Former US President Donald Trump walks outside Manhattan Criminal Court, New York, USA, on May 7, 2024, to address the press at his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments.
Win Mcnamee | Via Reuters
Porn star Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday that she hates former President Donald Trump and wants him thrown in prison if he is convicted in his hush money trial.
Daniels’ blunt comments came as Trump lawyer Susan Necheles began cross-examining the key witness, whose story about having sex with Trump years earlier is at the center of the historic criminal case.
“Am I right that you hate President Trump?” Necheles asked in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“Yes,” Daniels replied.
Necheles added: “You want him to go to prison, right?”
“If he’s found guilty, absolutely,” Daniels testified.
Daniels is expected to return to the witness stand Thursday morning.
Previously, Judge Juan Merchan rejected a request for a mistrial from Trump’s lawyers after prosecutors completed their direct questioning of Daniels.
They argued that Daniels’ detailed testimony about that alleged one-night stand with Trump in 2006 was “prejudicial.”
“The only reason the government has asked these questions, other than pure embarrassment, is to inflame this jury,” defense attorney Todd Blanche told Merchan in arguing for the trial to be canceled.
“From our perspective, there is no way to ring the bell,” Blanche said.
But Merchan said, “I don’t think we’re at the point where a mistrial is warranted.”
However, the judge granted a bid by Trump’s lawyers to strike some statements from the record.
Judge Juan Merchan presides over proceedings as Stormy Daniels (far right) answers questions on direct examination by Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger in Manhattan Criminal Court as former President Donald Trump and defense attorney Todd Blanche on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 watch in New York.
Elizabeth Williams | AP
Prosecutors accuse Trump of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. The payment was made by Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen to stop Daniels from speaking about the alleged sexual encounter before Election Day, prosecutors say.
But the judge warned prosecutors on Tuesday not to reveal specific details about Daniels’ story about sex with Trump. As Daniels delved into the details of that night, Merchan at times angrily endured the defense’s objections.
Daniels described meeting Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in 2006 and then having dinner with him in his hotel room.
Daniels testified that she felt no warning signs because she was alone in the room with Trump. He asked her about the adult film industry and offered Daniels a role on his wildly popular reality show “The Apprentice,” she said.
After using the restroom, Daniels said she saw Trump on the bed in his boxers and a T-shirt. At this point she felt like “the room was spinning in slow motion.”
Then Trump told her, “I thought you were serious about what you wanted.” Daniels took this to mean that having sex with Trump could benefit her career.
Daniels said she had sex with Trump on the bed. Daniels testified that she did not feel threatened at all, noting, “There was certainly an imbalance of power.”
Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels in 2006.
Source: StormyDaniels.com
Before the jury entered the courtroom Tuesday morning, Trump attorney Susan Necheles argued that Daniels should not be asked to testify “about details of any sexual conduct.”
There is “no reason” that details of alleged gender “should be brought into a books and records case,” Necheles told Merchan.
Read more about Trump’s hush money trial
A prosecutor countered that it was very important to delve into the history of the alleged affair, including the conversation that led to Daniels and Trump having sex.
There will be no “descriptions of the genitals or anything like that,” said the prosecutor, “but it is important for us to find out that she had sex with him and what she felt about it.”
Merchan said that was fine, but it was unnecessary to release details of the encounter in court.
The first witness called to the stand on Tuesday was Sally Franklin, senior vice president of Random House Publishing Group. Franklin read a number of passages from Trump’s books, including “Trump: How to Get Rich” and “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire.”
Trump deletes posts about judges and witnesses
Before arriving in court, Trump released a statement venting about the witness schedule and the judge in his trial — then quickly deleted it.
Trump sent the Truth Social post less than a day after Merchan threatened the former president with prison time for repeatedly violating confidentiality rules that prohibit him from discussing likely witnesses in the trial.
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Trump was angry that prosecutors wouldn’t tell defense attorneys which witnesses they planned to call until the day before the witness’s testimony.
“I was only recently told who today’s witness is. This is unprecedented, no time for lawyers to prepare,” Trump wrote in the post.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told Merchan on Monday that the Manhattan district attorney’s office is keeping its witness schedule secret to prevent Trump from targeting people just before they take the stand.
But Steinglass pointed out that while prosecutors are keeping the order of witnesses secret, Trump’s lawyers have had the witness list for months.
Sally Franklin, CEO of Penguin Random House, admits in Manhattan State Court in New York City, United States, on May 7, 2024, during the criminal trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump on charges that he falsified business records to obtain money hide the money he paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, a statement made in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Steinglass accused Trump of forcing the move, pointing out that he “violated the order restricting extrajudicial expression, and we didn’t want the names of the witnesses, the names of the next witnesses, to be released.”
Earlier Monday, Merchan again charged Trump with contempt of court for his 10th violation of the gag order. He fined Trump a maximum of $1,000 for the most recent violation, bringing the total fine to $10,000 for the 10 separate violations.
But the judge noted that these fines were hardly a deterrent for Trump, a multibillionaire.
“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” Merchan told Trump. But “I will if necessary,” he said.
Trump’s now-deleted post from Tuesday morning also attacked Merchan in detail and accused him of political bias.
“No judge has ever conducted a trial with such bias and bias,” Trump claimed.
“He is crooked and deeply conflicted, even taking away my First Amendment rights. Now he’s threatening me with prison and they have no case – that’s what virtually all legal scholars and experts say!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly failed to persuade Merchan to recuse himself because of a conflict of interest they say arises from his daughter’s work for a Democratic political firm.
The gag order prohibits Trump from discussing likely witnesses in the case and making certain statements about other related people, including attorneys, court staff and their respective family members. Merchan expanded the silence order after Trump targeted the judge and prosecutor’s family members
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2024-05-07 21:59:51
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