Trump Trial Takeaways: Tapes Take Jurors Into the Heart of Hush-Money Deals

Keith Davidson, the former lawyer for the porn star Stormy Daniels, faced a blistering cross-examination on Thursday in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump, with defense lawyers casting him as a serial extortionist of celebrities.

The judge, Juan M. Merchan, also heard arguments about additional violations of a gag order by Mr. Trump, just days after he held the former president in contempt and fined him $9,000 for nine other violations. Justice Merchan has threatened jail time if the violations continue, but did not rule on four new allegations on Thursday.

Mr. Trump, 77, is charged with falsifying 34 business records, including checks and invoices, to hide a $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels, who says she and Mr. Trump had a tryst in 2006 while he was married.

Mr. Trump, the first American president to face prosecution, has denied the felony charges, and having had sex with Ms. Daniels. He could face probation or prison if convicted.

The case is clipping along, with more than a half-dozen witnesses heard from. Here are five takeaways from his 10th day on trial:

Mr. Trump said he hated the deal with Ms. Daniels.

Late Thursday afternoon, prosecutors focused on a conversation between Mr. Davidson and Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, that Mr. Cohen had secretly recorded.

Prosecutors played the recording for the jury, letting them hear Mr. Cohen tell Mr. Davidson that Mr. Trump hated “the fact that we did it,” referring to the hush-money payment to Ms. Daniels.

It was the first time the jury heard the voice of Mr. Cohen, who has come up frequently in the trial — often in unflattering terms — and who is expected to be a crucial witness.

Mr. Davidson endured a feisty cross-examination.

Before the tape was revealed, Mr. Trump’s legal team aggressively attacked the credibility of Mr. Davidson during a cross-examination that quickly turned hostile.

Emil Bove, one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, grilled Mr. Davidson about his legal niche representing people who tried to get payments from celebrities, navigating the hidden Hollywood. Frequently, Mr. Davidson would respond, “I don’t recall.”

Mr. Bove confronted Mr. Davidson about his “fuzzy” memory and Mr. Davidson responded forcefully that his answers had been truthful.

Mr. Bove also tried to create distance between Mr. Trump and the hush-money payoff to Ms. Daniels, shifting the blame onto Mr. Cohen. He testified that Mr. Cohen wanted a job in the Trump White House and was “despondent” when he didn’t receive it, adding that he had hoped for a high-ranking position such as attorney general.

“I thought he was going to kill himself,” Mr. Davidson said of Mr. Cohen.

The judge will rule on possible gag order violations. Again.

Before Mr. Davidson’s testimony, Justice Merchan heard arguments about four additional statements by Mr. Trump that prosecutors consider violations of his order barring attacks on jurors, witnesses, prosecutors and members of the judge’s family.

Those include remarks made in the hallway outside the courtroom, where Mr. Trump has taken to attacking the case and the Democrats he feels are behind it, including Justice Merchan and Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney.

Prosecutors argued that Mr. Trump’s statements were “corrosive,” but said they were not yet asking for jail as a punishment. Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche countered that Mr. Trump should be allowed to respond to what he characterized as “political attacks.”

Trump in court is much quieter than Trump onstage.

On Wednesday, the day of the trial’s weekly break, Mr. Trump railed against the judge to thousands of supporters. At rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin, he called Justice Merchan “crooked” and “conflicted.”

On Thursday, he sat silently — often with his eyes closed — as prosecutors outlined potential gag order violations. He even avoided looking at his lawyer, Mr. Blanche, during his argument.

But Mr. Trump grew animated during an exchange about President Biden’s recent jibe, deployed during his speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner, that Mr. Trump had been experiencing “stormy weather.”

Trump threw up his hands in exasperation when the judge implied that Mr. Trump was free to respond to President Biden without mentioning a woman who is a potential witness.

We’re moving right along.

Prosecutors also called Douglas Daus, a senior forensic analyst with the Manhattan district attorney’s office who testified about the authenticity of phone records and recordings. That included one in which Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen discussed a hush-money deal for Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who was trying to sell a story about an affair with Mr. Trump.

Friday will mark the end of the third week of the trial, which continues to draw large crowds of journalists and members of the public.

After this abbreviated three-day week, the trial will resume its regular four-day schedule as the prosecutors plow through their case. The potential witness list has several major names, including Ms. Daniels, Mr. Cohen and Hope Hicks, who is Mr. Trump’s former spokeswoman.