2/ Pagliery:

After a lunch break, Davidson is back. He slowly strode through the courtroom in his pointy black dress shoes, adjusted his jacket and sat down at the witness stand.

He seems to be a bit uncomfortable as prosecutors explore his texts with entertainment journalist Dylan Howard.

3/ Emptywheel:

All people who love Trump more than his spouse, I guess.

Kaitlan Collins:

Good afternoon from the New York courtroom. Texas AG Ken Paxton, Susie Wiles and Jason Miller are all from the political orbit inside on Trump's behalf, in addition to his son Eric Trump. Wiles and Eric Trump spoke briefly before the judge entered. Court is now underway.

4/ Inner City Press (Press):

Prosecutor: Good afternoon Mr. Howard! Oh, sorry, Davidson. Please look at these texts.
Davidson: Dylan wanted the deal between Karen McDougal and AMI to happen.

Davidson: Dylan wrote, "F- it, not my money, I'll just ask."
Prosecutor: Is the full F word written out in the text?
Davidson: Yes. Then he wrote, She's getting pressed by Ronda Schwartz.
Prosecutor: Who's she?
Davidson: She worked for Brian Ross of ABC

5/ NOTE: I HAVE TO LEAVE IN 30 MIN. for an appt.

I'll resume when I get back.

Moving on...

Bower:

On Aug. 2, 2016, Davidson and Howard continued to negotiate regarding the potential deal for McDougal's story with AMI. Davidson told Howard that McDougal would accept the deal if he could get AMI to agree to pay $150,000.

6/ PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO USE "NFL" (Not For Laffy). I can't read replies while live posting.

Press:

Davidson: Then AMI's general counsel set me a contract that didn't jibe with what had been negotiated with Dylan. I replied, Need to handle this quickly. The general counsel wanted to call Michael Cohen.
Prosecutor: Did you ask why?
Davidson: I don't remember

7/ Phang:

Howard texts Davidson on July 28, 2016: "I need this to happen."
Davidson testifies that AMI's then-General Counsel tells him to call Michael Cohen as they're trying to hammer out the details of the agreement between AMI and McDougal.

Davidson responds: "I've been trying like hell to avoid that." Explaining that in 2011, he dealt with Cohen and it was unpleasant and so he wanted to avoid dealing with Cohen again.

8/ Press:

Davidson: I had dealt with Michael Cohen in 2011 and had not enjoyed it. So I was trying to avoid it.
Prosecutor: Did Dylan say anything else?
Davidson: F*cking Jesus.
Prosecutor: It's okay, you're just quoting. Did you call Cohen?
Davidson: Yes

9/ Bower:

On Aug. 5, 2016, Howard texted Davidson: "Ok we are paying."

Davidson replied to Howard "I told Cohen this never would've happened without you"

"He’s hopeless," Howard said, referring to Cohen. "Oh well, another one done."

Davidson says that after the deal closed with AMI, he called Michael Cohen. He let him know that the deal involving Cohen's client--Donald Trump--had closed. He told Cohen that the deal would not have happened without him. Cohen was "pleased," Davidson testifies

10/ Klasfeld:

Davidson said he understood that McDougal deal for Michael Cohen's "client" closed, which he said referred to Trump.

11/ Pagliery:

Steinglass: Why buy a story didn't intend to print?

Davidson: They were trying to build Karen into a brand & didn't want to diminish her reputation. The second was an unspoken understanding that there was a close relationship between David Pecker (AMI chief) and Donald Trump.

Davidson: They wouldn't run the story... because it would tend to hurt Donald Trump.

Steinglass: You mean Donald Trump's campaign?

Davidson: Yes.

12/ Press:

Prosecutor: Based on non-privileged communications to which you were privy, what married man benefited form this?
Davidson: Donald Trump.
Prosecutor: How much went to you?
Davidson: 45%
Prosecutor: Did you think AMI would ever publish it?
Davidson: No.
Prosecutor: Why?
Davidson: It was said AMI would not want to hurt Karen's brand. But mostly, there was an affinity between David Pecker and Donald Trump - so, to not hurt Trump
Prosecutor: You mean his campaign?
Davidson: Yes.

13/ Klasfeld:

The prosecutor notes that the effective date on Karen McDougal's agreement is same date that the text messages indicate the deal closed.

Davidson acknowledges that the liquidated damages clause meant that if McDougal told her story to anyone else, she would have to pay $150,000.

14/ Klasfeld:

Three days after the execution date of the contract, Davidson and Howard exchanged texts about letting down ABC.

"Btw - they promised her a role on dancing with the stars. Season 578568655," Davidson quipped, confirming this was a joke.

"Ha!" Howard replied.

15/ Pagliery:

Davidson doesn't want to go into detail, but he's made clear that he played ABC against AMI to score a better deal for McDougal.

He dragged along ABC's longtime chief investigative producer, Rhonda Schwartz, for weeks. When AMI paid up, he let ABC know McDougal would decline.

16/ Pagliery:

It's pretty rare for us to get insight into how rich, powerful, or celebrity types try to exploit journalists—or use us as a tool.

Real reporters don't pay for stories. We don't pay for exclusives. It cheapens the work, creates bad incentives, & entices liars.

ABC got played.
Klasfeld:

Questioning pivots to Davidson's former client Stephanie Clifford aka Stormy Daniels.

18/ I'm back. I'll recap via Phang. The following are all from her:

Now, the prosecution moves on to a new line of questioning with Keith Davidson about his other client Stormy Daniels.

Per Davidson, a woman named Gina Rodriguez referred Stormy to him. Gina was a talent manager and Stormy was considered to be "talent."

19/ Phang:

Davidson: “There was a blog post or a story posted on the website (for radar.com) that stated that Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump had some sort of physical romantic interaction."
So Davidson sent a cease and desist letter to Radar.

20/ Phang:

Gina Rodriguez then calls up Davidson and says that "some jerk called me and was very very aggressive and threatened to sue me, and I would like you to call him back."

Gina gave Davidson the number and he called the Trump Org and got transferred to Michael Cohen.

DAVIDSON: “Before I could even get my name out I was just met with a hostile barrage of insults…and that went on for awhile."

21/ Davidson testifies that he explained to Michael Cohen that Stormy did not want the story to be published and he asked Cohen if he had done anything to get it taken down. Cohen responded that he had not, but told Davidson to try. Davidson was successful in having the post taken down.

Davidson is then asked about the Access Hollywood tape. He says that the tape had "tremendous influence" in terms of interest in Stormy.

22/ Conversations began between Gina Rodriguez, Davidson, Dylan Howard, and Michael Cohen about purchasing Stormy's story.
Davidson then corroborates David Pecker's earlier testimony that AMI didn't want to do this deal with Stormy.
Because the deal "was already cut" between Daniels and AMI, AMI "handed it off to Cohen; in essence, Cohen stepped into AMI's shoes."

NOTE: Davidson testifies that he understood that in dealing with Cohen, he was dealing with Trump. He did not question that.

24/ Phang:

There was a Side Letter Agreement (SLA) that was used to identify the identity of the two parties involved and is designed to be for "attorneys' eyes only."
Davidson testifies that Michael Cohen demanded that only he have possession of the SLA, which was unusual.

28/ Phang:

On Oct. 17, 2016, Davidson emailed Cohen and advised that Stormy was canceling the agreement and that he would no longer be representing her.

DAVIDSON: “What did I think was really happening?”
👉🏼DAVIDSON ON COHEN: “I thought he was trying to kick the can down the road until after the election.”

STEINGLASS: Did Michael Cohen lead you to believe someone other than Michael Cohen was funding this transaction? 👉🏼DAVIDSON: Yes

29/ Phang:

Another critical piece of evidence now before the jury for its consideration:

Trump is delaying paying Stormy Daniels what he contractually owed her until AFTER the November 2016 election.

👇🏼
DAVIDSON: “What did I think was really happening?” DAVIDSON ON COHEN: “I thought he was trying to kick the can down the road until after the election.”

30/ Now on to Press:

Prosecutor: Who did you think was really paying?
Davidson: I find that question confusing.
Prosecutor: When you were dealing with Michael Cohen did you have an understanding about how this deal was doing to be funded?
Davidson: I had an assumption

[I'm all caught up... a few more coming]

31/ Press:

Prosecutor: To what did you attribute the lack of funding at this point?
Davidson: Frugality.
Prosecutor: Whose frugality?
Trump's lawyer: Objection! May I be heard at the sidebar?
[And again. Susan Necheles, too, at defense table]

32/ Press:

Prosecutor: People's 176, these text messages...
Davidson: Dylan wrote, Going to see Pecker in 15, will ask for an update.
Prosecutor: Did you respond?
Davidson: Yes. I said, Waiting for a call any second.
Prosecutor: From who(m)?
Davidson: I don't remember

33/ Press:

Prosecutor: In sending to Michael Cohen, what domain did you use?
Davidson: Gmail dot com
Prosecutor: What did you send?
Davidson: Wiring instructions. He told me, We're sending it. I said, I don't believe you. That, he sent from trumporg dot org, cc-ing his gmail

34/ Press:

Davidson: This was 16 days after the agreement. Then this email from First Republic, which he forwarded to me. I meant nothing to me. He had my wiring instructions - but he didn't send
Prosecutor: Did you speak with him on the phone?
Davidson: He was pants on fire

Davidson: Michael Cohen was talking about of both ears.
Justice Merchan: We will break here, until Thursday at 10 am, jurors.
[Jurors leave]
Justice Merchan: I'd like you here at 9:30 on Thursday.

35/ Phang:

Davidson testifies that by October 25, Dylan Howard/AMI was attempting to resurrect the Stormy deal. AMI was encouraging Cohen to deal directly with Davidson and that Davidson should try to get as much as he could for the deal.
Davidson testifies that on 10/26/16, he sent Cohen his wiring instructions for the 4th or 5th time. Why? because of "Cohen's repeated assertion that he didn't have it."

36/ Phang:

Court recesses for the day. The jury returns at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.

Remember: another contempt hearing for Trump's alleged violations of the gag order will take place at 9:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning.

37/ And finally, Klarsfeld's take:

After a bit of back-and-forth, Davidson says the resurrected Stormy Daniels deal shifted from AMI to Cohen, directly.

Davidson:

"The entire matter was very frustrating, that it was on again, off again, that there were delays in funding, cancellation, disengaging with client, re-engaging with client."

38/ Klasfeld:

Davidson:

"Then, I call Cohen, and Cohen tells me, 'I'm not paying anything.'"

AMI was paying, Cohen told him, according to the testimony.

Davidson reviews an exhibit of an email showing him sending his wiring instructions to Cohen — "for the fourth or fifth time," he adds, with a rueful laugh.

39/ Klasfeld:

On Oct. 26, Michael Cohen sent Davidson an email with the subject "First Republic Bank Transfer."

Cohen forwarded the message after Davidson told him he "didn't believe" he actually planned to send the money.

The original email came from Farro's assistant at First Republic Bank.

Farro was the first witness testifying today, and it comes full circle.

40/ Klasfeld:

Davidson: "It meant nothing to me because he had my wiring instruction."

But Cohen didn't wire the funds.

Cohen forwarded the email.

Davidson on Cohen:

"He was highly excitable. Sort of a pants-on-fire sort of guy."

The witness compares Cohen to the distracted dog shifting attention to a "Squirrel!" in the movie "Up."

So ends his testimony for the day.