Tense exchanges as Trump lawyer spars with Stormy Daniels in hush-money trial
During an interview with CBS News in 2018, Stormy Daniels stated that she had been threatened.
Written by Madeline Halpert and Kayla Epstein
During the trial where former president Donald Trump's payment to keep Stormy Daniels quiet was being discussed, his lawyer aggressively questioned Daniels' credibility.
"Let me confirm, do you hold a strong dislike towards President Trump?" queried Susan Necheles, as the interrogation in New York grew heated and occasionally turned into verbal sparring.
"Indeed," responded the individual who previously worked in the adult entertainment industry.
The first criminal trial of the ex-president revolves around the alleged sexual encounter between Mr Trump and Ms Daniels.
Mr Trump refuses to admit manipulating records in order to conceal a $130,000 payment made to Ms Daniels as part of a confidentiality agreement.
Ms Daniels provided a detailed description of the period she claims to have spent with Mr Trump, which resulted in a confrontational interrogation.
In the blog post, it was mentioned that Ms Necheles, who is part of Mr Trump's legal team, tried to portray Ms Daniels as being motivated by animosity and a financial incentive. According to Mr Trump, the alleged sexual incident with Ms Daniels never took place.
The conversation between the two ladies became more intense as they were shouting at each other. Ms Necheles blamed Ms Daniels of attempting to blackmail Mr Trump by accepting the hush-money offer.
"That's not true," Ms Daniels responded. "Is that what you did?" Ms Necheles inquired. "No, it's not true!" Ms Daniels reiterated.
The historic trial in New York involves the first criminal trial against a former US president. It revolves around Ms Daniels' accusation that she was paid $130,000 (£103,000) by Mr Trump's personal lawyer back in 2016. In return for this payment, she allegedly stayed silent about having had sexual relations with Mr Trump a decade prior.
Donald Trump has entered a plea of "not guilty" to 34 accusations of altering business records in order to conceal payments made to Stormy Daniels for the supposed sexual incident. Trump has rejected any allegations of misconduct.
In the morning, while being interrogated by the prosecution, Ms Daniels gave a comprehensive account of the encounters she claimed to have had with Mr Trump.
However, the main person giving testimony was often scolded by the judge for her long and unfocused responses.
"Ms Daniels, please try to provide concise answers," requested Justice Juan Merchan.
To increase the stress, Mr. Trump's attorneys opposed almost every inquiry made by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger regarding Ms. Daniel's supposed meeting. Justice Merchan largely supported the challenges, favoring the defense.
As time passed, the prosecutors raised objections to numerous questions posed by Ms Necheles during the cross-examination. Subsequently, the objections were also supported.
BBC News journalists are currently present in a Manhattan courtroom to provide coverage for an unprecedented event - the first criminal trial of an ex-president of the United States. For updates and exclusive insights, you can visit the BBC news website and app and tune in on TV, radio and podcasts.
Jurors were given the opportunity to hear Ms Daniels' account of her supposed interaction with Mr Trump that occurred at his hotel suite in Lake Tahoe during 2006.
According to her, Mr Trump had on silk sleepwear and inquired about her family, upbringing, and profession in the adult film sector in a systematic and professional manner.
At a particular moment in time, he made a comparison between Ms Daniels and his daughter Ivanka, as per Ms Daniels' account. The comparison was made on the basis that both women were considered attractive and underestimated by others.
In free English: Ms Daniels also shared the details of how the secret payment was arranged. She said that she decided to sell her story after discovering that another person was also planning to do so.
She expressed her preference to earn money rather than allowing others to profit from her.
In 2016, when Mr Trump initiated his presidential campaign, Ms Daniels discovered that Mr Trump and his attorney, Michael Cohen, were interested in purchasing her story. According to Ms Daniels' sworn statement, this transaction would have been mutually beneficial because she did not want her former partner to discover her alleged encounter with Mr Trump.
Ms Daniels stated that money was not her main driving force, expressing during her testimony that the payment by Mr Cohen was of little significance to her.
Ms Daniels explained some of the details of the supposed agreement, stating that she would have to shell out $1 million for each instance in which she disregarded the terms and spoke publicly about her encounter with Mr Trump.
The things Ms Daniels talked about on Tuesday aren't really new because she has given interviews and written about them in her book before. However, telling her story to Mr Trump in person as part of the criminal charges against him gives her story more credibility.
