“The folks name Stormy Daniels.”
So started the extraordinary and infrequently uncomfortable testimony of Ms. Daniels, who spent virtually 5 hours in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday recounting her story of a 2006 encounter with Donald J. Trump and the following hush-money cover-up that has change into the bedrock of the prosecutor’s case.
Ms. Daniels spoke shortly and at size about her now notorious first assembly with Mr. Trump at a celeb golf match in Lake Tahoe, Nev., generally veering off subject, which opened her to objections by the protection.
After the lunch break, Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche moved for a mistrial, calling Ms. Daniels’s testimony prejudicial and arguing the prosecution’s questions for her had been designed to embarrass Mr. Trump and “inflame this jury.”
The decide, Juan M. Merchan, agreed that a few of Ms. Daniels’s graphic testimony “might have been higher left unsaid,” however denied a mistrial.
The previous president is accused of falsifying enterprise information to cowl up a $130,000 fee to Ms. Daniels simply earlier than the 2016 election. Mr. Trump, 77, has denied the costs and says he didn’t have intercourse with Ms. Daniels. If convicted, he might face jail time or probation.
Listed here are 5 takeaways from Mr. Trump’s thirteenth day on trial.
Prosecutors took a danger with their witness.
Jurors heard a vivid account of the Lake Tahoe encounter and met the lady who acquired the hush-money deal. The influence might be profound, and might be a danger for prosecutors, relying on whether or not the jury acquired Ms. Daniels’s story of Mr. Trump’s actions as prurient or highly effective.
She described assembly Mr. Trump on the 2006 golf occasion and accepting his dinner invitation after her publicist stated: “What might presumably go mistaken?”
She recalled that Mr. Trump was sporting pajamas when she met him at his resort suite, and she or he requested him to alter. They mentioned the porn business, and he requested about residuals, unions and sexual illness testing.
She stated they talked about his household, together with his daughter, and he likened her to Ms. Daniels — “Folks underestimate her as nicely,” Ms. Daniels recounted. In addition they mentioned his spouse, and Mr. Trump stated they didn’t “even sleep in the identical room.” He prompt Ms. Daniels would possibly seem on “The Apprentice.”
When she later emerged from the lavatory, Ms. Daniels discovered him partially undressed, she stated. The intercourse was consensual, she stated, however there was an influence “imbalance.”
The motive for the payoff is some extent of rivalry.
Prosecutors requested Ms. Daniels a few 2018 assertion during which she denied the sexual encounter. Ms. Daniels stated that she had not wished to signal it and that it was not true.
The protection attorneys, capitalizing on what they appear to understand as Ms. Daniels’s shortcomings as a witness, got here out blazing. Susan Necheles, a protection legal professional, implied in her cross-examination that Ms. Daniels was making an attempt to “extort cash” from the previous president.
Ms. Daniels replied sharply: “False.”
Daniels’s story bothers Trump.
Earlier than courtroom even began Tuesday morning, Trump telegraphed his frustration with Ms. Daniels by posting an indignant message on Fact Social, saying he had simply discovered a few coming witness and including his attorneys had “no time” to organize. The publish was eliminated shortly thereafter, presumably due to considerations over violating the gag order.
Mr. Trump, who has spent many moments of the trial along with his eyes closed, remained attentive for a part of the day, usually displaying a bitter expression on his face. He frequently whispered to his attorneys and at one level mouthed an expletive.
However by the afternoon, he had returned to his behavior of closing his eyes, even throughout a combative cross-examination.
Daniels’s credibility is a hurdle for prosecutors.
Ms. Daniels’s motivations are a significant focus of the protection. In a pointy second, Ms. Necheles confronted Ms. Daniels about her hatred of the previous president, at one level asking whether or not she wished him to go to jail. Ms. Daniels responded: “I need him to be held accountable.”
Ms. Necheles additionally requested Ms. Daniels about getting cash by claiming to have had intercourse with Mr. Trump. Ms. Daniels responded that “I’ve been getting cash by telling my tales,” later including “it has additionally value me some huge cash.”
Trump’s phrases hang-out him.
Prosecutors have tried a number of occasions to make use of Mr. Trump’s prior statements in opposition to him.
Earlier than Ms. Daniels testified Tuesday, a witness learn aloud passages of books by Mr. Trump. Some spoke to his frugality: “Each greenback counts in enterprise, and for that matter, each dime.”
Others spoke to his penchant for revenge.
“For a few years I’ve stated that if somebody screws you, screw them again,” the witness learn. The passage continued: “When anyone hurts you, simply go after them as viciously and as violently as you possibly can. Prefer it says within the Bible, a watch for a watch.”
Not lengthy after, considered one of his enemies — Ms. Daniels — took the stand. Her cross-examination resumes on Thursday.