Live updates: Judge to hold gag order hearing in Trump’s hush money trial

Donald Trump is expected back in Manhattan criminal court Thursday for Day 10 of his trial, with the judge set to hold another hearing to determine if the presidential candidate is continuing to violate a gag order.

Afterward, lawyer Keith Davidson is expected back on the witness stand. The Los Angeles lawyer represented Stormy Daniels as she brokered a deal in 2016 to keep an alleged tryst with Trump secret ahead of the election. His testimony began Tuesday; the trial took a break Wednesday.

Here’s what to know

• Davidson testified Tuesday that Daniels’s story became more valuable after The Washington Post in October 2016 revealed offensive comments that Trump made on a hot mic on “Access Hollywood.” When that went public, Trump and his team became extremely concerned about his reputation among female voters.
• The trial is not being televised. The Washington Post has reporters in the courtroom and media overflow room who are posting live updates.
• Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to his reimbursement of longtime lawyer Michael Cohen for a hush money payment before the 2016 election to Daniels, an adult-film actress.

8:30 AM: Trump was held in contempt, fined $9,000 this week for gag order violations

Live updates: Judge to hold gag order hearing in Trump’s hush money trial

Before testimony resumes in this trial on Thursday, the judge will hold a hearing on whether Donald Trump violated a gag order in the case — again.

Trump has already been held in contempt of court this week over a different set of instances in which prosecutors said he violated the gag order. On Tuesday, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan ruled that Trump had violated the order nine times, holding him in contempt, fining him $9,000 and warning that the former president could face jail time if he keeps breaking the court’s rules.

Here is a rundown of what happened Tuesday and what else the judge said.

By: Mark Berman

8:29 AM: Tabloid publisher, L.A. lawyer among hush money witnesses so far

David Pecker is questioned by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass during former president Donald Trump’s trial last week.

Witnesses at Donald Trump’s hush money trial — now in its third week — have so far included the former CEO of American Media Inc., which published the National Enquirer, and an attorney who negotiated hush money deals on behalf of two women who alleged affairs with Donald Trump.

David Pecker was in charge of the National Enquirer for decades and in that role he bought stories to shut down potential celebrity scandals — a strategy known as “catch and kill” — including sometimes on behalf of Trump, his longtime friend. Pecker testified that he specifically agreed to do so for Trump during his 2016 campaign, and that he spoke directly to Trump about it at times.

Pecker agreed to tip off Trump about any potential allegations by women who may have tried to make a buck on claims that they had personal relationships with the then-presidential candidate. He also steered coverage to help Trump.

“I would publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponents,” Pecker testified.

Attorney Keith Davidson, another key witness, began testifying this week and is expected resume on Thursday.

Davidson had dealings with the Enquirer when it paid $150,000 to his client Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, to silence her in 2016 about a 10-month a fair she said she had with Trump years before. Davidson made similar efforts on behalf of adult-film star Stormy Daniels, but ultimately dealt directly with Trump’s then-attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment that’s at the heart of Trump’s current trial.

Trump has denied having affairs with either McDougal or Daniels.

In dealing with Cohen, Davidson said it was clear that those discussions were being held on Trump’s behalf.

The lawyer’s testimony helps to support the prosecution’s theory that there were focused efforts by Trump to keep potentially negative stories out of the news as he campaigned for president.

By: Shayna Jacobs

8:28 AM: What would it take for Trump to get convicted vs. acquitted?

Readers have been sending our reporters smart questions about Donald Trump’s ongoing criminal trial in Manhattan. Here’s one that’s asked frequently:

What does it take for Trump to get convicted vs. acquitted? Or what does it mean if the trial ends in a hung jury? Does he have to be convicted or acquitted on all 34 counts — or can a jury find him guilty on some and not guilty on others?

For Trump to be convicted, all members of the 12-person jury must agree that he is guilty. An acquittal means the jury unanimously agreed that Trump is not guilty. If even one person disagrees with the rest of the jurors, then it is considered a hung or deadlocked jury, and the judge would declare a mistrial. If there’s a mistrial, the state of New York would then decide if it wants to put Trump on trial again.

But the jury may not reach the same verdict on all counts. The indictment lists 34 felony counts under the same New York statute. Each count represents a separate instance of alleged misconduct. That means prosecutors are alleging Trump falsified business records 34 times — and a jury will have to decide whether he committed that crime in each of those 34 instances.

The jury could find him guilty in some instances and not guilty in others. A jury could also be hung on a few of the counts — rendering a mistrial on just those counts — in which case prosecutors would have to decide whether to retry Trump on just those counts.

By: Perry Stein