Justice #Merchan admonished #StormyDaniels for going off topic & told her to “just answer the questions,” a notable sign of disapproval.
Merchan sustains a defense objection. Susan Hoffinger, the prosecutor, objects, saying that Daniels’s answer was directly responsive to her question. Then, the judge again scolds Daniels, telling her again to keep her answers short & to the point. He then reverses himself & overrules the objection.
Tuesday 7 May 2024 #TrumpTrial 🧵
#StormyDaniels Is Expected to #Testify today
Daniels, who received $130k in #HushMoney to keep silent about her story of having had sex with #Trump, is at the center of the case against him.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal
#Trump posted an angry message on TruthSocial saying he’d just learned who the next witness was [#StormyDaniels] & that his lawyers had “no time” to prepare.
The post remained up for 30 mins before Trump removed it, probably bc it was another violation of the #GagOrder & #jail is fully on the table.
Reportedly, Trump hates deleting posts — he sees it as a sign of weakness 🙄.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #StochasticTerrorism #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
It will be the 1st time #Trump & #StormyDaniels see each other face to face since her accusations. He denies they had sex. Daniels has spoken about him & his body in a pretty let’s go w/ “candid” way.
In her book Full Disclosure she wrote that whenever she saw him on TV for years she’d think:
“‘I had sex with that,’ I’d say to myself. Eech.”
#TrumpTrial #law
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/18/stormy-daniels-tell-all-book-on-trump-salacious-detail-and-claims-of-cheating
Stormy Daniels' tell-all book on Trump: salacious detail and claims of cheating
Exclusive: pornographic actor says Trump ‘didn’t want to be president’ in her book Full DisclosureTom McCarthy (The Guardian)
Back to court
#Trump did not answer reporters’s questions about his morning Truth Social post.
One of Trump's lawyers, Susan #Necheles, appears to be taking her seat to Trump’s right— suggesting she will be the one to cross-examine #StormyDaniels.
Show’s about to start, doubt Trump will be sleeping today.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #StochasticTerrorism #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#StormyDaniels is expected to be the second witness today.
#Trump's lawyer #Necheles, begins by objecting to Daniels testifying, including “any details” of any “sexual act.”
Susan Hoffinger, a prosecutor, is arguing that these details are key to the case — & that this issue has already been settled. She says that details that are too salacious will not be admitted, but that the story is “significant” & important to prosecutors in terms of Daniels’s credibility.
#Trump keeps trying to talk to #Nechele while she’s lodging objections to prosecutors arguments as to why they should be able to question #StormyDaniels on “some details” so, he talks to his other lawyer, Todd #Blanche.
Susan #Hoffinger, a prosecutor, clarifies that Daniels will not describe “genitalia.”
Justice #Merchan concedes that Daniels’s may have “credibility issues,” but that it’s up to the jury to determine that.
Merchan seems a little nervous.
The first #witness today is #SallyFranklin, who works at Penguin Random House, a publisher.
[#StormyDaniels is the 2nd]
Franklin is a #CustodialWitness — here to verify facts that Trump's lawyers have not agreed to — she will testify about 2 books that #Trump wrote, including “Trump: How to Get Rich” & “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire,” both published by Ballantine, a Penguin Random House imprint.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
The cover of #Trump’s book, “How to Get Rich,” is displayed for the jury.
The book cover includes the tagline: “Big deals from the star of The Apprentice.”
The book is described on Amazon as a tell-all “about the lessons learned from The Apprentice,” as well as “his most important role, as a father who has successfully taught his children the value of money & hard work.”
😂🤣
The prosecutor & Franklin discuss what percentage of the cover the word “Trump” takes up.
Rebecca #Mangold, the prosecutor, has Sally Franklin to read #Trump’s written words from these books, including the following:
“For many years, I’ve said that if someone screws you, screw them back”
“When somebody hurts you, just go after them as viciously & as violently as you can. Like it says in the Bible, an eye for an eye.”
“All the women on ‘The Apprentice’ flirted with me."
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Prosecutor #Mangold has Sally Franklin describe a chapter of a book in which #Trump, in his own words, describes his frugality, including looking over bills to “make sure I’m not being overcharged.”
This goes toward his micromanagement & supports the argument that there was now way he was unaware of what he was paying #MichaelCohen, or what the money was for.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
The prosecution is using #Trump himself as a witness.
In his own words — as laid out in his books — Trump is describing how he keeps a focus on minute details & watches every penny.
He also describes how he sees sexual potential in random women that he encounters 🤮
His written word, drawn from his books & read into the record, are damning.
He discusses his tendencies towards #revenge, flirtatious behavior & frugality.
“Even in high-end shops, I bargain. I hate paying retail.”
#Trump lawyer Todd #Blanche is on cross-examination of Sally Franklin.
His argument is that Meredith McIver, the ghost-writer, was behind the language, as opposed to Trump.
Trump himself has always insisted that all of the words printed in his name are his. During the White House years, Trump aides would implausibly claim on the record that Trump’s speeches were written by him.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
The cross-examination is over. There will be some more questions from the prosecutor, Rebecca Mangold. But we are likely just minutes away from the testimony of #StormyDaniels.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Franklin, on re-direct, is testifying about one of Trump's books that he was directly involved in, rebutting defense's argument that someone else’s work was behind it.
Perhaps the most significant excerpt, #Trump writes about the importance of personally signing checks.
He wrote that he didn’t like to let a computer to sign, bc when the boss did it, employees knew he was paying attention.
Some of the false documents at issue in the case are checks, with Trump’s signature.
“The people call #StormyDaniels,” Susan #Hoffinger says. She takes the stand & is sworn in with her hand raised.
Daniels sounds nervous as she spells her name.
Several members of the jury noticeably perked up when Stormy Daniels's name was called as a #witness.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#StormyDaniels says she prefers her stage name as opposed to her given name — Stephanie Clifford.
She is testifying under subpoena.
Daniels talks about her early life: raised in Baton Rouge, wanted to be a veterinarian, editor of her high school newspaper, she got a scholarship from Texas A&M, was part of equestrian club, & was in a ballet company.
Her parents split up when she was young, they had very little money, said her mother was neglectful & would often disappear.
#StormyDaniels begins to talk about her career as a dancer — she began stripping, she says, because she made more money doing it than she did “shoveling manure” — the work she had done previously at a stable.
She is nervous as she speaks.
Daniels says when she was 21, she "went on to pose for some magazines to get some accolades" to be able to go on tour.
After that she started working in adult film industry.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#StormyDaniels says she went w/ “a girlfriend of mine … I was so scared, I was an extra completely clothed on shoots, the director asked me if I would do it... I got offered a contract...l was 23...”
As Stormy Daniels talks about moving from stripping to acting in adult films, she is talking very quickly, understandably, she is a witness talking about starting to act in adult films in front of a courtroom full of reporters & the fmr president of the US.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial
Susan #Hoffinger, the prosecutor, takes #StormyDaniels thru talking about writing & directing adult films - focusing on the #professional aspects of the industry & giving Daniels credit for not just acting but steering her productions.
Prosecutors have made a point to note that Daniels did nude modeling & adult films as a way to make money & survive.
Daniels goes thru her CV, including mainstream movies she appeared in like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial
#StormyDaniels details how she recently got fired from a podcast because she was reluctant to continue talking about this case & about politics. This is an important bit of testimony that could rebut Trump’s lawyers’ argument that Daniels has made a career off of her sexual encounter w/ #Trump.
Daniels is now describing the golf tournament at Lake Tahoe in 2006 where she met Trump. She says she knew that he was “as old or older than my father.”
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial
The prosecutor asks if #StormyDaniels met #Trump on the golf course at Lake Tahoe in 2006.
Daniels: "Yes I did."
She Trump saying when she said she was a director, "You must be smart..."
Daniels says she didn’t have a very substantive discussion w/Trump & didn’t know much about him. She knew he was a golfer, she says — they were on a golf course — & that he worked in reality TV. And she knew of his show, “The Apprentice.”
Jurors are seeing the infamous photo of #StormyDaniels & #Trump at the golf tourn.
Daniels says that she was approached by “Keith,” [Keith Schiller] Trump’s bodyguard who asked her to dinner. She says he took her number, though she refused the invitation.
Daniels says her initial reaction to Trump’s invitation was, “Fuck No!”
After she rejected Trump’s dinner request, her publicist told her to accept saying it'll be a great story, & what could possibly go wrong.
#StormyDaniels is now talking about meeting #Trump for dinner.
The prosecutor asks her what her expectations were.
Daniels: I didn't really have
expectations
Daniels said when she entered the hotel room Trump was wearing satin pajamas, & she said “does Hugh Hefner know you stole his pajamas?"
She asked him to change, & he did.
Prosecutor: did [Trump] ask about your work?
Daniels says Trump asked how much money she made, if she got residuals, if she was tested for STD's
#Trump was 60 at the time of this meeting, & #StormyDaniels was 27.
Daniels says that Trump asked further about testing for STDs
She told him she picked adult film production companies because of their contraceptive requirements & could show him her complete records & that she never had a bad test result.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
As #StormyDaniels is talking, #Trump whispers to his lawyer. He can’t stand feeling or appearing weak or powerless. But that’s exactly what he is here as Daniels is describing, in extensive detail, an encounter he continues to maintain didn’t happen.
She describes Trump’s suite in Lake Tahoe in minute detail, every aspect down to the color of the tiles.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Trump is a germophobe. #StormyDaniels previously said that they had sex w/o a condom. Her testimony about Trump asking how frequently she was tested for STDs — helps explain this.
Daniels says that during the dinner, she asked about his wife. She says he told her not to worry because the 2 did not “even sleep in the same room.” Trump & Melania were married in 2005, the year before this encounter.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
During the dinner, #Trump showed #StormyDaniels a bunch of magazines w/himself on the cover.
Daniels says she asked, “Are you always this rude? Are you always this arrogant & pompous? Like you don’t even know how to have a conversation.”
“He would ask me questions...not let me finish..."
Daniels said she told Trump, “someone should spank you with that" & swatted him w/magazine.
Trump clearly mouths “bullshit” as Daniels retells playfully spanking him w/a rolled-up magazine.
#StormyDaniels says #Trump said "you remind me of my daughter. she's smart & beautiful & people underestimate her as well.”
🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
He suggested she appear on "The Apprentice."
Daniels says Trump inquired her about her adult film female coworkers asking,
“Do you hook up off camera, do you sleep with each other off camera...?”
Then he asked her to call a friend.
🤮🤮🤮🤮
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#StormyDaniels says that it was #Trump himself who invited her to come on “The Apprentice,” not the other way around. Daniels is suggesting she wasn’t the one trying to use “The Apprentice” — he was, for sex.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
After break, Justice #Merchan asks if the defense spoke to #Trump & admonishes the prosecutors, specifically #Hoffinger, saying that the level of detail they’re eliciting from #StormyDaniels is unnecessary. (Weird bc defense didn’t lodge any objections)
This is a reminder that juries, even in the most prominent cases, almost never hear the full story. The evidence they are permitted to consider is balanced against the possible prejudice it could have against the defendant.
#StormyDaniels is talking about going to the bathroom in Trump’s hotel suite.
She says she’d been there a while & had drank several bottles of water.
Daniels says #Trump directed her there via the bedroom, the bed was unmade.
She says she remembers seeing a “leather-looking” toiletry bag on the counter w/ Old Spice & “manicure stuff” that was gold.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#StormyDaniels says she came out of the bathroom & found that #Trump was in the bedroom, waiting for her, in his boxer shorts & a T-shirt. She had been planning to go, she said. He was seated on the bed, between her & the exit.
Justice #Merchan is noticeably upset, & Daniels seems confused, after some objections, about what to answer from prosecutors. We are in an intense, intense moment here.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#StormyDaniels is describing a remarkably intense encounter.
“What did I misread to get here,” she says she thought. She says she tried to leave & #Trump blocked her path, he didn’t threaten her she said, but she noted his size being much larger than her own.
Then she says she “blacked out,” though she did not take alcohol or drugs. At this point, the judge — who has sustained one objection & seems unusually angry — called for a sidebar. He sustains another objection.
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, is now asking #StormyDaniels about having had sex w/ #Trump. “Did you at some point end up on the bed having sex with him?” Hoffinger asks. Daniels says yes. When she describes the position they were in [missionary], the defense objects, & the objection is sustained.
The defense has been objecting to many questions & the judge has been sustaining a lot of them. He is not happy about this testimony.
The defense has been objecting to many questions & Justice #Merchan has been sustaining a lot of them. He is not happy about this testimony.
Despite being explicit this is RELEVANT testimony, given that this encounter is at the heart of the prosecution's case.
But it may be a risk for prosecutors depending on what jurors make of it.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #StormyDaniels #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked #StormyDaniels, "Did you end up on the bed having sex with him?"
"Yes," she said, adding, “The next thing I know, I was on the bed, somehow on the opposite side of the bed from where we had been standing. I had my clothes & my shoes off," she said.
The prosecution asked Daniels if she felt anything "unusual" while having sex w/ #Trump. The defense objected & the objection was sustained.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Prosecutor #Hoffinger asked #StormyDaniels if #Trump was wearing a condom.
Daniels: “No.”
Asked if that was concerning to her, Daniels said, “yes,” but she did not say anything about it to Trump, & that the sex itself was brief.
Daniels said that after she had sex w/Trump, he said to her, "Oh it was great, let’s get together again honey bunch.”
"I just left as fast as I could," she testified.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#StormyDaniels describes herself being traumatized by the encounter: shaking, bewildered, wondering “how I got” to the place of having sex w/ #Trump. But she says she didn’t say no, “because I didn’t say anything at all.”
Daniels says that while she didn't object in the moment, she also didn’t enjoy it, & that she felt there was an “imbalance” in the power dynamic between the two.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#StormyDaniels testified that #Trump did NOT ask her to keep their sexual encounter confidential.
“He didn’t give me anything, he didn’t offer to pay me or give me his cell phone number or anything like that," Daniels said.
Daniels went on to say that Trump also did not express any concern about his wife finding out.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Experts on traumatic sexual experiences say that a person's perception of such encounters can change over time, & that the most traumatic details may emerge only later.
So any arguments that the ominous overtones of #StormyDaniels’s testimony about her sexual encounter w/ #Trump were not present in early versions of this story is evidence that she is not being truthful is bunk.
#BelieveSurvivors #criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Justice #Merchan has repeatedly asked for tighter answers & fewer extraneous details. The judge is sustaining most objections lodged by the defense.
Merchan's visible disapproval may be bad news for the prosecution. #Jurors often take their cues from judges. If the judge seems impatient with a witness, jurors could receive it almost as permission to feel the same way.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #StormyDaniels #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels said she saw #Trump the next day at the bar in the lobby of the hotel.
“He introduced me as his little friend Stormy to 'Big Ben' the football player," she said, referring to Ben Roethlisberger.
Asked by prosecutor Susan #Hoffinger if Trump would call her, Daniels said he would call her often.
“He would call on average once a week, sometimes 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes not for 3 weeks,” & she would put him on speakerphone but didn't tell him that, she said.
#TrumpTrial #law
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels said #Trump would call “w/ an update or a nonupdate if he didn’t have one, for 'The Apprentice,'" & that he always called her "honeybunch.”
She said she took the calls bc her publicist thought it was a good idea to continue conversations about the TV show.
Daniels testified that she later attended the launch of Trump Vodka, in Jan of 2007, w/a couple of friends.
She says she was greeted warmly, & tho the meeting was brief, he introduced her to everybody, & they took selfies.
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels says that the 2007 meeting was the last time she saw #Trump in person & that he in no way said that she should keep their encounter secret.
She said that Trump had asked her to go & she decided to attend in hopes of maintaining the relationship because “The chance to be on 'The Apprentice' was still up in the air," adding that it would have been great for her career.
Daniels said that Trump asked to see her again at the Trump Vodka launch, but she lied to him.
#law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Trump claims he had nothing to do w/ #StormyDaniels, just as he has w/the many women who’ve made claims against him. But the testimony from this line of questioning is that Daniels met w/Trump on multiple occasions, w/dozens of witnesses. Daniels also describes multiple phone calls — some of which had witnesses because Daniels put Trump on speaker phone while her friends were present. The jury has also been shown phone contact logs from Daniels’s phone & from Trump’s asst’s phone.
#TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels is asked about being threatened in a parking lot by someone while in Vegas w/her daughter. Her voice shakes as she talks, & explains she didn’t report it bc it would have been upsetting to the person she was in a relationship w/at the time.
She never told some of the people who worked closely w/her on the #HushMoney deal about the incident. She revealed it in a "60 Minutes" interview in 2018, after hiring her now-jailed fmr lawyer, Michael Avenatti.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •The testimony firmly puts #StormyDaniels in #Trump’s orbit during a sustained period of time.
Trump has continued to motion to his lawyer #Necheles, who likely will be handling the cross-examination & has been taking notes throughout Daniels's testimony.
Daniels is now talking about an article posted on the website TheDirty in 2011 about her encounter w/Trump. The jurors have already heard from other witnesses about this article, which Daniels said she wanted taken down.
#TrumpTrial #law
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •For context, when this issue came up in 2011, #Trump was beginning to talk about running for president in the 2012 #Republican primary. He had been promoting the #birtherism #ConspiracyTheory lie about President #Obama’s, suggesting Obama was an illegitimate president, & was gaining traction in polls [w/ #WhiteSupremacists] as he did.
#criminal #law #StormyDaniels #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels is testifying that she was not motivated by money, & says she didn’t negotiate the #HushMoney deal because she didn’t care about the figure.
Daniels is asked whether the story she’s told here today about her encounter w/ #Trump is one she would have described to news outlets had she been interviewed then. But the defense objects to the question & the judge sustains it again — Daniels does not answer.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Susan #Necheles, the #Trump defense lawyer, has lodged objection after objection. Objections are meant to either cut off testimony or have it stricken from the official record. Her rate of success today has been way higher than normal. The judge is accepting her objections & disrupting #StormyDaniels’s testimony.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •The testimony by #StormyDaniels that she did not care about money might be undercut by text messages between her agent at the time, Gina Rodriguez, & the editor of The #NationalEnquirer, w/ the 2 of them bidding back & forth until they got to $120k. The Enquirer’s publisher David #Pecker would not pay saying, “I am not a bank.” Which is how #MichaelCohen ended up taking over the deal.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels laid out the specifics of the #HushMoney deal. She said that if she were to violate the agreement, it would cost her a $1M every time she did so.
Daniels said she was not paid on time, & she wasn’t sure why. “He just kept making excuses,” she said. At first she said that the “he” in question was #MichaelCohen. But then she clarified that it was #Trump who delayed the payment — specifically, Trump speaking to Cohen, who was speaking to her then-lawyer #KeithDavidson.
#TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels said that after the resurfacing of the "#AccessHollywood" tape in Oct 2016, she was focused on selling her story & that more people were calling & expressing interest in it.
“Did you have any intention of approaching either Mr. #Trump or #MichaelCohen, his attorney, to have them pay for your story?” prosecutor Susan #Hoffinger asked.
Daniels said no, her motivation wasn't money. She just wanted to get her story out publicly.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #ElectionInterference
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels says she accepted $130k to sign the #NDA even though she understood #Trump was the beneficiary.
In an exchange w/the prosecution, she testified that #MichaelCohen was representing Trump. She said she signed the agreement because she wanted the whole ordeal to be over.
Daniels said that as part of the agreement barring her from telling her story, the 2 couldn't have any contact.
“We had to pretend that we didn’t know each other at all, basically," she testified.
#TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •right here is why:
#Trump team moves for a #mistrial based on #StormyDaniels #testimony.
"Testimony was so unduly prejudicial to Trump & the charges in this case..."
Trump atty #Blanche argues that the testimony was overly #prejudicial, & that the State was asking questions “to inflame this jury,” in addition to the “pure embarrassment” factor. He says there’s no way the court can instruct the #jury in a way to “unring this bell.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •It would be a surprise for Justice #Merchan to agree to a #mistrial. But he also exhibited displeasure w/how the testimony was going several times, sustaining multiple objections.
It’s not #StormyDaniels’ fault or prosecutors fault that this was a salacious event, it’s just what happened & goes directly to motive for hiding it.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Among the issues that Todd #Blanche brings up as he calls for a #mistrial is #StormyDaniels’s testimony that #Trump didn’t wear a condom. He argues that this testimony was deeply #prejudicial to his client — & asked what the jury is supposed to do w/ much of the info they received from Daniels’ testimony.
Prosecutor #Hoffinger argues that Daniels's story is important for #motive (as said) & #intent, to illustrate what Trump didn’t want the public to know before the election.
#TrumpTrial #law
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Justice #Merchan DENIES #mistrial
Merchan: “l agree there were some things that would have been better left unsaid.”
Defense moves to strike certain parts of #StormyDaniels testimony
Granted
Merchan says, “the witness was a little difficult to control” but he doesn’t let defense entirely off the hook saying part of their responsibility is to object DURING questioning/testimony
They want a mistrial. That’s why they let it all go & Merchan was the one forced to lodge objections.
#TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •The jury is not present for these procedural motion hearings. It would be better if they knew Justice Merchan’s ruling & admonition to #Trump #legal team. given that they were present when #Merchan admonished #StormyDaniels & prosecution during the morning #testimony.
Merchan reminds the defense that “the remedy is on cross-examination,” meaning that the defense will be able to make its own case as it questions Daniels.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Justice #Merchan says that, w/the consent of the defense lawyers, Susan #Hoffinger, the prosecutor, has stepped out to confer w/ #StormyDaniels about keeping her #testimony within the confines set by the judge, & avoiding any “unnecessary” details. [to avoid a fricking mistrial ffs]
Note, when the judge in Trump’s civil fraud trial denied a mistrial, #Trump stormed out of the room.
We could see a #GagOrder violation today if he follows his typical behavior.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels is back on the stand, jury has returned, trial resumes.
Prosecutors question Daniels regarding the delayed payments from #Trump.
Jurors are re-shown an email from #KeithDavidson to #MichaelCohen:
“Please be advised that my client deems her Settlement Agreement cancelled."
Daniels confirms she signed another days later as Stephanie Clifford.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels, referring to a #WSJ article that mentioned her while discussing another #HushMoney deal, says she did not comment for the article, honoring the terms of the deal she had reached through her lawyer, #KeithDavidson.
She’s keeping her answers short & to the point.
She testified that her lawyer, #KeithDavidson, received $130k. After he & her manager took fees, she ended up w/about $96k, she says.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels is now being asked about a statement she signed denying having had an affair w/ #Trump, given to her by her lawyer & dated 10 Jan, 2018. This is the same statement that Trump recently posted on Truth Social had been "JUST FOUND."
#Blanche was unable to defend the post last week in the contempt hearing related to Trump's #GagOrder. The statement clearly had not just been found.
Daniels makes it clear that she didn’t want to sign the statement, & that it wasn’t true.
#TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels testifies that she didn't comment on the WSJ article because of the #NDA.
Prosecutor: "Were you happy just to stay quiet and not say anything"
Daniels: Absolutely.
Daniels says she refused to appear on Fox to deny the affair when #Trump / #MichaelCohen asked her to because, "I didn't want to."
When she planned her appearance on Kimmel, Davidson gave her a statement to sign, it was false.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels says that once her story became public, her life exploded into “chaos — suddenly I was front & foremost everywhere.” She says that the story “blew her cover,” making her more public than she had been before.
Daniels has talked about the “chaos” that ensued after her allegations about #Trump were made public. She has told reporters she was inundated by threats by Trump supporters, many of which were lurid & graphic, she’s said she feared for her family's safety.
#TrumpTrial #law
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels testifies that her lawyer, Michael #Avenatti, filed a #defamation claim against #Trump against her wishes. She says she wished he had not done so because she felt it was too risky. (Avenatti, a risk-taker by nature, was sentenced to prison in 2022 for stealing from Daniels.)
Per Jonathon Swan: As Daniels was testifying about her defamation claim against Trump, the former president appeared for a while to be solidly asleep. #NodFarter
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels testifies that she hired Michael #Avenatti after hearing #MichaelCohen talk about the story in public which was upsetting, “because he could talk about it & I couldn’t.”
She then testifies that Cohen filed a temporary restraining order against her, seeking to keep her from speaking.
Daniels says she hired Avenatti to “speak up" for herself, appeared on CNN to get her story out.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •After the #NDA ended, #StormyDaniels wrote her book, "Full Disclosure” because, she says, she wanted her daughter to know why she had done the things she had.
A #Trump post on Truth Social, in which he called Daniels “horseface,” is displayed on the courtroom screens. It’s from March 2023, when the Manhattan DA was preparing to indict Trump in this case. Daniels is now reading the Truth post aloud.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Trump has long denied #StormyDaniels’s story.
The jury is being asked to weigh his words against hers,
Right now, she is reading aloud the insults Trump uses for her, including “horseface” & “sleaze bag.”
She says the post is false.
Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks Daniels who she understands Trump to have been calling “horseface.”
Daniels: “Me,” she replies. The same goes for “sleaze bag,” which he also called her in the post.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •In #Trump’s social media post, he says he hasn’t seen her since the golf tournament she described earlier & denies having had sex w/her.
#Jurors heard last week from Trump’s former executive assistant, #RhonaGraff, that #StormyDaniels visited Trump Tower in 2007, the year after the golf course event.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Direct examination is over; next is cross-examination by #Trump atty Susan #Necheles.
Necheles is pushing #StormyDaniels on her testimony about the money. She says that Daniels went into pornography for money, & asks her, again, “You wanted more money, right?”
Daniels retorted: “Don’t we all want to make more money in our jobs?”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Necheles moves on to socialmedia posts that #StormyDaniels made about wanting #Trump to be imprisoned, incl one saying that she would “dance down the street” if he was selected to go to jail.
Daniels says “selected” was the wrong word because she knows a person is not selected to go to jail.
Necheles asks Daniels: “Am I correct that you hate President Trump?”
Daniels: “Yes.”
Necheles: “And you want him to go to jail?”
Daniels responds: “I want him to be held accountable.”
#law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Necheles uses an aggressive characterization #StormyDaniels’ defamation suit against #Trump, calling it “frivolous litigation against *President* Trump.”
Prosecutors objected, & Necheles rephrases it as “cases you brought that were dismissed.”
One of the cases Daniels brought against Trump was for publicly calling into question the fact that she was accosted in a Las Vegas parking lot by a man who wanted her to keep silent. The other was an attempt by Daniels to sue her way out of the NDA.
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Necheles continues to push #StormyDaniels on money, bringing up that she previously tweeted that she would not pay #Trump “a penny” even after a federal court ordered her to cover his legal fees as a result of a failed defamation lawsuit. A lawyer for Daniels has said that she does not, in fact, owe him any money.
Jurors finances are likely closer to Daniels's than Trump’s, this may be an argument they are unresponsive to.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Importantly, this cross-examination isn’t addressing the evidence, it’s just an attack on #StormyDaniels’ credibility.
In a “your mama’s so fat” moment, when #Necheles gets Daniels to acknowledge she had mocked #Trump’s looks on Twitter, Daniels replies, “Because he made fun of me first.”
Necheles says that one of them started it, but “you both continued it.”
(One of these people was the president of the United States)
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Necheles is trying to make #StormyDaniels look like a liar. But many of her questions have to do w/money & Daniels is making it clear that she is not wealthy. So instead of this line of questioning working to impeach her #credibility, as intended, it’s coming off as a lawyer for a very rich person going after someone w/ less money for having less money.
Yes #Trump has exaggerated his wealth for the years, but he still has more money than the vast majority of the country.
#law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#StormyDaniels knocked back Necheles’s implication that Daniels wants Trump to be convicted so she doesn’t have to pay his legal fees from the defamation case. “I hope I don't have to pay him no matter what happens,” Daniels said.
Necheles moves on, saying that telling her story about having had sex w/ Trump has made Stormy Daniels a lot of money. Daniels again hits back: “It has also cost me a lot of money.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Necheles tries something else, asking whether #StormyDaniels had talked to the lawyer #GloriaAllred about potentially suing #Trump.
Again, Daniels fires back, saying that she also told Allred, “I had sex with Donald Trump.”
[Allred is a prominent women’s rights lawyer — often representing survivors of sexual harassment or assault by powerful men.]
Daniels hasn’t been fased by any of these questions.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Necheles is still trying to make #StormyDaniels look like a liar by bringing up her book excerpts, making it seem as if she has changed her story of having had sex w/ #Trump.
Daniels continues fighting back & providing more context.
The jurors are paying close attention and the courtroom is, to use the word of the day, tense.
Necheles does get Daniels to say that one thing she described in the book was incorrect, but sticks to other parts of her story.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Necheles, pushing #StormyDaniels about the threat she says she encountered in the Vegas parking lot, challenged her about not telling her baby’s father implying she made it up.
Necheles: “Your daughter’s life was in jeopardy & you did not tell her father — but you went on Anderson Cooper & decided to tell the world?”
Again attacking Daniels' character & credibility.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •The question of whether #StormyDaniels was threatened has come up before. #KeithDavidson, cast some doubt on the story as he read his texts w/ #MichaelCohen.
#Necheles has hardly asked about the actual case — whether there was a #conspiracy to cover up a #HushMoney payment made before an election, & if business records were falsified in the process. Instead she has focused on whether Daniels embellished her story about being threatened in Vegas by someone connected to #Trump.
#TrumpTrial #law
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Necheles, is seeking to attack #StormyDaniels's overall credibility. But Daniels told a very detailed story earlier about the not exactly consensual sexual encounter w/ #Trump, we’ll see how the #jurors process these attacks. It may very well backfire on the Trump team.
#BelieveSurvivors #criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney