Lawyer Keith Davidson concluded his testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial late Thursday afternoon after spending about 6 1/2 hours on the witness stand over two days. Davidson’s testimony was followed by that of forensic analyst Douglas Daul, who testified about his findings on Michael Cohen’s cell phone.
During the course of the day, jurors heard for the first time recordings of calls between Cohen and Davidson, as well as a briefing Cohen gave Trump about plans to buy former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story.
Thursday’s proceedings began with a contempt hearing over whether the former president violated his gag order again.
Judge Juan M. Merchan heard from both prosecutors and one of Trump’s defense attorneys about four more prospective violations, including comments Trump made about the political makeup of the jury and comments he made to reporters in the courthouse hallway. No immediate decision on potential sanctions was made.
Prosecutors have said that Trump and others conducted a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by purchasing and burying salacious stories that might hurt his campaign.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments — including $130,000 given to porn actor Stormy Daniels by Cohen — recording them instead as legal expenses.