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What to know about the trial today
- Stormy Daniels, who received hush money to keep quiet about her allegation of a sexual encounter with former President Donald Trump in 2006, returned to the stand today to continue cross-examination by the defense.
- Daniels testified in graphic detail at the trial Tuesday about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump, prompting Judge Juan Merchan to admonish the prosecution for not doing more to rein in her answers. The judge later chastised the defense after Trump had been cursing and shaking his head during her testimony.
- Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to allegedly hide the repayment to his former lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels. He has denied the charges and the alleged affair.
Daniels says she took military advice to 'stay high' to avoid trouble
Daniels testified that she took advice from her friend when it came to the non-disclose agreement she signed. She said her friend relayed a military concept: “get high, stay high.”
“Something won’t happen to you if everyone is looking at you,” she said.
Defense completes cross-examination
The defense has completed cross-examination of Stormy Daniels. Next up should be a redirect from the prosecution.
Stormy Daniels says she last spoke to Trump in 2010, says she didn't have knowledge of Trump-Cohen arrangement
Stormy Daniels said she last spoke to Trump in 2010. Trump lawyer Susan Necheles said that that was a long time ago.
Asked to confirm that she had no personal knowledge of the deal involving Trump and Cohen, she said, "Not directly, no."
Daniels said she hated 'Make America Horny Again' slogan
Stormy Daniels testified that she fired the person who posted advertisements for what was dubbed her "Make America Horny Again" tour.
Necheles, Trump's attorney, asked whether she "hated" that name, to which Daniels replied, "Yes," adding, “At some point I fired my webmaster for posting [those posters].”
GOP Sen. Rick Scott attacks Judge Merchan's daughter during press conference
Speaking to reporters outside of the courthouse, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a Trump ally who attended today’s court proceedings, said what’s happening to the former president is “wrong” and claimed that he’s facing legal troubles because he’s challenging President Joe Biden in November.
Scott suggested that the hush money trial is an election interference effort by Democrats to silence Trump. The Florida senator echoed Trump’s attacks on Merchan’s daughter, who has worked for a digital fundraising and advertising firm that often works with Democratic politicians — a line of attack that led to Merchan’s decision to expand the gag order against him.
“Now let’s look at who’s involved in doing this. The lead prosecutor was the No. 3 person ... in the Biden Justice Department. The judge’s daughter is a political operative and raises money for Democrats,” he said. “You got the lead prosecutor's wife, is a significant donor to Democrats, I think to Biden. So this is just a bunch of Democrats saying we want to make sure that Donald Trump can’t talk.”
Stormy Daniels insists she felt like she had to have sex with Trump
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles asked Stormy Daniels whether she felt like she had to have sex with Trump.
Necheles asked Tuesday whether Daniels had testified that Trump made nasty comments and stood over her. Daniels responded that she testified that Trump — who was much taller — stood in front of her.
Necheles asked if those actions made Daniels feel like she had to have sex with him. Daniels said Trump didn't give her drugs or alcohol and he didn't have a weapon, but she still felt like she didn't have a choice.
Cross-examination of Stormy Daniels reminiscent of pre-#MeToo era
Legal trials involving disputed claims of sex have historically involved defense attorneys cross-examining survivors on the way they’ve changed their stories over time and highlighting any inconsistencies.
The first criminal trial of a former American president is no exception.
So far, Necheles, Trump's attorney, has insinuated Daniels couldn’t have been intimidated because she worked in porn and was good at making up “phony stories.” Watching this cross-examination by Susan Necheles is almost a throwback to an earlier, pre-#MeToo, time.
Defense lawyer implies porn performer wouldn't be shocked by Trump in his underwear
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles implied during questioning that Daniels was incapable of being shocked by the sight of Trump in his underwear in the hotel room because she has worked on so many adult films.
She mentioned Daniels had had sex in over 250 porn movies, prompting Daniels to reply that she had worked on around 150 adult films.
Necheles then pressed Daniels, saying there are naked men and women having sex in those movies, but according to Daniels, seeing a man in a T-shirt and boxers was so offending that she got lightheaded and nearly fainted?
“Yes,” Daniels replied, adding that it was Trump, an older, much larger man, sitting on the bed, which she was not expecting, and the circumstances included that his bodyguard was standing outside.
"If I came out of the bathroom and it was not my husband, but Mr. Trump instead, I would probably have the same reaction.”
Stormy Daniels and Trump attorney spar over whether she ate dinner on night of affair
During a lengthy exchange about whether or not Daniels ate anything in Trump's hotel room on the night of their affair, Necheles and Daniels sparred about whether there were inconsistencies between what she said on the stand yesterday and several public interviews she did in 2018.
"I never actually got my food … that has not changed," Daniels said after she was pressed about comments she made to CNN years ago.
Daniels insisted again to Necheles later, "I had dinner in the room, but we never got any food, and we never ate anything."
Necheles seems to be trying to undercut Daniels' credibility by interrogating her on whether she ate dinner or just stayed in Trump's hotel room during dinnertime.
Defense lawyer tries to discredit Daniels' description of how Trump got her phone number
Daniels testified that she had first met Trump on the golf course and that he had asked for her number, and recalled saying that to In Touch magazine.
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles then noted that in an interview with the magazine in 2011, Daniels said it was Trump, not his bodyguard Keith Schiller specifically, who asked for her number.
Daniels said she didn’t specify who asked for her number, and that Trump and Schiller were standing together.
Necheles pressed Daniels again, saying Daniels recalled that the first time she met Trump was on the golf course, and that he kept looking at her and asked for her number.
“It was always” Trump, Daniels said.
She said later about the article in In Touch, “This is an entertainment magazine, it is very short and frivolous.”
“It was minus some details” and a short interview, she added.
Trump lawyer tells Stormy Daniels she makes 'phony stories about sex'
Trump attorney Susan Necheles asked Stormy Daniels about her experience in the adult film industry. Daniels said she directed 150 sex films "give or take."
“You have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex," Necheles said.
Daniels replied, “Wow. That’s not how I would put it. The sex in the films is very much real, just like what happened to me in that room.”
Necheles then asked Daniels if she had a lot of experience memorizing fictional stories and if she was telling a story about Trump.
“If that story was untrue, I would’ve written it to be a lot better," Daniels said.
Daniels describes other ventures: Haunted house show and tarot card readings
Necheles, Trump's attorney, is continuing to question Stormy Daniels about her other ventures and ways in which she's made money.
In one instance, she asks Daniels about a TV show she filmed about paranormal activity in a New Orleans house.
“It was a lot of interesting and unexplained activities, so I created an entire show," Daniels said, adding, "A lot of the activity was completely debunked, as a giant possum that was under the house for instance.”
Necheles also asked about tarot card readings and related services Daniels has offered, asking, "You claimed to be able to speak with people’s dead relatives, right?"
"I make clear it’s all entertainment,” Daniels replied.
The implication is that Daniels, who now makes money as a “medium,” is a perpetual fraud.
Daniels smirks while detailing profits from merchandise she sells
Daniels, smirking, admits she sells a “Stormy, Saint of Indictments candle,” which sells for $40 each, from which she makes $7 per candle. She said they are made by a store in New Orleans, that she finds them “funny,” and that she sells them through her online store as a result.
Through all the questions about what Daniels was selling, Necheles reaches her ultimate conclusion: That a large part of her income comes from her story about Trump and her claiming credit for his legal predicament.
'Oh, I absolutely meant Mr. Trump,' Stormy Daniels says about tweet referenced by Trump lawyer
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles showed Stormy Daniels a tweet she had re-tweeted in which someone called her a "human toilet" and wrote "Exactly! Making me the best person to flush the orange turd down."
"I don't see the word instrumental or jail," Daniels said.
Daniels said it was hyperbole. Asked if she was referring to Trump, Daniels said it doesn't say that and that it was up to interpretation.
"I'm also not a toilet," Daniels added.
Necheles asked again what she meant by orange turd.
"Oh, I absolutely meant Mr. Trump," she said.
Stormy Daniels accuses Trump attorney of trying to 'trick' her
As Necheles questioned Daniels about how much money she made for a documentary film that aired on NBC's streaming platform, Peacock, Daniels alleged that Necheles was "trying to trick me into saying something that’s not entirely true."
Earlier, Necheles asked Daniels whether she was paid $120,000 for the documentary, but Daniels disputed that number, saying she was paid $100,000 for footage previously filmed, not for sitting for an interview with the documentary producers. She added that some of the money also went toward paying those who filmed parts of the eventual documentary.
Analysis: Defense tries to paint Stormy Daniels as a promiscuous person
The defense’s attempts to color Daniels as nutty and slutty is a constant. For example, they accused her of having an affair with a cameraman on her documentary while still married to someone else; that cameraman is now her husband, and she was separated at that time, Stormy insisted.
Stormy Daniels says that her book contract was for $800K
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles elicited from Stormy Daniels that her book contract, which came about after her "60 Minutes" interview, was for $800,000 and asked her whether the main reason she was paid for the book was her story about having sex with Trump.
The defense is not interrogating the details about the sexual encounter; instead, they are insinuating that Daniels is not credible because of a combination of her financial motivations, her exploitation of her own sexuality and her hatred of Trump.
She maintained she was not “selling herself to a new demographic” but was “doing the same job she always did.”
Stormy Daniels denies naming her tour 'Make America Horny Again'
After pressing Daniels on the centerpiece of the book she wrote, Trump lawyer Susan Necheles asked her about the tour of strip clubs she went on that was dubbed “Make America Horny Again” — a play on words referencing Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“I did not name that tour and I fought it tooth and nail,” she said.
Stormy Daniels: 'Nobody would ever want to publicly say that' they had sex with Trump
Necheles, Trump's attorney, continued her questioning of Daniels, insinuating that "even though you had agreed that you would not discuss this supposed story and you had received a lot of money for that agreement, you then decided that you wanted to publicly say that you had sex with Donald Trump.”
Daniels answered that this was not the case, and that "nobody would ever want to publicly say that.”
She added that she felt she had to speak out after Cohen started sharing the story. Daniels also clarified that she made no money for speaking with CBS' "60 Minutes" about the story.
Cross-examination underscores defense strategy: Just seed some doubt
The cross-examination is a bit all over the place but the unifying strategy is there: find some holes to poke in Daniels' credibility.
The defense just spent considerable time trying to prove that Daniels had a political motive for wanting to out Trump's story, that she was trying to hurt his election bid. But wouldn't that bolster the prosecution's argument that Trump had a motive for wanting to silence her?
The defense might not care that it would seem to work in their favor — they're simply trying to mar her testimony in any way. They just need to convince one juror to not believe her.
Judge tells defense to stop wrong audio tape
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles tried to play a recording that was new audio between Keith Davidson and Michael Cohen.
Judge Merchan, however, stopped the audio midtape. "Please stop the tape," he said.
Necheles said the wrong audio was played by mistake. She then presented a transcript of the audio she intended to play.
Davidson: I just didn’t want you to get caught off guard, and I wanted to let you know what was going on behind the scenes. And I would not be the least bit surprised, if, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if you see in the next couple of days that Gina Rodriguez’s boyfriend goes out in the media and tells the story that Stormy Daniels, you know, in the weeks prior to the election was basically yelling and screaming, and calling me a p****.
Cohen: Can I, can I ask you a question? Right.
Davidson: No, no, hold on one second, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he comes out and says, you know what, Stormy Daniels, she wanted this money more than you can ever imagine. I remember hearing her on the phone saying, you fucking Keith Davidson. You better settle this god-damn story. Because if he loses this selection and he’s going to lose, if he loses this election we lose all f****** leverage this case is worth zero. And if that happens. I’m going to sue you because you lost this opportunity. So settle this f****** case.
Daniels is less combative, more prepared for 'gotcha' moments today
As she kicks off her second day on the stand, Daniels seems less combative and more prepared today.
She knows Trump attorney Necheles has prepared a number of “gotcha” moments, so Daniels has tried to pre-empt that by asking to be shown where she told a Slate reporter that she wanted to be paid for her story as an alternative to being paid for her silence. Daniels resisted the characterization that she just wanted to be paid for her story, but she agreed she wanted the story to be public.
Stormy Daniels says she never asked for money from Trump
Asked by Trump lawyer Necheles if she wanted money from Trump, Daniels said, “No" and that she “never asked for money” from Trump or anyone else.
“No, I never asked for money from anyone in particular, I asked for money to tell my story,” she said.
After Daniels said that she entered negotiations over a nondisclosure agreement and accepted an offer, Necheles pressed her on whether she was going to do a press conference.
“You could have done a press conference?” Necheles asked.
Daniels said, “I chose to be safe.”
“You chose to make money, right?” Necheles asked.
Daniels replied, “I chose to take the nondisclosure.”
Merchan says Daniels' arrest record can't be used in court
Before the jury comes in, Trump lawyer Susan Necheles planned to elicit testimony about Daniels being accused of assault by her now ex-husband, which did not result in a conviction or plea.
Merchan told Necheles that neither the arrest nor the accusation may come into evidence.
Trump says defense team filed a motion challenging gag order
Speaking to cameras before entering the courtroom, Trump criticized the case.
“I think you’ll see some very revealing things today," he said.
Trump said his team just filed a major motion with the appellate division challenging the judge’s gag order in the case. He said that Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is there at court today.
He said the courthouse is closed down like Fort Knox. “It’s like an armed camp down here,” he said, instead of at college campuses handling the protests.
He also offered criticism of Biden with respect to Israel, saying it is "disgraceful," referring to the threat to withhold military aid if Israel invades Rafah.
"If any Jewish person voted for Biden, they should be ashamed of themselves," Trump said.
He said Biden has domestic problems.
"Your problem is from the left, it's not the right," he said. "It's a bigger danger than China and Russia."
Sen. Rick Scott will join Trump in courtroom today
Daniels returns to witness stand for more cross-examination in Trump trial
Daniels is scheduled to return to the witness stand in the former president’s criminal trial today, when she’ll face more cross-examination by defense attorneys about her now-sworn allegation that she had a sexual encounter with Trump.
Daniels testified Tuesday about the alleged 2006 tryst, which Trump has denied. Her testimony apparently got under the former president's skin, prompting the judge to warn his attorney that he would not tolerate Trump’s cursing while Daniels is on the stand in Manhattan criminal court in New York City.
“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,” Merchan told Todd Blanche in a sidebar, which took place out of earshot of most of the courtroom, according to a court transcript.
“It has the potential to intimidate the witness and the jury can see that,” he said. “You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that.”
Spotted at the courthouse: Ex-Judge Jeanine Pirro
Seated in the overflow room is former Judge Jeanine Pirro — a staunch defender of Trump who has called the trial a "kangaroo courtroom."
Pirro, who hosts an opinion program on Fox News, is seated in the press section.
Trump leaves for court, and more testimony from Daniels
The former president has left Trump Tower and is headed to the courthouse downtown, where his lawyers are expected to continue their cross-examination of Daniels this morning.
Will Trump take the stand in his criminal trial?
As prosecutors near the home stretch of their criminal case against Trump, one of the biggest questions looming over the historic trial is whether the former president will take the stand in his own defense.
Just last month, before jury selection began, Trump insisted he would be on the witness stand.
“I would testify, absolutely,” he said April 12 in response to a question from NBC News. “I’m testifying. I tell the truth, I mean, all I can do is tell the truth. And the truth is that there is no case.”
A week later, after the trial started, he told reporters at the courthouse in Manhattan that “yes,” he will testify.
Since then, Trump has added caveats when asked the same question.
Trump came to face-to-face with Daniels during a day of salacious testimony at his criminal hush money trial. Meanwhile, his federal trial in Florida related to classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate is now on hold indefinitely. NBC’s Laura Jarrett reports for "TODAY."
What to expect in court today
Trump's lawyers are expected to resume their cross-examination of Daniels after court is back in session at 9:30 a.m.
Daniels delivered testimony Tuesday about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and the hush money that came a decade later, near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.
It is unclear if Daniels will finish her testimony today.
More Trump allies are expected in the courtroom today, including Republican Sen. Rick Scott, who is running for re-election in Trump's home state of Florida.
Here's what you missed when court was last in session
Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday and delivered testimony about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, in addition to providing details about a hush money agreement near the end of the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels said that she had sex with Trump at a hotel, and that when she last saw him in 2007, he “kept trying to make sexual advances” when he invited her to see him in Los Angeles.
She also testified that her manager told her that Trump and Cohen were “interested in paying” for her story after the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape in 2016, which she agreed to.
During cross-examination, Trump's lawyers sought to diminish the credibility of Daniels' account. They argued that her testimony “was unduly and inappropriately prejudicial," and asked for a mistrial, which Merchan rejected.
The judge also told one of the defense attorneys to tell Trump he needed to stop "cursing" while Daniels was on the stand, warning that such actions could be viewed as witness intimidation and would not be tolerated.
There were no trial proceedings yesterday.
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