In a drawing of the courtroom, Stormy Daniels gives testimony while Judge Juan Merchan watches in Manhattan criminal court. A photo of Donald Trump and Daniels from their first meeting is shown on a screen.
The woman at the center of Donald Trump’s legal troubles in New York City testified on Tuesday, attracting a lot of attention.
Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, is an adult content creator who claims to have had an affair with Trump resulting in a hush-money payment from Michael Cohen. The state alleges that Trump directed this payment as part of a criminal cover-up.
The witness’s story is crucial to the case against the 45th president. Prosecutors tried to get explicit details while the defense tried to limit such information, often getting rulings in Trump’s favor.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan addressed concerns from Trump's defense attorney Susan Necheles about Daniels’ testimony possibly including “sexual acts,” according to a report by Adam Klasfeld from Just Security. Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger sought to manage expectations by emphasizing the importance of presenting the alleged sexual activity at a “very basic” level, without reference to specific body parts.
Yet, the reason the Daniels story is significant to Trump’s broader narrative is because it involves an alleged affair with a newly-married man who would become a standard-bearer for a party promoting tradition, leading to accusations of political hypocrisy. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office argues that the perceived political impact of such a scandal was enough to make Trump break the law in order to win an election. in turnSoon after taking the stand, Daniels made a suggestive comment about a hole on a golf course sponsored by a pornography company she worked for in 2006, and then laughed at her own joke. This was reported by Katherine Fung from Newsweek.
During her testimony, Daniels stuck to the details of the interview she gave to In Touch magazine in 2018, which she had initially denied. She mentioned meeting Trump at a celebrity golf tournament and highlighted the significant age difference between them.to corruptIt was at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada, where the two met, Daniels testified, hewing to the details of the
2018 interview she gave to In Touch magazine . by New York Daily News journalist Molly Crane-Newman.
The witness said she was first approached by Trump’s then-bodyguard, Keith Schiller, who conveyed a message from his boss that Trump would like to have dinner with her. Initially, she declined the offer but saved Schiller’s number in her phone’s contact list as “Keith Trump” so she could remember his employer. Right after that, Daniels said, she talked about the offer with her publicist and remembered what she testified were his exact words. “It will make a great story,” her publicist
allegedly informed her . “What could possibly go wrong?” More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Made a boo boo’: Former Trump Organization accounting head explains how the company reimbursed Michael Cohen during hush-money trial testimony
First they had dinner,
Daniels testified
, where Trump compared Daniels favorably to his daughter — to try to persuade her to appear on “The Apprentice,” the NBC game show he hosted at the time. “She is smart and blond and beautiful,” Daniels remembered the defendant say about Ivanka Trump, who was around 24 that year. “You’re not just a dumb bimbo. You’re more than people think.”Eventually, Daniels made her way back to Trump’s suite, which she described as three times the size of her apartment.
Since she drank a lot of water during dinner, she had to use the restroom, the witness said, which Trump directed her to. Once there, she snooped around but said she was not proud of doing so. Inside of a “leather looking” toiletry bag she found a bottle of Pert Plus, Old Spice, some tweezers, and other mundane items,
Daniels remembered When she came out of the bathroom, the witness said, she was surprised to find Trump in his underwear and posing on the bed, according to a report by Law&Crime Network reporter Terri Austin.Daniels testified that she remembered feeling like she misread the situation and made to leave — but Trump wanted her to stay. And, when it came down to it, she said she did, without any physical or verbal threat. At the same time, however, Daniels said she felt like there was an “imbalance of power” in the room because of a decided size differential; Daniels is 5’6″ while Trump is 6’3.”
Throughout her testimony, defense counsel lodged several objections — complaining about the granularity of Daniels’ recollections. During one break, the judge scolded the prosecution for eliciting such minor details, saying they were “just unnecessary.” Another time, defense counsel raised a sidebar to clarify, on the witness’ own word, that there was no alcohol involved on the night in question.
One exchange demonstrated the efforts made by the state, the defense, and the court to limit how detailed Daniels actually got with her descriptions of the alleged encounter — which is to say the state appeared intent to try to get as much as they could into the record while the court and Trump’s team were not having it.
“Did you end up on the bed having sex with him?” Hoffinger asked at one point, according to a report.
by MSNBC personality Katie Phang.
Daniels replied in the affirmative and started with a vivid description that was quickly cut off: “I went to the opposite side of the bed and I had my clothes and shoes off, we were in missionary position–.”
After objecting for a long time, the state managed to get more information.
The prosecutor asked if he used protection.
Daniels answered, saying he didn't. Hoffinger asked if that worried her. Daniels said yes.
The prosecutor inquired if she mentioned it.
Daniels replied no.
Hoffinger asked why not.
Daniels responded that she didn't say anything at all.
There was an objection about whether Daniels touched Trump’s skin during the alleged incident. The witness confirmed that she recalled the sex being brief. After that, she said her hands were shaking and she struggled to get dressed while Trump exclaimed that they were “great” together.
Daniels remembered Trump saying, “Let’s get together again, honey bunch,” as she quickly left his hotel room that night.
As the details of the disputed evening — Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels — were reviewed, along with the processes of memory over time, Merchan reportedly became more and more frustrated.
reportedly got increasingly frustrated
, once again, with the state for its line of questioning. The defense raised several objections that were sustained. A sidebar led to a reportedly animated conversation. The state was forced to move on.
For more than a year, until the summer of 2007, the two occasionally met and spoke on the phone almost every week. Daniels said she always put Trump on speaker phone — without his knowledge — because she and her friends found it “funny.” During some conversations, she said, he was trying to get her to appear on “The Apprentice,” which never happened. At times, she said, Trump made sexual advances, which she declined using various excuses.
Daniels said whenever they spoke, Trump always called her “honey bunch,” and she thought that was “weird.”
Shortly after taking the stand, Daniels made a suggestive joke about a hole on a Lake Tahoe golf course sponsored by a pornography company she worked for in 2006 and then laughed at her own joke.
As the remnants of the disputed evening — Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels — were pored over along with the processes of memory over time, Merchan reportedly grew increasingly frustrated, again, with the state for its line of questioning. The defense raised several objections that were sustained. A sidebar led to a reportedly animated conversation. The state was forced to move on.
For over a year, until the summer of 2007, the two occasionally met and spoke over the phone almost weekly. Daniels said she always put Trump on speaker phone — without his knowledge — because she and her friends thought it was “funny.” During some conversations, she said, he was working to get her to appear on “The Apprentice,” an effort that never panned out. On occasion, she said, Trump made sexual advances which she turned down — with one excuse or another.
When the two spoke with one another, Daniels said, Trump always called her “honey bunch.” She said she thought that was “weird.”