Topline
Adult film star Stormy Daniels took the stand Tuesday at former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York, recounting their alleged affair in July 2006 and testifying about the “jump scare” she felt as Trump initiated their sexual encounter, undercutting Trump’s claims she’s using the ex-president to enrich herself as Trump’s legal team unsuccessfully calls for a mistrial.
Adult film actress/director Stormy Daniels attends the 2019 Adult Video News Awards on January 26, ... [+]
Key Facts
Daniels was called to testify by prosecutors, who charged Trump with falsifying business records after he reimbursed ex-attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment the lawyer made just before the 2016 election to cover up Daniels’ allegations of an affair with Trump.
The adult film star testified she wasn’t motivated by money to take the $130,000 and didn’t try to negotiate a higher price, but rather was motivated by “fear” about the story getting out and Trump coming after her—claiming that even though she was trying to sell the story beforehand in order to control the narrative of her affair with Trump, the then-candidate’s offer to pay her for her silence was “the best thing that could've happened” because “then I'd be safe and the story wouldn't come out,” CNN reports.
Daniels recounted to the jury how she met Trump on the golf course at a celebrity golf tournament in July 2006, and initially refused to have dinner with him before her publicist later convinced her to go, telling Daniels, “What could possibly go wrong?”
During her conversation with Trump before they allegedly had sex, he asked her about the business side of the adult film industry—including whether she had ever tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease, which she said she hadn’t—and spoke about his wife Melania Trump, telling Daniels the two slept in different rooms.
After going to use the bathroom, Daniels testified she opened the door to discover Trump on the bed in his boxers, claiming the experience was like a “jump scare” and she “felt the blood leave my hands and my feet,” according to CNN, asking herself, “Oh my god, what did i misread to get here?”
Daniels testified she was not “threatened” by Trump but felt “an imbalance of power for sure,” noting “he was bigger and blocking the way,” CNN reports, before the adult film star recounted her and Trump’s sexual encounter to the jury and claimed she “left as fast as I could” once it was over.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche took objection to the testimony and called for a mistrial, arguing that Daniels’ remarks were prejudicial toward Trump after Daniels recounted an incident in which Trump did not wear a condom, with Blanche arguing the testimony “is way different than the story she was peddling in 2016.”
Judge Juan Merchan denied the mistrial request, though he conceded “that there were some things that probably would’ve been better left unsaid,” according to multiple outlets.
During cross-examination Tuesday afternoon, Daniels said she wants Trump “to be held accountable,” and agreed when asked by Trump attorney Susan Necheles if she hates Trump.
Daniels also said she was paid $125,000 for licensing rights for the production of the NBC documentary “Stormy,” which was released in March—Daniels said she started interviews on the documentary in 2018, long before she was subpoenaed for the criminal trial.
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Crucial Quote
“I told very few people that we had actually had sex because I felt ashamed that I didn’t stop it,” Daniels said, as quoted by CNN. She said she had “absolutely not” been told to keep the encounter quiet, and Trump did not express concern about his wife finding out. Daniels told other people about knowing him, however, and testified she would frequently put him on speaker phone when he would repeatedly call her after their encounter. She claims she stayed in contact with him in order to raise her chances of appearing on his television show The Apprentice, including several subsequent non-sexual meetings with him in person before he ultimately told her she would not be on the show.
Surprising Fact
While Trump’s lawyers have previously characterized Daniels as using her alleged encounter with Trump for her own benefit, the adult film star’s testimony has suggested otherwise. In addition to suggesting she didn’t care about the $130,000, Daniels claimed she was fired from her podcast because she didn’t want to speak about the ex-president all the time. She also testified Trump suggested during their encounter that she should compete on The Apprentice as a way of showing the American public her intelligence, rather her bringing up the television show to him. Trump compared Daniels to his daughter Ivanka Trump, because both are “smart and blonde and beautiful and people underestimate her as well,” according to The New York Times. After raising the Apprentice contract to her, Trump told Daniels, “I thought you were serious about what you wanted” when she tried to leave after seeing him on his bed, she testified, as quoted by The Guardian.
What To Watch For
Daniels will continue testifying Tuesday as the trial continues, though it’s unclear how long her testimony will last. Daniels will be the most high profile witness to testify at the trial thus far, which began in mid-April and is slated to last for approximately four more weeks. Other witnesses who may be called to take the stand include Cohen, model Karen McDougal—who also alleges having an affair with Trump—the ex-president’s children and former attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Tangent
Daniels also testified she spanked Trump with a magazine during their alleged 2006 encounter, after getting angry at him for repeatedly cutting her off in conversation and telling him, “Are you always this rude? Are you always this arrogant and pompous? You don’t even know how to have a conversation.” (While there has been some speculation that Daniels spanked Trump with a copy of Forbes, it’s more likely it was Trump’s own Trump Magazine.)
Chief Critic
Trump railed against Daniels’ testimony in a now-deleted Truth Social post on Tuesday, writing he had only been told about Tuesday’s witness that morning and the lack of time to prepare was “unprecedented.” Trump’s attorneys have not been given advance notice of who upcoming witnesses will be in the trial, given the threat of Trump attacking witnesses on social media, even as a gag order bars him from doing so. After the Associated Press reported Tuesday that Daniels was slated to testify that day, Trump deleted his Truth Social post, and he did not respond to questions Tuesday on his reasons for deleting the post before entering the courtroom. Trump’s lawyers tried to block Daniels from testifying about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump at the last minute Tuesday morning, with attorney Susan Necheles arguing those details unnecessary in a case that’s about “books and records,” as quoted by Just Security. Merchan sided with the prosecutors, who argued asking Daniels about the encounter was necessary, ruling they can ask Daniels to confirm she and Trump had sex, “but we don’t need to know the details,” according to CNN.
Key Background
Daniels has publicly alleged since 2018 that she and Trump had an affair in July 2006, claiming they had sex after meeting at the golf tournament in Utah. She claims they then met up one other time, in July 2007, but did not have sex that time. Cohen then paid Daniels $130,000 in the days before the 2016 election to keep her quiet, as Daniels’ then-lawyer Keith Davidson testified interest in Daniels’ story ramped up in the wake of an “Access Hollywood” tape showing Trump making derogatory comments about women. Reports of Cohen’s payment to cover up Daniels’ story first emerged in January 2018, which resulted in Cohen pleading guilty to campaign finance violations. Daniels’ appearance in Trump’s criminal trial comes after she previously sued him in an effort to get out of her non-disclosure agreement, which was later settled, and after she unsuccessfully sued him for defaming her by denying their affair.
Further Reading
