Former President Donald Trump’s legal team continued its attack on Stormy Daniels’ credibility for several hours Thursday, with defense attorney Susan Necheles accusing the adult film star of fabricating a story about having sex with Trump.
The day also featured testimony from a woman who was once one of President Trump’s closest people in the White House and whose defense efforts to obtain a mistrial and an exception to the defendant’s gag order failed.
Here are the key takeaways from President Trump’s 14th day in office. Hush money trial:
Controversial testimony: Ms. Daniels answered Ms. Necheles’ questions combatively and defiantly, insisting that her story about sexual encounters with Mr. Trump was true. President Trump has denied having an affair.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers questioned Mr. Daniels about minor inconsistencies in interviews he gave about his interactions with Mr. Trump.Necheres also detailed how Daniels previously described the encounter..
Mr. Necheres also implied that Mr. Daniels used his skills as a pornographer to create the story. “You have a lot of experience making false stories about sex seem real,” the Trump lawyer asked.
“It’s amazing,” Daniels said. Pause. “I wouldn’t put it that way. The sex in the movie is very real and exactly what happened to me in that room.”
Lawyers are fighting over Daniels’ finances. Beyond the details of the alleged encounter itself, Mr. Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors gave Ms. Daniels conflicting accounts of her financial situation.
Mr. Necheres continued to suggest that Mr. Daniels was making money by saying he had sex with Mr. Trump, including a tweet in which he said he made $1 million. After Trump was indicted, she directed her supporters to her online store.
Meanwhile, prosecutors will tell Daniels her story, from having to move her daughter and hire a security guard to the legal fees she was ordered to pay after suing Trump and losing. I asked them to tell me how much it cost them.
A former aide took us to President Trump’s White House. Former White House aide Madeleine Westerhout gave an inside look at President Trump’s West Wing, where she sat just outside the Oval Office and worked for more than two years.
Westerhout said of Trump’s work habits, from his affinity for mechanical pencils and hard copies of documents to his strict control over social media posts and his preference to speak to people in person or by phone rather than email. explained.
She did not testify that she had direct knowledge of the checks that Trump signed to his former fixer Michael Cohen, which are listed in the indictment against Trump, but her story is based on the 2017 checks listed in the indictment against Trump. further strengthened prosecutors’ narrative about Trump’s involvement.
Two failed efforts by the Trump campaign: Judge Juan Marchan rejected a request by Trump’s lawyers to make an exception to the gag order that would have allowed him to speak publicly about Daniels, saying he must protect the integrity of the trial and if Trump He said he doesn’t believe Trump wouldn’t violate the executive order, even if he didn’t. Change it.
The judge also rejected Trump’s motion for a new trial over Daniels’ sordid testimony, which Daniels’ lawyers said would unfairly bias jurors against Trump. claims. Machan said specificity is important for juries to make decisions.
Click here for a complete summary of today’s proceedings.
