Coming up: Computer forensic analyst to resume cross-examination

Former President Trump's criminal trial is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning with the prosecution's seventh witness, Doug Daus, to take the stand.

Daus is a computer forensic analyst with the district attorney's office. Yesterday, he testified about examining two cell phones that belonged to Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen.  

During Daus' testimony, an audio recording was played former Trump attorney Michael Cohen could be heard telling Trump that he (Cohen) has to open up a company to transfer funds to “our friend David.”  Cross-examination began towards the end of the day, and the defense was asking about the chain of custody of the phone.  

Before Daus, Keith Davidson, an attorney who once represented both Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, completed his testimony. He testified about various interactions with Cohen before and after the 2016 election. 

Davidson said Daniels’ denial of an affair with Trump was technically true because he wouldn’t characterize the interaction between Trump and Stormy as romantic. He also said the money Cohen paid Stormy was not a payoff, but rather a “consideration.” The defense played audio recordings of Davidson where he can be heard admitting Cohen didn’t need authority from Trump to make the payment to Stormy. 

Court will end early today at 3:45 p.m. to accommodate a juror's appointment.