Davidson said National Enquirer wanted to help McDougal and Trump by buying the story
The prosecution asked Davidson why he thought National Enquirer purchased the McDougal story if it didn't intend to print it.
Davidson responded that there were two goals: to help build McDougal up as a brand and to help Donald Trump by not exposing the affair.
He went on to say in his testimony that “there was an unspoken understanding” that there was a close affiliation between David Pecker and Trump.
Keith Davidson says married man identified in National Enquirer-McDougal deal was Trump
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Keith Davidson about the final deal signed by the National Enquirer parent company and Karen McDougal, which Davidson said was effective Aug. 5, 2016.
Davidson said one of the paragraphs said that it grants her life rights to the subject manager regarding an affair she had with a married man.
“Was there a particular married man you understood this to apply?” Steinglass asked.
"Yes," Davidson said. "Donald Trump."
Prosecutors show nitty gritty of deal negotiations for McDougal story
The prosecution is walking Davidson through a series of text messages where he appeared to be hammering out a deal for McDougal to be paid to keep quiet about her story.
One text that former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard sent to Davidson said, appearing to refer to Karen McDougal, "She’ll get more out of a deal with AMI than ABC and I’m happy to sign some sort of agreement that alleviates..."
Another from Davidson to Howard said, “Let’s try and wrap up Karen’s deal. She is getting repeated calls from Rhonda Schwartz.” She was a producer at ABC News.
"We are figuring out the mechanics of the deal already," Howard texted Davidson.
Davidson also texted Howard about then-AMI general counsel Cameron Stracher, “He wants me to call Cohen. U think that’s okay? I’ve been trying like hell to avoid that.”
Trump posts on Truth Social shortly after deletion of posts Merchan fined him for
Trump posted on Truth Social just minutes before returning to court Tuesday afternoon and less than an hour after other posts — which Judge Merchan had ordered to be deleted in accordance with his gag order — were taken down.
"This Judge has taken away my Constitutional Right to FREE SPEECH," Trump's new post read.
"I am the only Presidential Candidate in History to be GAGGED. This whole 'Trial' is RIGGED, and by taking away my FREEDOM OF SPEECH, THIS HIGHLY CONFLICTED JUDGE IS RIGGING THE PRESIDENTIAL OF 2024 ELECTION. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!" the post continued.
Texas AG Ken Paxton and Club for Growth's Dave McIntosh are in the courtroom
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Club for Growth President Dave McIntosh, a former congressman, are both in the courtroom. Paxton is an avid Trump supporter. And McIntosh, after opposing Trump in the Republican primary, backed his campaign earlier this year.
Court is back in session
The trial has resumed.
The posts that Merchan ordered Trump to take down are now gone
As of 1:24 p.m. ET, all of the Truth Social and campaign website posts that Judge Merchan ordered Trump to remove by 2:15 p.m. ET today have been taken down.
Merchan ruled this morning that the posts had violated Trump's gag order and fined the former president $9,000 — $1,000 for each offending post. The judge also threatened Trump with possible jail time if he continues to violate the order.
Court takes a lunch break
The court has taken a break for lunch. Davidson is expected to continue testifying once the trial resumes.
Davidson says one of McDougal's goals was to not go public with her story
Davidson stressed that McDougal did not want to go public with her story, and he said that a competing deal with ABC would have forced her to come out and tell it.
Her goals included that she rejuvenate her career, make money and avoid becoming “the scarlet letter,” he said.
“Was AMI attractive because she would not actually have to tell her story?” Steinglass asked.
“That was one of her stated goals, and that would be in alignment with one of her very important stated goals," Davidson answered.
Analysis: Davidson is keeping his disposition monotone
Keith Davidson's disposition on the witness stand is notable. His speech is monotone, without a lot of elaboration and seemingly avoiding colorful language.
For instance, he called the alleged dealings between his client, Karen McDougal, and Trump a "personal interaction."
Davidson is looking at his own text messages and asked to explain the context surrounding events even he described as a "bombshell" at the time, but today on the stand, his voice pattern never changes — even when the subject is objectively eyebrow-raising.