To quote Stormy Daniels, when somebody attacks me, im going to defend myself. Those were some of the final words from the Adult Film Star before she was excused from the stand in Donald TrumpsHush Money Trial. It is good to be back with you. Im chris jansing, alongside my colleague, andrea mitchell. Defense lawyer suggested she was trying to extort him, and capitalizing on his fame with merchandise, prosecutors for their part pointing out that daniels was the target of nasty, threatening tweets for even coming forward about an alleged affair with donald trump. They asked daniels been telling the truth net positive or net negative in your life. Daniels response, negative. Over the next hour, well bring you live updates from the courtroom, the latest witness who will be back after the lunch break, a bookkeeper at the Trump Organization who handled checks, including of course the key checks, the ones in question in this hush money case. So lets bring in the panel joining us now, nbc National News correspondent Yasmin Vossoughian whos outside the courthouse for us. And also with us, New York Times chief White House Correspondent and msnbc political analyst, peter baker, and here in the studio, two former manhattan assistant d. A. S, Catherine Christian and msnbc legal analyst and jeremy saland, criminal Defense Attorney. The jury went from crossexamination and redirect of Stormy Daniels, the key figure in the case, not legally but sort of dramatically, theatrically to an assistant bookkeeper, a young woman who worked in a supermarket before she was hired by the Trump Organization, and then found herself sending checks, blank checks by fedex to have 1600 pennsylvania avenue. And in many ways shes a more important witness than ms. Daniels was because this is a falsifying Business Records case. And if the prosecution has this jury and the jury Room Debating about whether or not donald trump had sex with that woman, thats a problem. They need to be focused in on did he know what Michael Cohen was doing. Was Michael Cohen rogue. Did he know what cohen and weisselberg were up to. Thats what they should be focusing in, not the hotel room. What happened at the Trump Organization and what happened at trump tower that david pecker talked about. Maybe thats what the defense wants. Maybe the defense would love it, jeremy, if thats what the jury went back in and talked about. They spent the first day talking about whether or not there actually really ever was a real sexual encounter. That helps them. The theory in large part is donald trump, hes a principal, also an accomplice. Its being involved hands on and furthering this conspiracy and this crime. But absolutely to your point, it absolutely helps the defense if this gets a distraction or a sex crime. Its not a sex crime. Its irrelevant. We were discussing how we had the doorman making up a story about a child, which ultimately is not true. Doesnt make a difference. You made the payment because you thought it was going to hurt you. Lets go back to the heart of the case, there are 34 Felony Charges here, and they really go, the question is raised, they were put in as legal expenses. Is that a falsification of Business Records. How does this witness whos going to come back on the stand now in ten minutes or so get us there for the prosecution . She helps establish the authentication, legal word, that each of these 11 checks that donald trump signed, are authentic, gets them into evidence, and theres Ledger Entries and invoices. Those are the 34 counts, checks, Ledger Entries and invoices, and did donald trump and the jury is going to be instructed. Did he make or cause to be made a false entry in the Trump OrganizationBusiness Records and did he do it with the intent to defraud. Sounds like that could go quickly. Thats the crime. What does the defense do . Do they go after her or try to shake her reaction to the checks . We all know that signature . Absolutely. Theyre going to try to make sure that the Chain Of Custody occurred, and she was the person who sent it, and thinks she sent it fedex. That could take five minutes. This is not going to go the same route as Stormy Daniels. Shes here for process. Where do you go next . Youve got her, do you have to go now to, you know, Madeleine Westerhout in the white house, handling the checks. Is there a chain here . There absolutely is a chain, and i would not be ending that chain with Michael Cohen. Someones going to be Michael Cohen is going to come at some point obviously, hooeks not hes not going to be the end. Much of this is spinning the wheels. Whats the big show, what are we doing here. I understand what were going to have to try to figure out, and we understand theres a burden theyre going to have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Do you need to do that before the weekend . I think this case is stat, long winded, too much. Has the prosecution made its case yet, how do they get to that point . Not yet. There is no Michael Cohen, theres no case. Whats the hole he fills and who else might help fill it . Donald trump knew. I wasnt a rogue actor, he told me to pay her off. He knew about allen and i were going to characterize these falsely. Thats the falsified Business Records as legal expenses, and this was done, heres the crime, in order to influence the election because we needed to keep this information away from the electorate. Thats how simple this is. The Defense Attorney is like lets talk about the hotel room. Do either of you think theres any scenario, depending on what happens with Michael Cohen, is there any scenario donald trump would take the Witness Stand . I cant see it. That would be lunacy. If there is not a case made, hes made the case for the prosecution. He would be a fool to get on that stand. His attorneys would be as well. Ill go to yasmin on this. Our lisa rubin noted just a short time ago that Stormy Daniels seemed more prepared today. She was constantly asking, show me where i said that, and then there was this moment, and she even said at one point, youre trying to trick me into saying something thats not entirely true. How do you think the tone of her testimony changed, if at all, over these two days . Reporter it changed tremendously. She seemed unflappable. She was completely prepared. At one point she was turned towards the jury, addressing Susan Necheles in crossexamination, but her body turned toward the jury, confidently, by the way. Not only from her demeanor, but the way in which she looked seemed more prepared, more relaxed as well. Its not like there can be any kind of preparation. Shes in the middle of the system with the attorneys from the prosecution. Nonetheless, she was asking for backup for much of the evidence put forward by Susan Necheles. If you look back to tuesday, that was not something that was happening at all. She was stammering a lot. She was chided repeatedly by judge juan merchan on tuesday, who said repeatedly to her, answer the question precisely, looked to him for guidance. Didnt know if she should continue on or not. Today she seemed prepared at times, as if she was addressing donald trump, i was told, directly, despite the fact that she doesnt have a direct line. There is about a 2 Feet Blockage where shes sitting to where donald trump is sitting at the defense table. In certain instances, as Susan Necheles was cross examining her. By the way, correct me if im wrong, to the attorneys on the panel, this is something that prosecutors would want from their witness who was up there being cross examined by Susan Necheles. One other note i want to make as you were talking about the importance of the witness who will be returning to the stand. I think one of the things thats so important. She completes the circle, right, the way i have been looking at this is kind of like a factory line. You have someone cutting the checks in trump tower. You have the person cutting the checks, taking those checks all the way to rhona graff to be signed by donald trump or taken to rebecca, faxing checks to Madeleine Westerhout, getting the checks over to donald trump, and those to be subsequently shipped back, fedexed back to trump power, completing the kind of circle and why it is. Kind of these witnesses that are not as dramatic, right, are so wildly important to the prosecutions case. And, peter, lets talk about donald trump whom youve written a book about, youre writing another book about. You know him so well. Was rick scott there because this was part of his audition for running mate or whatever, whether that would even ever happen, whether he would fit nit any of the categories being from florida. Is that rick scott or donald trump that needs a validator. Cant have Family Members in a case like this, and wanted somebody to speak for him, because hes so upset about the gag order. Yeah, i mean, you heard him say time and time again the last few weeks that the area around the courthouse is shut down. Where are my supporters, where are my people, where the validators, as you rightly said. Having a prominent republican senator come to court means exactly that. We are still with the nominee of our party, that he is not alone in this, and im sure thats something that matters to former President Trump, no question about it. As you say, such an awkward thing about the family, given the nature of the testimony certainly we have seen today and the last testimony on tuesday about the, you know, cheating on his wife. He denies it of course. Thats painful to a family where theres been a lot of history there of course. Youre not going to see a lot of that in there. And so hes looking for political help. It includes rick scott, this is a court case happening in the middle of a high stakes election. Weve never seen anything like this. We are looking for ways to play to the audience inside the courtroom and writ large. We have this split screen yesterday where the president of the United States was in wisconsin, an all important battleground state, where the republicans are going to have a national convention. Hes giving out, you know, economic benefits, and speaking directly now as hes really ramped up his direct mocking of the president , of the former president , his rival, mocking the president Donald Trumps presidency for having come there and promised something on the site of a business that was never built and saying they had a Ground Breaking with gold shovels and those gold shovels were digging a hole, and he might as well keep digging that hole. Hes really going after him and meanwhile, donald trump is as he would say, trapped in a courtroom. Although, it was wednesday, and not a court day, but he was down in maralago raising money. So President Biden is playing politics in the conventional way in a year thats anything but conventional. It is conventional, normal to see an incumbent president of the United States visit a Battle Ground state and say here are the things im doing, heres money im giving away based on legislation i have passed. Here are the ways im making your life better and the other guys isnt doing it. This is politics has worked 101 for many years. Were not in a normal year. Were in a very unconventional year. People are locked into their voting habits at this point, and changing the minds of a small number of people open for debate is more of a challenge. You are seeing President Biden going at President Trump in a way he was reluctant to do for the first three years of his presidency. Being willing to attack him by name, not just calling him the former guy, and by mocking him not just on his record here he is. Peter, let me interrupt. Donald trump walking back in, not stopping to take questions from reporters. All business now, going after the lunch break. Peter, i interrupted you. Finish your thought there. Again, i was just saying hes willing President Biden to mocker former President Trump not just on his record but personal characteristics in a way that sounds more trumpian than biden like. Mocking trump for his hair, mocking him for sleeping or falling asleep during court. Really having a little bit of fun in a way that has not been his style up until now. And maybe certainly galvanizes democratic voters. I dont know if it changes minds, but at least it gets his own supporters, you know, worked up and into the program. Peter baker, thank you so much. Its always great to talk to you. Weve got a 90 second break coming up. We are moments away from testimony resuming in lower manhattan. Youre watching msnbc special coverage of the trump Hush Money Trial. Always dry scoop before you run. Listen to me, the hot dog diet got me shredded. Its time we listen to science. One a day is formulated with key nutrients to support whole body health. One a day. Science that matters. Nothing dims my light like a migraine. With nurtec odt, i found relief. The only Migraine Medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. To those with migraine, i see you. For the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of Episodic Migraine in adults. Dont take if allergic to nurtec odt. Allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. Most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. Its time we all shine. Talk to a Healthcare Provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. The future is not just going to happen. You have to make it. And if you want a successful business, all it takes is an idea, and now becomes the future. A future where you grew a dream into a reality. Its waiting for you. Mere minutes away. The future is nothing but power and its all yours. The all new godaddy airo. Get your Business Online in minutes with the power of ai. We are back and so is the Hush Money Trial you saw moments ago, donald trump walking back into court, and we are being told by our folks again who are putting stuff into our document in realtime that donald trump entered with his defense team, he was looking at the gallery, motioning to someone, as we told you, there are people there familiar to him, among them jeanine pirro, and senator rick scott, the Prosecution Team is arriving now, but it may be worth looking at catherine and jeremy, What Juan Merchan said just before we went into break. Theyre only going until 4 00 today with the jury, but then hes going to take up several issues related to the preclusion of testimony. They also mentioned mcdougal, who i assume is the second woman who has made accusations against donald trump, and to whom hush money was paid, but who is not at the heart of this case. What would be the back and forth, do you imagine, about this possible witness, Karen Mcdougal. What the defense is arguing, and probably going to wave the Court Of Appeals Decision of Harvey Weinstein in front of the judge, shes too prejudice, the payoff, the 130,000 is part of the concealing of the crime. Ms. Mcdougal, its relevant, its not overly prejudicial, hes not charged with that payoff but the defense is going to argue, we have had ms. Daniels on direct exam go all into sexual positions and sex acts. Now were going to have another woman come and do that, and hes not even charged with that particular payoff, which ami made. So im assuming thats what defense is going to argue, and you Better Believe youre going to hear the Harvey WeinsteinCourt Of Appeals Decision. This is important now because Laura Jarrett is now confirming for us the defense says it is going to renew its previous motion for a mistrial, which goes to exactly what you were talking about, catherine, the fact that all details came in, but what could they say differently before judge merchan that they didnt before. Why would they be renewing a motion for recall. Whether it annoys the judge, it is what it is, its your job to advocate for the people of new york or the federal government, whatever it may be, but what they are going to argue is that its not just prejudicial but establishing a theory of propensity that this guy is a serial sex abuser and there