Trump perked up at trial when he saw 'there is some solid evidence against him': expert

Donald Trump perked up when he heard his own voice played aloud in court.

"That was the voice we heard first," said legal analyst Terri Austin during an appearance on CNN's "Out Front." "We were all surprised. I thought we were gonna hear [Michael] Cohen or [Keith] Davidson or someone else — but we heard Trump and I think everybody looked up including Donald Trump because he heard his own voice."

The startling moment came on another day in the Lower Manhattan court where former President Donald Trump is defending himself against 34 charges of fudging business records to hide six-figure payments to an alleged mistress in order to keep sexual tales quiet and manipulate the 2016 election.

The recording is about two minutes long and dated Sept. 6, 2016.

It was captured by Trump's former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen. Both men can be heard conversing.

"I need to open up a company for the transfer for all of that info regarding our friend David," Cohen said in the secretly recorded phone call. "I am all over that, and I spoke to Allen [Weisselberg] about it when it comes time for the financing."

"What financing?" Trump counters.

"We'll have to pay him something," Cohen said.

Cohen was explaining in cryptic terms the purchase the rights to McDougal’s story from The National Enquirer parent company American Media Inc., (AMI).

"Pay with cash ... check," Trump stated, according to the transcript.

Cohen cautions: “No, no!”

Trumps attorney Emil Bove attempted to question the legitimacy of the recording, suggesting because it was coming from Cohen's phone, it may have been "subject to the risk of manipulation."

Austin believes the shift in Trump's body language in court when he heard his own recorded voice amplified for everyone — especially the jury — to listen to was significant.

"I think it means that he knows that there is some solid evidence against him," she said.

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