He endured it with closed eyes and a sour expression: 6 findings after crucial testimony at the trial against Trump

“The people call Stormy Daniels.”

That began the intense and often uncomfortable testimony of Stormy Daniels, who spent nearly five hours in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday telling her story about a meeting with Donald Trump in 2006. The subsequent hush-money cover-up has become the foundation of the public’s case. prosecutor.

Daniels spoke quickly and at length about her first encounter with Trump at a celebrity golf tournament near Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

After the lunch break, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche asked for a mistrial, arguing that the prosecutor’s questions were intended to embarrass Trump and influence the jury.

The judge, Juan Manuel Merchan of the state Supreme Court, agreed that some of Daniels’ testimony “could have been better left unsaid,” but he denied an annulment.

Former President Donald Trump (77) is accused of falsifying company data. He wanted to cover up a payment of $130,000 to Daniels just before the 2016 elections. Trump is said to have had an affair with Daniels. The former president denies the accusations and says he did not have sex with the woman. If convicted, he could receive an effective or suspended prison sentence.

Here are six observations after the thirteenth day of Trump’s trial.

1. Prosecutors took a risk with their witness

Jurors in court heard a vivid account of the encounter at Lake Tahoe and got to know the woman who received the hush money. That could be a risk for prosecutors, depending on whether the jury considers Daniel’s story obscene or graphic.

Daniels described meeting Trump at the golf event and accepting his invitation to dinner. A Daniels employee said, “What could possibly go wrong?”

She remembered that Trump was wearing pajamas when she met him in his hotel suite and she asked him to change. They talked about the porn industry and he asked about revenue, unions and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

She said they talked about his family, including his daughter, whom he compared to Daniels: “People underestimate her too,” Daniels recalled saying. They also talked about his wife; Trump said they “didn’t even sleep in the same room.” He suggested that Daniels might appear in it The Apprentice.

When she later came out of the bathroom, Daniels found Trump partially undressed, she said. The sex was consensual, she said, but there was a “power imbalance.”

2. Trump got another warning

Judge Merchan has already imposed 10 contempt charges on the former president, fined him $10,000 (about 9,300 euros) and twice threatened to send him to prison. On Tuesday, the judge became angry with Trump again after Merchan said he “audibly swore” and “shaked his head.”

The judge asked Trump’s lawyers to speak privately with their client and said Trump’s behavior could intimidate the witness – Stormy Daniels.

“You need to talk to him,” the judge said. “I will not tolerate this.”

3. The motive for the bribery is a point of contention

Prosecutors asked Daniels about a 2018 statement in which she denied the sexual tryst. Daniels said she had not wanted to sign that statement and that it was not true.

The defense lawyers eagerly responded to this. They said it proved Daniels’ shortcomings as a witness. One of them, Susan Necheles, implied in her cross-examination that Daniels was trying to “extort money” from Trump.

Daniels responded sharply: “Not true.”

4. Daniels’ story bothers Trump

Even before the hearing began Tuesday morning, Trump expressed his frustration with Daniels in an angry post on Truth Social. In it, he said that he had just heard that a witness was coming and that his lawyers had “no time” to prepare. The post was deleted shortly afterwards, possibly due to concerns about violating the gag order.

Trump spent much of the hearing with his eyes closed, but remained attentive for part of the day, often with a sour expression on his face. He continually whispered to his lawyers and at one point muttered a swear word.

But by the afternoon he had resumed his habit of closing his eyes, even during a combative cross-examination.

5. Daniel’s credibility is a hurdle for prosecutors

Daniels’ motives are a major concern for the defense. In a sharp moment, Trump’s attorney Necheles confronted her about what she described as “her hatred of the former president” and asked if she “wanted him to go to jail.” Daniels responded, “I want him to be held accountable.”

Necheles also asked Daniels about how she would make money by claiming to have had sex with Trump. Daniels responded, “I made money telling my story,” later adding, “It also cost me a lot of money.”

6. Trump’s words continue to haunt him

Prosecutors have tried several times to use Trump’s previous statements against him.

Before Daniels testified Tuesday, a witness read passages from Trump’s books. Some were about his frugality. Others described his penchant for revenge.

“For years I have said that if someone screws you, screw them back,” the witness read. The passage continued: “If someone hurts you, pursue it as viciously and violently as possible.”

Not long after, one of his enemies – Daniels – spoke up. Her cross-examination will resume on Thursday.

^{© The New York Times}