In New York City, former President Donald Trump is currently undergoing a trial for felony charges linked to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.
This trial is unprecedented as it is the first instance in U.S. history where a former president is being prosecuted for criminal offenses. In April last year, Trump pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment, which accuses him of tampering with business records in relation to the hush money payment orchestrated by his former attorney, Michael Cohen, aimed at enhancing his chances in the 2016 presidential election.
During today’s direct examination of Stormy Daniels, a transcript of a sidebar conversation revealed that former President Trump was heard using audible curses at one point. “I understand that your client is upset at this point, but he is cursing audibly, and he is shaking his head visually and that’s contemptuous. It has the potential to intimidate the witness and the jury can see that,” Judge Juan Merchan told Trump’s attorney during the sidebar, according to the transcript.
As Stormy Daniels left the courtroom, former President Trump was in discussion with his attorney, and there was no apparent acknowledgment between Daniels and Trump. Court will not be in session tomorrow, and the cross-examination of Daniels is set to continue at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.
During the cross-examination after the break, defense attorney Susan Necheles brought up the defense’s assertion that Donald Trump was a target of extortion. “You were looking to extort money from President Trump, right?” Necheles asked. “False,” Daniels replied.
As a result, the judge directed Daniels to “Please wait until there’s a question asked, and then you can answer the question.” When prosecutors raised objections to Necheles’ questioning, Daniels turned her head to the right towards Judge Merchan, who is seated close to her. She maintained her gaze on Merchan until he made a ruling on the objection, and then resumed her testimony from where she paused.
In a tense interaction with defense attorney Susan Necheles, Stormy Daniels raised her voice at one instance. Necheles presented Daniels with a tweet she had authored, which stated, “I don’t owe him s— and I’ll never give that orange turd a dime.”
“I will talk to him,” said Trump attorney Todd Blanche. “So, I am speaking to you here at the bench because I don’t want to embarrass him,” Merchan said. “You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that.”
“I will talk to him,” Blanche replied. After a break, reporters overheard Judge Merchan questioning Blanche about communication with his client, although the context of the conversation was initially unclear. During her testimony, Daniels provided a detailed and explicit account of the purported sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
As he exited the court, former President Trump criticized the proceedings as “a disaster for the DA. “This was a very big day, a very revealing day,” Trump told reporters. “As you see, their case is totally falling apart. They have nothing on the books and records and even something that should bear very little relationship to the case,” he said. “It is just a disaster for the DA,” said the former president.
“That’s what you did, right?” Necheles insisted. “False,” Daniels responded. At times, Daniels has shown reluctance to respond to questions during the cross-examination, particularly when Necheles swiftly introduces an exhibit to the jurors.
“You want me to comment on something when I don’t know the context, and that is not fair,” Daniels said at one point. During the court session, defense attorney Susan Necheles questioned Stormy Daniels about the specifics she included and left out in her 2018 book, drawing from the discussions in court that day.
At a certain juncture, Necheles directly inquired whether Daniels was fabricating her account about Trump. “You are making this up as you sit there?” Necheles said. “No,” Daniels forcefully responded. “The whole story was made up, wasn’t it?” Necheles said. “None of it is made up,” Daniels responded.
Throughout the cross-examination, Donald Trump, seated at the defense table, has been leaning back in his chair with his focus directed towards the witness stand. He often has his eyes closed and seldom engages in discussions with his legal team. Defense attorney Susan Necheles is endeavoring to imply that Daniels has gained financially from what the defense contends is a fabricated assertion of a sexual interaction.
“You have been making money by claiming you had sex with Donald Trump for more than a decade?” Necheles asked. “I have been making money by telling my story about what happened to me,” Daniels responded. “And that story has made you a lot of money, right?” Necheles followed up. “It has also cost me a lot of money,” Daniels said.
Judge Merchan has stepped in several times to act as a mediator, intervening as the exchanges between Stormy Daniels and defense attorney Susan Necheles have become tense. At one moment, Daniels began speaking without being prompted and Necheles snapped: “OK, Miss Daniels, you understand there’s no question pending, right?”
Some jurors couldn’t help but smile when Nicheles read out a tweet from Daniels, where she referred to Trump as an “orange turd.” “That’s you calling President Trump names, correct?” Necheles asked. “In retaliation for him calling me names,” Daniels responded.
“You call him names all the time, right?” Necheles asked. “You despise him.” Daniels explained that she was responding to the derogatory names Trump had called her, such as Horseface and Sleazebag, which the jury had already been made aware of.
“Cause he made fun of me first,” Daniels said. “So one of you started it and you both continued it?” Necheles said.
Defense attorney Susan Necheles emphasized the strong dislike Stormy Daniels holds towards Donald Trump, especially after a California court dismissed a lawsuit she had filed against him and ordered her to pay Trump over half a million dollars in legal fees.
