New York: Donald Trump’s Hush Money Trial will once again see Stormy Daniels return to witness stand. The adult star, who says she had sex with Trump in 2006, testified for almost five hours on Tuesday, detailing the encounter in graphic detail while the real estate mogul sat idly a few feet away.
Trump, 77 is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment made to Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, when the lurid story of marital infidelity could have sunk his campaign against Hillary Clinton.
The extraordinary faceoff between Daniels and Trump is taking place six months before the November Presidential elections this year where Trump is hopeful to defeat his Democratic Rival Joe Biden and win back Presidency.
The judge had to warn Daniels to slow down at points as she spoke at such a rapid-fire speed during her testimony to the New York jury about her one-night stand with Trump at a celebrity golf tournament. She talked about his boxer shorts, his pyjamas, his sexual position, and the fact that he wasn’t wearing a condom.
And while she was “not threatened verbally or physically” she said she “felt ashamed I didn’t stop it, didn’t say no. Given that Daniels’ evidence was “extremely prejudicial” in what is fundamentally an election- and financial-related matter, Trump’s attorneys requested a mistrial. Trump has denied having sex with Daniels.
Judge Juan Merchan denied the mistrial request but said some of Daniels’ testimony would indeed have been “better left unsaid.” At one point, Merchan also summoned Trump’s attorneys to the bench, claiming that the former president was “cursing audibly” and shaking his head in response to her evidence and that they had to stop him.
Trump’s visible reactions have “the potential to intimidate the witness,” the judge said, and “I won’t tolerate that.” “I will talk to him,” Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s attorneys, promised. After the court adjourned on Tuesday, Trump spoke with reporters, referring to the case as a “disgrace” and stating that he “should be out campaigning right now.”
Trump is under a gag order from Merchan that forbids him from disparaging witnesses in public. The former president, who has been trading barbs with Daniels for years, calling her “horseface” and other derogatory terms, chose not to address Daniels’ testimony directly. Wednesday, Trump bemoaned the gag order in a post on Truth Social, claiming that his “Constitutional Right to Free Speech” had been “unfairly taken” away.
“It is hard to sit back and listen to lies and false statements be made against you knowing that if you respond, even in the most modest fashion, you are told by a Corrupt and Highly Conflicted Judge that you will be PUT IN PRISON, maybe for a long period of time,” he said.
When the court session ended on Tuesday, Daniels was being forcefully cross-examined by Susan Necheles, one of Trump’s attorneys. On Thursday, she will face additional questions. Necheles attempted to undermine Daniels’ credibility by accusing her of attempting to “extort” money from Trump by falsely saying that they had sex.
“False!” Daniels said. Trump has been charged with conspiring to rig the 2020 election results in Georgia and Washington in addition to the New York case. Additionally, he is accused of mishandling secret information in Florida after leaving the White House, but the case has been put on hold indefinitely.
