Trump faces prospect of additional sanctions in hush money trial as key witness resumes testimony

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump faces the prospect of additional sanctions in his hush money trial as he returns to court Thursday for another contempt hearing followed by testimony from a lawyer who represented two women who have said they had sexual encounters with the former president.

The testimony from attorney Keith Davidson is seen as a vital building block for the prosecution’s case that Trump and his allies schemed to bury unflattering stories in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. He is one of multiple key players expected to be called to the stand in advance of prosecutors’ star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer.

What to know about Trump’s hush money trial:

• Catch up on highlights from Day 9 of Trump’s hush money trial as testimony resumes.
• Trump is the first ex-president on criminal trial. Here’s what to know about the hush money case.
• A jury of his peers: A look at how jury selection will work in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial.
• Trump is facing four criminal indictments, and a civil lawsuit. You cantrack all of the cases here.

Prosecutors are seeking $1,000 fines for each of four comments by Trump that they say violated a judge’s gag order barring him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others closely connected to the case. Such a penalty would be on top of a $9,000 fine that Judge Juan M. Merchan imposed on Tuesday related to nine separate gag order violations that he found.

It was not immediately clear when Merchan might rule on the request for fresh sanctions, but the prospect of further punishment underscores the challenges Trump the presidential candidate is facing in adjusting to the role of criminal defendant subject to rigid courtroom protocol that he does not