Ex-attorney for Daniels and McDougal testifies in Trump trial

Former President Donald Trump has removed the social media posts that Judge Juan Merchan ruled violated the gag order he is under for his New York criminal hush money trial.

Trump was fined $9,000 earlier on Tuesday for violating the gag order by criticizing expected trial witnesses nine times in posts on social media and his campaign page.

Trump was ordered to remove the posts by 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday and pay the fine by close of business day on Friday, May 3. 

The links to the Truth Social and campaign website posts now redirect to a “Not found” and a “404” error page, respectively. 

Keith Davidson, an attorney, testified for about an hour prior to a lunch break Tuesday that he signed a contract to represent the actress and model Karen McDougal in her claim that she had a romantic affair with Donald Trump.

On the stand, Davidson went over his text exchange with National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard negotiating the rights to her story in June 2016 amid the presidential race.

"I have a blockbuster trump story,” Davidson wrote to the editor.

"Talk 1st thing. I will get you more than ANYONE for it. You know why…" Howard responded.

Davidson and McDougal were also in conversations with ABC News about telling her story, he testified. However, McDougal “did not want to tell her story” and so preferred the deal with AMI, which would not have required her to speak, Davidson said.

At one point, while Davidson and Howard were negotiating, Davidson wrote, "Throw in an ambassadorship for me. I’m thinking Isle of Man." He said that text was a joke about Trump's presidential run -- "That somehow if Karen did this deal for AMI, that it would help Donald Trump's candidacy."

Davidson will return to the stand at 2:15 p.m. ET

No cameras are allowed inside the Manhattan courtroom where Donald Trump's hush money trial is underway, but sketch artists are capturing the scenes.

The court is taking a lunch break until 2:15 p.m. ET.

Donald Trump has left the courtroom. He passed by court reporters in the hallway without making any remarks.

Former National Enquirer editor and AMI executive Dylan Howard texted Keith Davidson on July 28: "She’ll get more out of a deal with AMI than ABC."

"I need this to happen," Davidson responded over text.

More on this: Earlier, Davidson confirmed he was in discussions with ABC News about a possible deal for Karen McDougal's story.

Keith Davidson testified that at that point in the conversations with former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard, "Karen (McDougal) was teetering between two competing deals."

"And we had requested meetings where each entity could make a pitch as to why they were the correct avenue for Karen," he added.

Keith Davidson is testifying about his first offer to former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.

Davidson's offer to Howard over text was: "How about 1m now," meaning $1 million, he explained. "And 75k per year for next 2 years as a fitness corresponded for ami & ur related pubs."

"I'll take it to them but thinking it's more hundreds than millions," Howard responded over text on July 23. Davidson said he interpreted that warning to mean, "I should expect a counter offer that was substantially less."

Davidson responded by offering $800,000 now and $100,000 per year for a total of $1 million.

Howard's response "leave w/ me" suggested they were not "in the same ballpark," he testified.

“We are going to lay it on thick for her," Howard texted Davidson on July 28, 2016.

Davidson replied, "Good. Throw in an ambassadorship for me. I’m thinking Isle of Mann."

Davidson noted that was a joke.

"It was sort of in jest," Davidson said. "That was just a joke."

Davidson said that the joke was a reference to "Mr. Trump's candidacy."

"That somehow if Karen did this deal for AMI, that it would help Donald Trump's candidacy," he testified.

Keith Davidson is testifying that Karen McDougal "did not want to tell her story."

Davidson says McDougal's goals were to "rejuvenate her career, to make money and to avoid telling the story and being termed the scarlet letter.” She didn't want to be termed "the other woman," he said.

The ABC deal required her to tell her story, so she liked the AMI deal that wouldn't force her to do that, Davidson says. 

"That was one of her stated goals" not to have to tell her story, he says.

In a July 22 text, Keith Davidson texted Dylan Howard: "Don’t forget about Cohen. Time is of the essence. The girl is being cornered by the estrogen mafia."

Testifying about the "estrogen mafia" comment, Davidson called it "a very unfortunate regrettable text I sent."

"That phrase is not one I used or came up with, that was a term I think by one of Karen's associates at that first meeting," Davidson said.