Former PresidentĀ Donald Trumpās attorneys continued their assault on the credibility of Stormy Daniels for a number of hours Thursday, with protection legal professional Susan NechelesĀ accusing the grownup movie star of constructing up the story of getting intercourse with Trump.
Thursday additionally noticed testimony from a girl who was as soon as among the many closest folks working with Trump within the White Home, and failed efforts by the protection to get a mistrial and an exception to the defendant’s gag order.
Listed below are some key takeaways from Day 14 of the TrumpĀ hush cash trial:
Contentious testimony: Daniels combatively and defiantly responded to questions from Necheles, insisting her story of a sexual encounter with Trump was true. Trump has denied the affair.
Trumpās legal professional requested about minor inconsistencies in interviews Daniels has given about her interactions with Trump. Necheles additionally picked aside how Daniels has beforehand described the encounter.
Necheles additionally insinuated Daniels had employed her expertise as a porn author in making up the story. āYou’ve a variety of expertise of constructing phony tales about intercourse seem like actual,ā the Trump legal professional requested.
“Wow,” Daniels mentioned,Ā with a pause. āThatās not how I might put it. The intercourse within the movies could be very a lot actual, similar to what occurred to me in that room.ā
Attorneys spar over Daniels’ monetary scenario: Past the small print of the alleged encounter itself, Trumpās attorneys and prosecutors had Daniels inform conflicting accounts of her monetary scenario.
Necheles continued to recommend that Daniels was earning money off of claiming she had intercourse with Trump, pointing to a tweet the place she mentioned sheād earned $1 million and othersĀ the place she directed her supporters to her on-line retailer after Trump was indicted.
Prosecutors, in the meantime, had Daniels recount how telling her story has additionally value her, from having to maneuver her daughter and rent safety to the attorneysā charges she was ordered to pay after she sued Trump and misplaced.
Former aide takes us contained in the Trump White Home: Former White Home aide Madeleine Westerhout described the internal workings of Trumpās West Wing, the place she labored for greater than two years sitting simply exterior the Oval Workplace.
Westerhout described Trump’s work habits, from his affinity for sharpies and laborious copies of paperwork, to his shut management over his social media posts and his desire to speak to folks in particular person or on the telephone ā not by electronic mail.
Whereas she didn’t testify to direct information of the checks Trump signed to his former fixer Michael Cohen, that are cited within the expenses in opposition to Trump, her story added to the prosecution’s narrative about his involvement with the checks in 2017.
Two failed efforts by Trump’s staff: Choose Juan Merchan denied the request from Trump’s attorneys to make an exception to the gag order permitting him to talk publicly about Daniels, saying he should defend the integrity of the proceedings, and he doesnāt belief Trump to not violate an order if he have been to change it.
The choose additionally denied Trumpās renewed movement for a mistrial over the salacious testimony Daniels gave, which his attorneys say unfairly prejudices the jury in opposition to Trump. Merchan mentioned the specificity is vital to serving to the jury make a dedication.
Read a full recap of Thursday’s proceedings here.
