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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Trump watches as another longtime employee takes stand
As Deborah Tarasoff took the witness stand, Donald Trump watched expressionless as another one of his longtime employees began her testimony.
Unlike controller Jeffrey McConney, who testified this morning, Tarasoff remains an employee of the Trump Organization, where she has worked for 24 years.
Tarasoff, whose legal bills are being footed by the Trump Organization, is being questioned by prosecutor Christopher Conroy.
Longtime Trump employee Deborah Tarasoff to take stand
All parties are back in the courtroom for the day's afternoon session, where prosecutors are preparing to call longtime Trump Organization employee Deborah Tarasoff as their next witness.
Tarasoff worked as an accounts payable supervisor at the Trump Organization when Michael Cohen submitted invoices in 2017 to be reimbursed for the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels. A direct report to controller Jeffrey McConney, Tarasoff processed and labeled the invoices as "legal expenses."
In his opening statement, defense attorney Todd Blanche argued that Tarasoff was just following orders when she labeled the invoices.
Before Tarasoff takes the stand, defense lawyers are first objecting to the evidence prosecutors plan to introduce during her testimony.
Jurors appear engaged with accounting testimony
The day's morning session was marked by laborious testimony about invoices, legers, and tax documents -- but the jurors appeared surprisingly engaged following two weeks of testimony involving sex scandals and crisis management.
Many jurors this morning took copious notes and looked back and forth at witness Jeff McConney on the stand and the lawyers questioning him.
When the handwritten notes on Michael Cohen's repayments appeared on the courtroom monitors, many jurors appeared lasered in. One juror placed their elbow on the armrest and rested their head on their hand, staring intently into the monitor in front of them.
But as testimony stretched into hours, and prosecutors put accounting document after accounting document onto the screen, at least some jurors' minds appeared to wander. One juror rubbed his eyes and another slumped down in his seat, rested his cheek in his palm and sighed deeply.
"What is a 1099?" a prosecutor asked at one point, prompting a juror to rub his forehead tightly.
Under re-direct, McConney says he was following orders
Before ending his cross-examination, defense attorney Emil Bove attempted to pour cold water on a small narrative element prosecutors advanced about the location of handwritten notes containing arithmetic related to the reimbursing of Michael Cohen.
Then-CFO Allen Weisselberg, who jotted down the notes, ordered McConney to put the notes in a locked cabinet, McConney said earlier, suggesting that the document was intended to remain secret.
But Bove argued that "the reason that cabinet was locked was because the payroll book" was inside of it, containing sensitive information about employee salaries, bonuses and social security numbers.
"It's not that these notes were particularly sensitive," Bove said. "You locked the drawer to keep that sort of sensitive information secure?"
Furthermore, Bove asked, "Isn't it a fact that most of the drawers in your office were locked?"
McConney confirmed this, and said he had "a lot of sensitive information" in his office.
During a brief re-direct examination, prosecutors attempted to distance McConney from the agreement to reimburse Cohen for the Stormy Daniels payment and suggest that McConney was just following orders.
"Did you participate in any conversations with Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Weisselberg?" prosecutor Matthew Colangelo asked.
"No sir," McConney said.
"This was all happening above your head?" Colangelo asked.
"Yes," McConney said.
"You were told something and you did it?" the prosecutor asked.
"Yes," McConney responded.
Court subsequently recessed for the lunch break.
'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.