CNN
—
“People call the storm Daniels.”
That was the moment when Donald Trump’s hush money trial, which had been mired in sordid accounting testimony in recent days, came alive again on Tuesday.
Back at his desk in the Oval Office in January, the former president met for the first time in years with the adult film star he is accused of silencing with hush money.
What followed was sordid, urgent, and painfully embarrassing to Trump. Trump was forced to sit grimacing as Daniels painted a detailed scene of the black-tiled hotel suite where a liaison, which the former president still denies, was allegedly located. It was the place.
It was the latest unfathomable upset in an election campaign like no other. And for any average candidate lacking President Trump’s Teflon political skin, that’s probably the end of the road.
But as is often the case, there was a silver lining after a devastating legal blow to a former president. He learned late Tuesday afternoon that Judge Eileen Cannon, whom he appointed, had indefinitely postponed the trial in the Florida classified documents case. This means President Trump is almost certain to face a jury on federal charges related to mishandling classified information before his election. That’s the reality, and Ty Cobb, President Trump’s former general counsel, accused Cannon of moving the case slowly, indulging in frivolous allegations and misunderstanding the applicable law. “This is an issue of bias and incompetence,” Cobb told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Mr. Cannon’s move comes with Mr. Trump’s two election interference lawsuits, both of which have been bogged down by Mr. Trump’s pretrial delay tactics and aggressive appeals, before voters make their fateful choices in November. It is also unlikely that the case will go to trial.
So while this hush money case is widely considered the weakest of the lawsuits facing President Trump, it does present an unprecedented scenario in which a convicted felon is asking voters to elect President Trump. It is likely that this is the only incident that can occur.
This made Daniels’ testimony even more critical. And the most important question after her bruising first three hours and 45 minutes on the stand is whether her salacious testimony increased the chances of a guilty verdict or ultimately hurt the case. The question is, did it become?
Moreover, the risqué nature of her portrayal of her relationship with Trump could provide a breakthrough in a way that previous explicit revelations about the former president’s character have not, and could sway votes in key battleground states in November. Will it happen?
Daniels is one of two key witnesses in the former US president’s first criminal trial, along with Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen. She told jurors on Tuesday about $130,000 in hush money she received from Mr. Cohen before the 2016 election. Such payments are not illegal. But prosecutors allege that President Trump falsified his business records to cover up his early election interference and mislead voters. He maintains his innocence.
Legal analyst Norm Eisen told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “Stormy has provided new information about her short-term relationship with Donald Trump and additional information regarding many of the key elements of the case. ” he said. “This was one of the biggest days yet in this very eventful trial.”
The drama was even better than when it first appeared.
The minutes from that day revealed an exchange between Judge Juan Machan and Mr. Trump’s lawyer that could not be heard in court. The judge complained that the former president was “audibly swearing” and shaking his head during Daniels’ testimony. “There is a potential for intimidation of witnesses, and the jury can sense that.” The judge told his lawyer, Todd Blanche, that he had spoken in court to avoid embarrassing the defendant, but said that behavior needed to stop. CNN’s Jeremy Herb, who was in the courtroom, reported that President Trump was more enthusiastic Tuesday than at any other point in the trial so far.
Trump was already on thin ice with the judge, a day after Marchand warned he could be jailed if he continues to violate a gag order meant to protect jurors and witnesses. He managed to avoid crossing the line while speaking to reporters in the courtroom hallway at the end of the day. But Daniels’ blush-inducing testimony may be the toughest test yet of his precarious self-control and bring the possibility of a new gag showdown with Marchand closer.
It is impossible to know how jurors will interpret individual chapters of the trial.
But when Daniels spoke in detail about the time she spent with Trump, including his “silk and satin” pajamas, she undermined Trump’s denials that they had an affair. It looked like there was. That could be important in explaining to jurors why President Trump tried to cover up so much.
But Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Susan Necheles, was able to get Mr. Daniels to acknowledge his hatred of Mr. Trump and his desire to hold him accountable. This confession may call into question her motives.
All it takes is one juror to overturn a conviction. And in an aggressive cross-examination that resumes Thursday, Necheres sought to arouse reasonable doubt and disqualify Daniels as a reliable witness. “Are you correct in saying that you hate President Trump?” Necheres asked. Daniels replied, “Yes.” The former adult film star was then asked if he wanted the former president to be sent to prison. “I want him to take responsibility,” she replied.
President Trump looks to take back the White House in November, but faces four criminal charges, an unfavorable verdict in a civil fraud trial worth $500 million, the stain of two impeachments, and democracy after the 2020 election. The memory of the attack weighs on him. I felt that the alleged facts of the incident that were broadcast on Tuesday were far from being met with the hammer of history.
First, it all happened a long time ago. The episode in question dates back to 2006, when Trump and Daniels were together in a hotel room at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, when the future president was in the early stages of his success as a reality star.
Daniels said she was shocked to see Trump lying on the bed in a T-shirt and boxers after returning from the bathroom. He took off her clothes and had sex with her in missionary position, she testified. “I was staring at the ceiling. I didn’t know how I got there,” Daniels said. “I was wearing strappy gold heels with tiny little buckles. My hands were shaking so much. I had a hard time getting dressed. He said, “Oh, that’s amazing.” Ta. Let’s get together again, Honey Bunch. We were very nice together. ” I just wanted to leave. ”
Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Daniels could have imagined nearly 20 years ago the unlikely path they would take to the moment in the mid-2020s when allegations of the once and perhaps future president’s bedroom secrets would transfix the courts. Ta.
The duration of the alleged exchanges between Mr. Trump and Mr. Daniels, and subsequent attempts to cover them up, are not necessarily important to the verdict in this case, but more important to the public’s perception of the trial. There is a possibility that it will happen. This appears to have occurred to President Trump’s younger son Eric Trump, who appeared in court on Tuesday and posted on X that he was testing a new line of attack for the Trump campaign. “Perspective: A front row seat to unravel how 20-year-old garbage has to do with ‘legal’ invoices filed by long-time private attorneys that are accounted for as ‘legal’ expenses.” “I’m trying,” he wrote.
As usual, Donald Trump tried to put his own spin on events.
“Today was a very important day. It was a very clear day, but as you can see, their case is completely falling apart,” the lawyer said, trying to dismantle Mr. Daniels’ story piece by piece. After seeing that, Trump made the claim. “They don’t have anything on their books or records.” Daniels is the most important person for prosecutors in uncovering the story behind the alleged cover-up, and she has no direct knowledge of the alleged bookkeeping violation. The former president is likely far too optimistic in this regard, as he has no knowledge of
Still, following Daniels’ cryptic explanation, the former president’s team filed for a mistrial on the grounds that unnecessary details about the relationship could bias the jury against their client. Machan denied the request, but acknowledged that some of the most explicit material was “better left unsaid.”
It’s a sentiment many Americans would agree with.
