 "Stormy Daniels recounts 2006 sexual encounter with Donald Trump")
In a riveting Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the center of Donald Trump’s hush money case, gave testimony regarding a 2006 sexual encounter that led to the former US president’s criminal trial.
In order to pay back his attorney, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment made to Daniels to quiet her on the eve of his 2016 victory against Hillary Clinton—a campaign that could have been destroyed by the sensationalized tale of marital infidelity—Trump, 77, is accused of fabricating company records.
Daniels’ testimony is offering a crucial turning point in the legal drama that is upending the scandal-plagued Republican’s hopes of winning back the White House in November.
“The people call Stormy Daniels,” prosecutor Susan Hoffinger announced as Trump, dressed in a dark blue suit and gold tie, sat stony-faced at the defense table flanked by his lawyers.
The 45-year-old Daniels, decked up in a black suit and thick eye makeup, started off with fielding questions from Hoffinger, who took her through her harsh upbringing in Louisiana, her time spent as a stripper, and finally her involvement in the adult film industry.
Daniels claimed to have met Trump while working as a greeter for the adult film studio Wicked Entertainment at a celebrity golf event in Lake Tahoe.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsShe said that Trump had called her the “smart one” because she was directing as well as appearing in X-rated films.
At the time, Daniels claimed to be 27 years old, and Trump was “older, probably older than my father.”
The real estate mogul reportedly requested to have dinner with her, according to a member of Trump’s security team.
She claimed that although she was first hesitant, she eventually consented after talking with her publicist.
Trump was staying in a penthouse, and Daniels claimed that upon arriving, he came out sporting “silk or satin pajamas which I immediately made fun of.”
“I said ‘Does Mr Hefner know you stole his pajamas?’” she said in a reference to the outfit favored by the late Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.
Trump changed into a dress shirt and pants and they began talking about adult movies.
“He was very interested in a lot of the business stuff,” Daniels said.
Trump, who was married at the time to his current wife, Melania, suggested at one point that Daniels should be on his hit reality television show, “The Apprentice,” she said.
“I said there’s no way NBC would let me on television,” she said.
Daniels said she went to the bathroom at one point and when she emerged Trump “was on the bed between myself and the door” in boxer shorts and a T-shirt.
“It startled me,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be there especially minus a lot of clothing.”
“The intention was pretty clear,” she said, adding that she thought to herself “great, I’ve put myself in this bad situation.”
“I was not threatened verbally or physically,” Daniels said, although there was an “imbalance of power.”
She said they had sex on the bed “in missionary position” and Trump did not wear a condom.
“I felt ashamed I didn’t stop it, didn’t say no,” Daniels said. “I told very few people.”
Trump has denied having sex with Daniels.
Prosecutors say that Trump – desperate to kill Daniels’ story before it could wreck his chances in the narrow 2016 race – illegally reimbursed Cohen, to cover up the hush money payment.
Cohen, who has become a vocal critic of his former boss, is also expected to testify at the trial as a prosecution witness.
The courtroom face-off comes exactly six months before election day, when Trump will try to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden for a shock return to power.
Trump will be constrained from attacking Daniels after Merchan on Monday found him in contempt of court for his repeated violations of a partial gag order.
The gag order is meant to prevent Trump from using his huge media presence to attack witnesses, members of the jury and court staff in a bid to influence the trial.
Merchan said that in addition a series of already imposed fines, Trump will face the threat of jail time for future violations.
The trial is the first criminal prosecution in history of a US president and is one of four cases against the real estate tycoon.
In addition to the New York case, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.
He also faces charges of illegally storing top-secret documents taken from the White House at his home in Florida and refusing to return them.
(With agency inputs)
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