Trump, 77, is accused of falsifying business documents so he could repay his lawyer Michael Cohen the $130,000 he paid Daniels for her silence in 2016. on the eve of an election in which Trump faced off against Hillary Clinton, when the infidelity story could have buried his campaign.
When prosecutor Susan Hoffinger called Daniels to testify, she provided details about her sexual contact with Trump, including his briefs, his sex position and the fact that he was not wearing a condom.
D. Trump denies the affair. His lawyers unsuccessfully sought a mistrial, citing the “extremely damaging” nature of Daniels’ testimony.
Speaking to reporters after that day’s hearing, Trump called the proceedings “disgraceful” and said he should be campaigning right now.
He did not directly comment on Daniels’ testimony.
But during the trial, Judge Juan Merchan told Trump’s lawyers that the former Republican president was “audibly cursing” and shaking his head. He warned that such behavior “could intimidate the witness” and would not be tolerated.
Mr. Merchan had previously prohibited Mr. Trump from publicly attacking witnesses.
Trump is currently facing four criminal charges. He also got some good news on Tuesday when a federal judge in Florida indefinitely delayed the start of a trial on charges of mishandling classified documents.
“The intentions were clear enough”
The extraordinary confrontation between S. Daniels and D. Trump in court took place half a year before the election in which he will try to defeat President Joe Biden.
Daniels, 45, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. She was 27 at the time and Trump was “probably older than my father,” she claimed, adding that she reluctantly agreed to have dinner with the real estate mogul.
When she arrived at Mr. Trump’s penthouse, he appeared wearing “silk or satin pajamas that I immediately scoffed at,” Daniels told jurors. “I said, ‘Does Mr. Hefner know you stole his pajamas?'” she said, referring to the outfit favored by the late Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.
Trump changed clothes and the two talked about adult movies, Daniels continued. She added that Trump was “very interested in the business side.”
Trump, who was married to his wife Melania at the time, offered Daniels a role on his hit reality show The Apprentice, she said. Daniels noted that at some point she went to the bathroom, and when she left, Trump was lying on the bed wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
“It stunned me,” she said. “The intentions were clear enough.”
“I was not threatened verbally or physically,” Daniels said.
She said the two had brief sex on a bed in a “missionary position” and Trump was not wearing a condom.
“I was ashamed that I didn’t stop it, I didn’t say no,” she testified.
Chaos
Daniels noted that she met Trump a few more times, but cut ties when it became clear she would not be appearing on The Apprentice.
When Trump announced his presidential ambitions, Daniels said her publicist shared with her the contacts of Hollywood lawyer Keith Davidson so she could “sell” her story.
“My motivation was not money, but the desire to publicize the story,” S. Daniels testified.
She said that in 2016 in October, on the eve of the elections, concluded a non-disclosure agreement, which was negotiated by K. Davidson and M. Cohen. She was allegedly paid 130,000 US dollars for this.
During a tense cross-examination, Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles accused Daniels of trying to “extort” Trump’s money.
“Not true,” Daniels responded.
“You make money claiming you had sex with Donald Trump?” Necheles asked.
“No,” Daniels replied. “I made money telling a story about what happened to me.”
In addition to the cases in New York and Florida, Trump has also been indicted in Washington and Georgia for allegedly plotting to alter the 2020 presidential election. election results.
The hush money trial will continue on Thursday. Daniels will return to the witness stand.
