Shake-down allegations and another contempt hearing highlight 10th day of Trump’s trial

NEW YORK — At Donald Trump’s criminal trial Thursday, two men — one in the defendant’s chair, the other on the witness stand — were accused of bullying and intimidation.

The first was Trump himself. Prosecutors accused him of creating an “air of menace” by commenting on the political makeup of the jury pool, and they urged the judge to again hold him in contempt.

The second was Stormy Daniels’ former lawyer, Keith Davidson, who testified about the $130,000 payoff he negotiated so that the porn star would keep quiet about her claim of a sexual encounter with Trump. Davidson spoke tersely from the stand as Trump’s defense attorney sought to portray him as a shake-down artist who extorted celebrities with threats of humiliation.

The tense day didn’t end there. Jurors also learned about a rant from an apoplectic Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer. And they heard a recording from Cohen’s phone in which Cohen apparently spoke with Trump about a separate hush money payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal.

The colorful details — and the allegations of unsavory conduct — have become commonplace at Trump’s trial, which has now been in session for 10 days.

Thursday’s proceedings kicked off with a contempt hearing — the second since the trial began — as Justice Juan Merchan mulled four of Trump’s out-of-court statements that prosecutors say violated the judge’s gag order.

Earlier in the week, Merchan held Trump in contempt and fined him $9,000 for nine other statements in which Trump criticized witnesses and jurors. The four statements at issue on Thursday were not part of the earlier ruling, though Trump made them before the ruling came down.

Merchan said during the contempt hearing that he was “not terribly concerned” about one of the four statements, in which Trump said one prior witness had been “very nice.”

But the judge did appear concerned with a comment Trump made during an April 25 radio interview, in which the former president suggested the Manhattan jury would not be fair because the area is “95 percent” Democratic.

Prosecutors argued that any statement by Trump about the jury puts “this process and this proceeding here in jeopardy.”

As Trump attorney Todd Blanche made his argument defending Trump, the judge interrupted.

“Did he violate the gag order?” the judge asked. “I am not accepting your argument, which is why I am asking.”

The judge has not yet ruled on the four statements.

Later in the day, Davidson returned to the witness stand to continue his testimony that began on Tuesday. He offered further details of how he worked with Cohen in 2016 to arrange the payment to Daniels. And he said that he pocketed $10,000 in the deal.

Trump attorney Emil Bove cross-examined Davidson aggressively, dredging up various unsavory anecdotes from Davidson’s legal career.

For instance, Bove asked Davidson about a legal claim against actor Charlie Sheen and negotiations related to a sex tape featuring professional wrestling star Hulk Hogan.

Bove asked Davidson if he “extracted” money from Sheen on behalf of a client.

“There was no extraction,” he responded. “We asserted that there was tortious activity committed and valid settlements that were executed.”

On the Hogan sex tape, Bove asked Davidson if he had been investigated for extortion by federal and state authorities.

“That’s true,” he responded.

The Trump attorney then pressed Davidson on whether he had familiarized himself with extortion law so that he wouldn’t break the law as he navigated the Daniels deal in 2016.

“I had familiarized myself with the law. I'm a lawyer,” Davidson said.

The trial is scheduled to resume Friday morning with further testimony from an employee of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, who on Thursday afternoon walked jurors through extracting data from Cohen’s cell phones.

Meanwhile, there were signs that Trump — having been held in contempt once and facing the prospect of another contempt ruling — is being more careful than usual in his public remarks about the case.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, he declined to answer a question about Davidson’s testimony, saying “I’d love to answer that question” but could not do so because of the gag.

And during a short break in the proceedings, Trump attorney Susan Necheles asked Merchan for guidance about whether Trump could share certain articles on social media without running afoul of the gag order.

“I’m not going to give an advance ruling,” Merchan responded. “I think that the best advice you can give your client is: When in doubt, steer clear.”