Trump trial: 'None of it is made up,' Stormy Daniels says of her story
Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
MORE: Here are 8 pieces of evidence presented so far in Trump’s hush money trial
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Latest Developments
May 7, 4:36 PM
Court ends for the day
Judge Merchan has ended the proceedings for the day.
Former President Trump was conferring with his attorney when Stormy Daniels passed by the defense table on her way out of the courtroom, and she and Trump did not appear to acknowledge each other.
Court is off tomorrow, with Daniels’ cross-examination scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.
May 7, 4:29 PM
Defense presses Daniels on claim of extortion
Defense attorney Susan Necheles, resuming her cross-examination of Stormy Daniels following a break, raised the defense claim that Donald Trump was the victim of extortion.
“You were looking to extort money from President Trump, right?” Necheles asked.
“False,” Daniels replied.
“That’s what you did, right?” Necheles insisted.
“False,” Daniels responded.
On occasion, Daniels has been hesitant to answer questions during the cross-examination, especially when Necheles quickly presents an exhibit to 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.
May 7, 4:15 PM
Defense suggests Daniels is making up her story
Defense attorney Susan Necheles asked Stormy Daniels a line of questions about what details Daniels included and omitted from her 2018 book, based on some of what she said today court.
At one point Necheles directly asked if Daniels was simply making up her story about Trump.
“You are making this up as you sit there?” Necheles said.
Judge Juan Merchan presides over proceedings as Stormy Daniels answers questions on direct examination by assistant district attorney Susan Hoffinger in Manhattan criminal court as former President Donald Trump listens, May 7, 2024, in New York.
“No,” Daniels forcefully responded.
“The whole story was made up, wasn’t it?” Necheles said.
“None of it is made up,” Daniels responded.
For most of the cross-examination, Donald Trump, at the defense table, has been sitting back in his chair and angled toward the witness stand. His eyes are frequently closed, and he rarely confers with his lawyers.
May 7, 3:44 PM
Defense suggests Daniels has profited from her story
Defense attorney Susan Necheles is attempting to suggest that Daniels has profited from what defense attorneys have argued is a false claim of a sexual encounter.
“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.
May 7, 3:37 PM
Judge steps in during heated cross-examination
Judge Merchan has had to intervene on multiple occasions to play the role of mediator as the back-and-forth between Stormy Daniels and defense Susan Necheles has grown heated.
When Daniels at one point started to speak unprompted, Necheles snapped: “OK, Miss Daniels, you understand there’s no question pending, right?”
That prompted the judge to instruct Daniels, “Please wait until there’s a question asked, and then you can answer the question.”
At various points when prosecutors have objected to Necheles’ line of questions, Daniels shoots her head to her right toward Merchan, who sits less than five feet away from her.
She stares at Merchan until he rules on the objection, then continues her testimony where she left off.
May 7, 4:40 PM
Daniels pressed on calling Trump names
Stormy Daniels raised her voice at one point during a testy exchange with defense attorney Susan Necheles.
Necheles showed Daniels a Tweet she wrote that said, “I don’t owe him s— and I’ll never give that orange turd a dime.”
A few jurors cracked smiles when Nicheles read aloud one of Daniels’ tweets, in which she called Trump an “orange turd.”
“That’s you calling President Trump names, correct?” Necheles asked.
Former President Donald Trump watches as Stormy Daniels is questioned in Manhattan state court in New York City, May 7, 2024, in this courtroom sketch.
“In retaliation for him calling me names,” Daniels responded.
“You call him names all the time, right?” Necheles asked. “You despise him.”
Daniels responded that she was countering the names he called her that the jury previously saw, namely Horseface and Sleazebag.
“Cause he made fun of me first,” Daniels said.
“So one of you started it and you both continued it?” Necheles said.
May 7, 3:22 PM
Defense presses Daniels on not paying Trump’s legal fees
Defense attorney Susan Necheles played up the animosity Stormy Daniels has for Donald Trump after a California court dismissed a lawsuit she filed against him and awarded Trump legal fees totaling more than a half million dollars.
“You’re choosing not to pay President Trump one penny,” Necheles said. “You’ve chosen to disobey a court order.”
She read a Tweet from Daniels saying she would go to jail before paying Trump the money a court determined she owed.
Necheles’ voice, during questioning, is almost rising to shout, jolting the courtroom.
Judge Merchan reminded Necheles to allow Daniels to answer the question before rushing on to the next one.
May 7, 3:14 PM
Daniels says she hates Trump, wants him ‘held responsible’
Defense attorney Susan Necheles began her cross-examination of Stormy Daniels by suggesting that Daniels’ testimony was rehearsed.
“The prosecution subjected you to several grueling prep sessions, which included brutal mock cross examinations?” Necheles asked.
“My testimony was not rehearsed,” Daniels responded.
“The memories were hard to bring up — they were painful,” Daniels added.
“Am I correct that you hate President Trump?” Necheles asked.
“Yes,” Daniels responded.
“And you want him to go to jail?” Necheles asked.
“I want him to be held responsible,” Daniels said.
May 7, 3:09 PM
Daniels says she’s been paid $100K for Peacock documentary
Stormy Daniels testified that she sold the license rights of her story to Peacock — which released a documentary about her earlier this year — for $125,000.
Of that amount, Daniels said she has has received $100,000 so far.
Asked why she felt the need to make the documentary, Daniels responded, “To get the truth out — the same as the book.”
Hoffinger then asked Daniels to read aloud one of Trump’s social media posts about her.
“I did NOTHING wrong in the ‘Horseface’ case,” Daniels read, slightly raising her voice. “Never had an affair with her, just another false acquisition [sic] by a Sleazebag.”
Daniels testified that Trump has repeatedly called her “horseface.”
In the jury box, many of the jurors have been taking notes as Daniels testifies, with others looking back-and-forth between Hoffinger and Daniels as though they’re watching a tennis match.
Trump, meanwhile, is slouched back in his seat, looking down or straight ahead — still seeming to avoid looking toward the witness.
After the last round of questions, Hoffinger concluded her direct examination.
May 7, 3:10 PM
Daniels says Avenatti sued Trump without her consent
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Stormy Daniels about her 2018 lawsuit against Donald Trump for defamation.
Trump had called Daniels’ allegations of being threatened in Las Vegas a “con job.” A court later dismissed the case and ordered Daniels to pay Trump’s legal fees.
According to Daniels, her attorney at the time, Michael Avenatti, filed the lawsuit against her will.
“Did you want him to do that?” Hoffinger asked.
“No,” Daniels said. “It just seemed really risky and it didn’t seem like something that could be won. It seemed like a bad choice. Not worth it, I guess.”
Daniels later fired Avenatti, who was disbarred and imprisoned for stealing from clients.
Daniels testified that she still owes Trump for the legal fees in the case.
“Because I don’t have the means to pay that kind of funds and because I didn’t think it was fair,” Daniels said about why she hasn’t paid.
She testified that the outcome of this criminal case will have no outcome on her outstanding fees — possibly getting ahead of a potential line of cross-examination.
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