Stormy Daniels Testifies And Revealing Sexual Encounter with Trump in Hush Money Trial

Adult film actor Stormy Daniels went to court to talk about something that happened between her and Donald Trump, the former president. She said that in 2006, they had a sexual meeting in a hotel room, and they stayed in touch from 2006 to 2008. Trump says this didn’t happen. Trump’s lawyers asked the judge to stop the trial, but the judge said no.

Stormy Daniels, who is also called Stephanie Clifford, is one of two women the prosecutors say Donald Trump paid money to during his first campaign for president to keep quiet. She will keep talking in court on Thursday.

Even though the judge, Merchan, said no to stopping the trial, he did agree that some things Stormy Daniels said shouldn’t have been said. This morning, Merchan listened to Trump’s lawyers and agreed with them about some parts of Daniels’ talk being too much.

Before she spoke again in the afternoon, the judge told the lawyers on the side of the government to tell Stormy Daniels to keep her answers shorter and to the point.

The lawyers for the government said that Stormy Daniels talked about those details to show she’s believable and to explain why Donald Trump wanted her to keep quiet with a legal agreement and $130,000.

The ex-president had to go to court because New York law said he had to be there for questioning. He was sitting in the courtroom, which is like a big room where legal stuff happens, waiting to speak. Next to him was his son, Eric Trump. They were there because the law said they had to be.

The ex-president is in some serious trouble. He’s facing a whopping 34 felony charges. They’re saying he messed with New York business records to hide some stuff that could’ve hurt him during the 2016 presidential election. But get this, he’s saying he didn’t do anything wrong and pleaded not guilty.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. He’s also running for president again in 2024, but this trial is messing up his plans big time. See, he’s got to be in court every single day, which means he can’t hit the campaign trail and meet with voters like he wants to. He’s even calling the trial itself “election interference” because it’s getting in the way of his bid for president.

Witnesses Heard from by the Jury:

The jury has listened to 12 people who came to speak. These folks were called by the prosecutors, the ones who are accusing the ex-president. They shared their stories and gave their side of the story during the trial.

1. David Pecker, former CEO of American Media Inc., talked about a deal he made with Trump and Cohen in 2015 to help Trump’s campaign by finding and burying damaging stories.
2. Keith Davidson, former lawyer for McDougal and Daniels, verified text messages and conversations regarding payments for their stories.
3. Hope Hicks, former Trump campaign and White House official, spoke about Trump’s reaction to press reports on payments and affairs.
4. Jeffrey McConney, former controller for the Trump Organization, verified financial documents and emails related to payments from Trump to Cohen.
5. Rhona Graff, longtime executive assistant at the Trump Organization, testified about entering McDougal’s and Daniels’ contact info into the Trump Organization’s directory.
6. Gary Farro, former banker at First Republic Bank, talked about opening accounts for Cohen, possibly unaware of their purpose.
7. Robert Browning, executive director for C-SPAN, verified campaign clips where Trump called Cohen a talented lawyer and allegations lies.
8. Phillip Thompson of Esquire Deposition Solutions verified a deposition video where Trump confirms details about himself.
9. Doug Daus, supervising forensics analyst, authenticated phone data and played a recording of Cohen and Trump.
10. Georgia Longstreet, paralegal, analyzed Trump’s social media posts.
11. Deborah Tarasoff, accounts payable supervisor at the Trump Organization, testified about the check and reimbursement process.
12. Keith Schiller, former Trump bodyguard and confidante, testified about the handling of Trump’s personal documents.

Trump Lawyers’ Questions:

Trump’s lawyer, Susan Necheles, had some tough questions for Daniels during the trial. She asked about Daniels’ past social media posts, her owing money for legal fees to the ex-president. The interviews she did about the supposed sexual encounter and settlement with Trump.

Basically, Necheles was trying to make Daniels look less trustworthy by pointing out times. When she might have changed her story.

Necheles brought up how Daniels talked about her interactions with Trump differently at various times. For instance, in one of her books. She mentioned meeting Trump in 2006 but didn’t mention anything about the alleged sexual encounter.

Daniels explained that the book editor wanted her to imply that the sex wasn’t consensual, but she didn’t want to do that. So, there were differences in what she said at different times, but she had her reasons for it.

During the trial, Necheles continued her tough questioning of Daniels. She wanted to know if Daniels had made any money from sharing her story about Trump. Daniels responded by saying that it had actually cost her a lot of money.

Necheles didn’t stop there. She brought up an allegation from 2011 where Daniels claimed she threatened in a parking lot while with her baby. Necheles tried to get Daniels to admit that she made the whole thing up. But Daniels stood her ground, saying it wasn’t true.

Necheles also revisited an earlier line of questioning where Daniels’ former lawyer, Keith Davidson, asked about extortion. Which pressed Daniels, asking if she wanted to extort Trump. Daniels vehemently denied this, yelling “False!” to make her point clear.

Who is Stormy Daniels & Role in the Prosecution’s Case?

Daniels, known for her work in adult films, received a hefty $130,000 payment from Trump’s lawyer, Cohen, back in 2016. Just as Trump was starting his presidential campaign. Daniels claims that she had a relationship with Trump after he married to Melania and shortly after their son Barron born.

Even though Trump has repeatedly denied any affair took place, in 2018, Cohen confessed to making the payments. Trump eventually admitted that Cohen acted on his behalf in the matter, after initially denying any involvement.

In the same year, Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws at the federal level, among other charges. He sentenced to three years in federal prison.

In 2018, attention turned to the payment made by Cohen to Daniels. As it was suspected of breaking campaign finance regulations. Trump’s stance has consistently been that the payment wasn’t related to the election at all. Instead, he claims it was to safeguard his marriage and family, asserting that Cohen acted independently.

However, prosecutors see it differently. They argue that the payments breached a New York law prohibiting illegal collaborations to “promote” a candidate. They allege that a subsequent $420,000 reimbursement to Cohen was falsely labeled in Trump’s business records as a “legal retainer,” aimed at concealing the unlawful payment.

During the trial’s opening statements, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo laid out their strategy. He indicated they would present evidence detailing how payments were figured out and masked for tax reasons. Colangelo emphasized a key point, portraying Trump as a shrewd businessman who typically pinches pennies.

However, when it came to reimbursing Cohen, Trump allegedly didn’t haggle over the price. Instead, Colangelo claimed, Trump doubled the amount to facilitate disguising it as income.

Colangelo also pointed out that if news of an affair with a porn star had surfaced during the campaign, it could have seriously harmed Trump’s chances of winning. He suggested that Trump’s motive for keeping the affair quiet was to stop American voters from finding out about it before Election Day.

Colangelo also clarified that there was no formal retainer agreement in place. Instead, he claimed it was a scheme they thought up to repay Cohen discreetly. Colangelo detailed how Cohen submitted 11 fake invoices, all paid with checks containing false information, signed by Trump himself.

On the defense side, attorney Todd Blanche aimed to cast doubt on the credibility of some of the prosecution’s key witnesses. He particularly targeted Cohen, highlighting his past perjury convictions. Blanche also took aim at Daniels, highlighting her recent documentary and the defamation lawsuit Trump won against her, suggesting she might have motives beyond just seeking justice.