Earlier today there was a hearing into alleged breaches by Donald Trump of his gag order, and the court was shown social media posts by Michael Cohen, where he criticised Trump.

The court sketch below shows a post with a doctored image of the former president in a prison jumpsuit.

Trump's team say it is unfair their client cannot respond to such posts, because of his gag order.

Cohen has since said he will no longer post about Trump until after the trial.

Image source, Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

One thing prosecutors have been trying to do with Davidson’s testimony is connect the hush-money payment to Trump.

Davidson testified earlier that he believed that Donald Trump was the source of the funds.

To make the connection today, prosecutors have asked Davidson to share how he understood some of his conversations with Cohen.

Around the time Davidson was finalizing the hush-money payment with Cohen, Trump’s lawyer told him, "I’ll just do it myself.”

When they made the deal, Davidson told prosecutors he believed Cohen meant that he would do it instead of having Trump pay it directly.

In a post-2016 election phone call Cohen told him he had not been reimbursed, Davidson testified.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Tales of celebrity scandal and the defence's tense questioning captivated a room full of reporters, as well as Donald Trump and the 12-person jury for much of the morning.

During his cross-examination of Stormy Daniels’ ex-lawyer, Emil Bove from Trump's legal team has dragged up a host of famous celebrity dramas from the past decade, including Hulk Hogan's sex tape and Lindsey Lohan’s stint in rehab.

When he grilled Davidson about his potential role in all of the dramas, Bove grew testy with what he saw as avoidant answers.

“Im not here to play lawyer games,” he told Davidson at one point.

Bove says he only needs another hour to finish his cross-examination after lunch.

If it's anything like this morning, it should be action packed.

Don't miss it and continue following BBC's live coverage here. You can also read back on how the celebrity gossip ties in to the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

And with that, we’re off to lunch.

This morning in court has proven to be one of the most dramatic days of testimony so far.

Emil Bove says he will need about another hour to conclude cross-examination, which means we may see another witness today.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Emil Bove has brought up hush-money agreements that Keith Davidson has brokered for various celebrities.

He asked the lawyer if he has ever familiarised himself with extortion laws, and Davidson replies that he has not.

Trump’s attorney tried to get Davidson to talk about one agreement his client reached with actor Charlie Sheen.

Davidson invoked attorney-client privilege, but pushed back against Bove’s framing that he tried to "extract" or extort money from Sheen.

There was harmful "activity committed and there were valid settlements executed", he insisted.

With the line of questioning, Trump’s lawyers seem to be trying to portray Davidson as a somewhat notorious Hollywood figure.

Davidson isn’t making it easy for him, frequently invoking attorney-client privilege, claiming he can’t recall, or refusing to answer some questions.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

More and more celebrity scandals are coming up in court today.

Now, we’re hearing about professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, who sued Gawker Media in 2013 for publishing portions of a sex tape between him and Heather Clem, who was the wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge.

That lawsuit, which was funded by billionaire Peter Thiel, eventually led to Gawker going bankrupt.

Later, the National Enquirer published information related to the tapes, Bove says.

Bove asks Davidson: Did you or did you not provide information to National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard so that he could break information about the tapes?

Davidson denies this.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Somehow, Lindsey Lohan and reality star Tila Tequila have been dragged into the conversation in court today.

Emil Bove is asking Keith Davidson about his relation to TMZ leaking information about Lohan’s time in rehab.

“I don’t recall,” Davidson replies to some of Bove’s questions on the matter.

“Is it fair to say that your memory seems to be a little fuzzy on these issues?” Bove says.

“I’ve had over 1,500 clients in my career,” Davidson responds, adding that Bove is asking him about matters from many years ago.

Testimony continues to turn tense.

Davidson is getting frustrated by Bove's questions, and Bove is taking issue with his avoidant responses.

“We’re both lawyers. I’m not here to play lawyer games with you,” Bove says.

"If you're not here to play legal games, don't say 'extract,'" Davidson replies, referring to a moment from earlier today when Trump's lawyer said Davidson was trying to "extract" money.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Trump seems to be following the cross examination closely.

He's turned in his seat towards his lawyer Emil Bove, who is questioning Keith Davidson.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

After a brief sidebar with the judge over an objection, Trump's lawyer Emil Bove is continuing his line of questioning.

Bove notes that Keith Davidson said Michael Cohen could be an “aggressive guy”.

“You can be an aggressive guy too, can’t you?” Bove asks.

“I suppose,” Davidson replies.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Bove is employing a strategy typical of most cross-examinations and one he has used previously - asking short yes-or-no questions.

To start, he’s asking Keith Davidson about Playboy model Karen McDougal.

McDougal described her hush-money agreement with tabloid publisher American Media Inc as a dream deal, right? Bove asks.

Yes she did, Davidson replies.

Bove is now asking about Stormy Daniels.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Jurors, Donald Trump and the judge have walked back into the room.

Trump's attorney Emil Bove is now questioning Keith Davidson.

"You've never spoken to Trump, right? Bove asks.

"Never," Davidson says.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Keith Davidson, himself a lawyer, isn’t being a hostile witness.

But he certainly makes prosecutors work hard.

He frequently cites attorney-client privilege and gives narrowly tailored answers.

Davidson often makes prosecutor Joshua Steinglass ask a series of incremental questions to get at the overall response he’s looking for.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump just walked out of the court room for the break, but before then we were hearing from Stormy Daniels' former lawyer.

In January 2018, Stormy Daniels went on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show to discuss the allegations she was paid hush-money to not speak about a sexual encounter with Trump.

Keith Davidson testifies that he had her sign an additional denial statement while she was getting ready for the taping in the Marilyn Monroe suite at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

“I am not denying this affair because I was paid ‘hush-money’ as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids,” the statement said.

“I am denying this affair because it never happened.”

Davidson testifies that what he wrote was technically true – Daniels alleges she had sex with Trump, not a relationship or an affair.

But on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Daniels implied the signature wasn’t hers and coyly answered questions about the allegations.

Behind the scenes, Cohen was livid. He texted Davidson about what was going on, to which Daniels’ lawyer replied: “wtf.”

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

Despite the colourful details contained in the text messages and phone calls that witness Keith Davidson is recalling right now, things are fairly calm at court today.

Donald Trump is seated in his usual spot at the defence table, and jurors are glancing between the prosecutors and Davidson at the stand.

Some are diligently taking notes, while others look a little bored.

Trump has been whispering with lawyer Todd Blanche on his left from time to time, but he is otherwise sitting still.

Court has just taken a short break, but stick with us. We have some more details to bring you from Keith Davidson's testimony.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We're hearing more about the fallout from the Wall Street Journal's article, when it discovered Stormy Daniels' hush-money.

Cohen considered allowing Stormy Daniels to go on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show to deny the payment, the court hears.

“He, Michael Cohen, thought that Stormy going on Hannity would somehow help… that she would further deny the interaction,” witness Keith Davidson says.

Ultimately, though, she did not go on Fox.

“Keith, the wise men all believe the story is dying and don’t think it’s smart for her to do any interviews,” Cohen wrote to Davidson in a message, which was just shown to the court.

It was another one of Cohen’s “pants on fire” crisis stages, Davidson claims.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

The Wall Street Journal eventually found out about the hush-money deal and would go on to write a story, external, which is something that has come up in court today.

The newspaper reached out to Stormy Daniels for comment about the alleged sexual encounter and payout. Prosecutors are now walking Keith Davidson through the behind-the-scenes haggling with Cohen over the adult film star's response.

After Davidson tipped off Cohen to the story in a text, Trump's then lawyer demanded Daniels deny it.

Davidson crafted a statement for Daniels to sign, where she stated with “complete clarity that this is absolutely false".

The court hears that Davidson wrote it in such a way that Daniels would not be explicitly lying to the newspaper, while also technically providing a denial.

Remember, under the terms of the hush-money deal, Daniels couldn’t talk about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump or else she could face serious financial consequences.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Now we’re hearing about a phone call between Keith Davidson and Michael Cohen from just after the 2016 election. It seems to be a bit of a turning point for Cohen and Trump’s relationship.

“I can’t believe I’m not going to Washington,” Davidson says Cohen told him over the phone. “I’ve saved that guy’s ass so many times, you don’t even know.”

“You know, I never even got paid,” Cohen adds, according to Davidson. “That [expletive] guy’s not even paying me the $130,000 back,” referencing Stormy Daniels' hush-money.

Cohen and Trump had been close allies, and Cohen once even said he would "take a bullet" for Trump. But that relationship imploded after the election.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

We’ve just revisited the Wall Street Journal article that revealed how AMI, the tabloid publisher, bought the rights to Karen McDougal’s allegations of an affair with Donald Trump - and prevented her from speaking publicly about it.

Keith Davidson was also McDougal’s lawyer at the time, and helped negotiate the former Playboy model's deal.

“He was very upset that the article had been published,” Davidson says of Cohen.

Davidson tells the court that Cohen also told him “the boss” would be very upset, and might sue McDougal.

He tells prosecutors he took “the boss” to mean Trump, and says their frustration about the timing of the article was because of the “close proximity to election of 2016”.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We’re going over text messages that Keith Davidson sent while the US presidential election results were being finalised in the early hours of the morning back in 2016.

“What have we done?” Davidson texted National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard.

Asked to explain the texts to the courtroom, Davidson says: “As the results were coming in, there was sort of surprise amongst the broadcasters …that Donald Trump was leading in the polls,” he says.

“There was an understanding that our efforts... may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump,” he tells the court.

“Oh my god,” Dylan Howard responded, according to Davidson.