Trump trial: Stormy Daniels tells (almost) all about alleged sexual encounter with Trump
Donald Trump watched Stormy Daniels testify on Day 13 of his hush money trial.
Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
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Defense suggests Daniels is making up her story
Defense attorney Susan Necheles asked Stormy Daniels a line of questions about what details Daniels included and omitted from her 2018 book, based on some of what she said today court.
At one point Necheles directly asked if Daniels was simply making up her story about Trump.
"You are making this up as you sit there?" Necheles said.
"No," Daniels forcefully responded.
"The whole story was made up, wasn't it?" Necheles said.
"None of it is made up," Daniels responded.
For most of the cross-examination, Donald Trump, at the defense table, has been sitting back in his chair and angled toward the witness stand. His eyes are frequently closed, and he rarely confers with his lawyers.
Defense suggests Daniels has profited from her story
Defense attorney Susan Necheles is attempting to suggest that Daniels has profited from what defense attorneys have argued is a false claim of a sexual encounter.
"You have been making money by claiming you had sex with Donald Trump for more than a decade?" Necheles asked.
"I have been making money by telling my story about what happened to me," Daniels responded.
"And that story has made you a lot of money, right?" Necheles followed up.
"It has also cost me a lot of money," Daniels said.
Judge steps in during heated cross-examination
Judge Merchan has had to intervene on multiple occasions to play the role of mediator as the back-and-forth between Stormy Daniels and defense Susan Necheles has grown heated.
When Daniels at one point started to speak unprompted, Necheles snapped: "OK, Miss Daniels, you understand there's no question pending, right?"
That prompted the judge to instruct Daniels, "Please wait until there's a question asked, and then you can answer the question."
At various points when prosecutors have objected to Necheles' line of questions, Daniels shoots her head to her right toward Merchan, who sits less than five feet away from her.
She stares at Merchan until he rules on the objection, then continues her testimony where she left off.
Daniels pressed on calling Trump names
Stormy Daniels raised her voice at one point during a testy exchange with defense attorney Susan Necheles.
Necheles showed Daniels a Tweet she wrote that said, "I don't owe him s--- and I'll never give that orange turd a dime."
A few jurors cracked smiles when Nicheles read aloud one of Daniels' tweets, in which she called Trump an "orange turd."
"That's you calling President Trump names, correct?" Necheles asked.
"In retaliation for him calling me names," Daniels responded.
"You call him names all the time, right?" Necheles asked. "You despise him."
Daniels responded that she was countering the names he called her that the jury previously saw, namely Horseface and Sleazebag.
"Cause he made fun of me first," Daniels said.
"So one of you started it and you both continued it?" Necheles said.
'Oh my god' Daniels says of her reaction to Trump on bed
Stormy Daniels said that Trump was on the bed when she came out of the bathroom.
"Mr. Trump had come into the bedroom and was on the bed, basically between myself and the exit," Daniels said.
Trump was wearing his "boxer shorts and T-shirt," she said.
"I felt that the room spun in slow motion. I felt the blood basically leave my hand and feet," Daniels said. "Oh my god, what did I misread to get here."
"What was your reaction to seeing him like that?," Hoffinger asked.
"First I was just startled, like a jump scare," Daniels said.
"I think I blacked out," Daniels said about her memory of the interaction. She affirmed that she was not drinking or on drugs during the exchange.
One juror, who had been writing down notes, looked up from his page and raised his eyebrows as Daniels recalled the sight of Trump on his bed.
Trump motioned to his attorney Susan Necheles to object as Daniels began to describe what transpired before the two became intimate, which she did. The judge summoned both parties to the bench.
The objection is sustained, said the judge.