Encounter with Trump left Daniels ‘shaking’
Stormy Daniels told a court she was left “shaking” after a sexual encounter with Donald Trump, as the judge overseeing the case repeatedly admonished her for going into too much detail.
The adult film actress is the star witness in the former president’s hush money trial, which hinges on an alleged cover-up of a US$130,000 (NZ$220,000) payment to “silence” her in the run-up to the 2016 election.
Her name has come up countless times so far in the first criminal trial of a former US president, but on Tuesday (US time), Daniels came face to face with the man she has for years claimed to have slept with in 2006.
Dressed in black with a ruffled, hooded cardigan, Daniels swooshed past Trump before proceeding to reel off salacious details about their alleged tryst in a Lake Tahoe hotel after a golf tournament.
On several occasions, the visibly excitable witness was asked to slow down for the court reporter recording her.
“Did you end up having sex with him on the bed?” asked Susan Hoffinger, for the prosecution.
“Yes,” Daniels replied. “I had my clothes and my shoes off. I removed my bra. We were in missionary position,” she added, before the defence objected.
Following the explicit evidence, Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, called for a mistrial, claiming Daniels’ testimony had ignored the “guardrails” set by the court.
“How can we come back from this in a way that’s fair to President Trump?”
New York Supreme Court justice Juan Merchan, who on several occasions told Daniels to stick to the question, and had told the prosecution the level of detail was “not necessary”, rejected the request.
The judge, who looked uncomfortable throughout the testimony, said he was “surprised” there weren’t more objections from Trump’s team. “I don’t think we’re at the point where a mistrial is warranted.”
Earlier, Daniels described how she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in 2006, when she was 27. Trump told her she must “be the smart one” because she directed as well as starred in adult films.
Later, his bodyguard, Keith Schiller, asked her if she’d like to go for dinner with Trump. Daniels initially said “eff no” but ended up meeting Trump at his hotel room after consulting with her publicist, who said “if nothing else, you’ll get a great story”. The porn star described arriving at Trump’s hotel suite, which was “three times” the size of her apartment.
Trump, who has continually attacked Daniels on social media, calling her “horseface”, was seen shaking his head and prodding his lawyers as she testified.
At one point, Trump mouthed “Bull...” as Daniels claimed she had spanked him with a rolled-up magazine with his face on it.
Daniels said she struggled to get dressed following the encounter because “my hands were shaking so hard”.
While she had “just wanted to leave” as quickly as possible, she said Trump told her: “It was great, let’s get together again, honeybunch, it was great.”
She said Trump did not ask her to keep their encounter confidential, and did not show any concern about his wife finding out. – Telegraph Group