s gag order barring public discussion of witnesses in the case or the jury. Trump was also required to take nine posts down between Truth Social and his campaign website.

The prosecution Thursday will now argue he should be sanctioned for four more allegations.

CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia contributed reporting to this post.

Donald Trump has been accused of taking part in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, which included a hush money payment made to an adult film star to hide an affair. The former president has denied the affair.

Prosecutors allege that Trump allegedly disguised the transaction as a legal payment and falsified business records numerous times to “promote his candidacy.” Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has pleaded not guilty.

Read up on the key people in the Trump hush money criminal trial:

The hush money trial against Donald Trump started Tuesday with Michael Cohen’s former banker Gary Farro back on the stand. At the end of last week, jurors saw the paper trail for a shell company and corresponding account Cohen opened to pay Karen McDougal and later a second account intended to pay Stormy Daniels.

Prosecutors then called Dr. Robert Browning, the executive director of C-SPAN archives, and Philip Thompson who works for a court reporting company. 

Key witness Keith Davidson, the former attorney for Daniels and McDougal, then took the stand. He walked the jury through the negotiations that led to Daniels’ tabloid deal and hush money payment, which is at the center of the case against Trump.

Here’s a recap of what happened in court as Davidson testified:

CNN’s Kara Scannell, Lauren Del Valle and Jeremy Herb contributed reporting to this post.

Judge Juan Merchan and Emil Bove.

Judge Juan Merchan issued a ruling Tuesday finding Donald Trump in contempt of court “for willfully disobeying a lawful mandate” nine times this month, saying he violated a gag order and criticized expected trial witnesses.

“Defendant violated the Order by making social media posts about known witnesses pertaining to their participation in this criminal proceeding and by making public statements about jurors in this criminal proceeding,” it continues.

The nine incidents represent seven posts and reposts on Truth Social and two posts on Trump’s campaign website. He was fined $1,000 for each violation, must pay the fine by the close of business Friday and had to remove the posts by Tuesday.

Merchan also threatened incarceration if Trump willfully violates the gag order again. The gag order restricts prosecutors and the defense from commenting on court figures outside of the courtroom.

Prosecutors have subsequently flagged an additional four comments that Trump has made since last week’s hearing, including about Michael Cohen and former AMI chief David Pecker. Merchan has scheduled another hearing on Thursday to address those comments.

Donald Trump used his day off from a criminal trial related to a past election to cast a dark, familiar shadow over the next one.

The presumptive GOP nominee declined to say if he’d accept the result of his White House race with President Joe Biden in November, warning in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that if the election was not “honest,” then “you have to fight for the right of the country.”

The ex-president was campaigning in Wisconsin and Michigan but was due back in court today in Manhattan for the resumption of his first criminal trial.

His remarks on the 2024 contest were especially ominous given his refusal to accept his loss in 2020 based on his false claims of voter fraud. They also recalled his warning to supporters before the January, 6, 2021, mob attack on the US Capitol that if they didn’t “fight like hell,” they wouldn’t have a country anymore.

Trump’s warning was just the latest example this week of extreme rhetoric that suggests his threats to American democracy are undimmed.

Read the full analysis.

In this court sketch, Judge Juan Merchan sits while “tabloid king” David Pecker, not pictured, testifies in Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Thursday, April 25.

Before the jury was called in Tuesday morning, Judge Juan Merchan levied a $9,000 fine against former President Donald Trump for multiple violations of the judge’s gag order barring public discussion of witnesses in the case or the jury.

Merchan fined Trump for nine violations – $1,000 each, the maximum allowed by law – after prosecutors had filed a motion to hold the former president in contempt over his social media posts and public comments about Cohen, Daniels and the makeup of the jury pool.

This won’t be Trump’s last run-in with Merchan’s gag order, either. The Manhattan district attorney’s office last week cited another four comments from Trump that allegedly violated the order. Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled a hearing on those violations for this morning.

The comments cited by prosecutors pointed to Trump’s continued commentary about witnesses, including that he thought AMI chief David Pecker was “nice.” Prosecutors argued that the remark was a message to other witnesses to “be nice” on the stand.

In his order, the judge warned Trump that he could be imprisoned if he continues to willfully violate the gag order. Merchan could jail Trump for 30 days for finding him in contempt.

We’re now in the third week of court proceedings in Donald Trump’s historic hush money criminal trial.

To refresh your memory, here are the key moments and witnesses from the trial so far:

April 15: Trial began with jury selection

April 19: A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected.

April 22: The prosecution and defense made their opening statements. Former tabloid boss David Pecker was called to testify.

April 23: Judge Juan Merchan held a Sandoval hearing for Trump’s alleged gag order violations, but reserved his decision.

April 25: While Trump sat in the Manhattan courtroom, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the matter of his immunity in special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case against him.

April 26: Pecker’s direct questioning and cross-examination concluded. Trump’s former longtime assistant Rhona Graff was called to testify briefly. Finally, Michael Cohen’s former banker Gary Farro testified.

April 30: Farro’s testimony concluded. Prosecutors then called Dr. Robert Browning, the executive director of C-SPAN archives, and Philip Thompson who works for a court reporting company. Then, Keith Davidson, the former attorney for Daniels and McDougal, took the stand. Davidson is set to continue to testify Thursday.