Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, entered the courtroom in Manhattan, New York on Tuesday morning (local time) and took the witness stand, to the left of the jurors, in front of Donald Trump.
A little nervous, the 45-year-old actress forcefully began recounting details of a day in 2006 when, on the sidelines of a golf tournament, she met Donald Trump, at the time a figure in the world of business and jet -set.
“It was a very short meeting,” and then a member of security “(said to me) ‘Mr. Trump would like to know if you would like to have dinner with him,'” she told jurors, visibly absorbed by his words.
Donald Trump remained impassive when she entered the packed hearing room.
Wearing a black suit and trousers and a thick line of eyeliner, Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, said she then had sex with the billionaire in his hotel suite, something the Republican vehemently denies categorical.
During his testimony, prosecutors showed a now-famous photo of Donald Trump posing with Stormy Daniels.
Reality show
The actress detailed the conversation they had in the apartment, “a hotel room three times the size of my apartment”, in which Donald Trump received her “dressed in silk or satin pajamas”, which she mocked -a.
She talks about a rather “playful” conversation in which Donald Trump took an interest in her.
“(My wife Melania and I) don’t sleep in the same room,” he told her, according to the testimony.
The billionaire promised him an appearance in his famous reality show “The Apprentice” (The Apprentice, no.
Then, answering questions from the prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, who led the interrogation, Stormy Daniels told the moment when, coming out of the bathroom, she found Donald Trump undressed in bed.
“I felt the blood drain from my hands and feet, like when you stand up too quickly,” she recalled.
She did not feel threatened in those moments, but she assured that the businessman’s intention “was quite clear” and that “the balance of forces was unbalanced”.
“I ended up having a sexual relationship with him,” she adds, comparing the situation to “a black-out” (faint, no).
“I was ashamed that I didn’t stop it, that I didn’t say no” and “I said it to a lot of people”.
In the tense atmosphere of the interrogation, judge Juan Merchan seemed annoyed by certain questions of the prosecutor, in the context in which one of Donald Trump’s lawyers, Susan Necheles, pleaded that the sexual relationship should not be evoked.
“It is excessively prejudicial,” she pleaded.
This meeting is at the center of the case in which Trump is accused of illegal use of campaign funds.
A key witness in the case bringing the former president before a criminal court, Stormy Daniels was paid $130,000 at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign to keep quiet about a sexual relationship she says she had o with Donald Trump in 2006, a hidden payment that is at the heart of the dossier.
She testifies against the former American president, who accuses her of being a liar.
Frowning, 77-year-old Donald Trump entered the hearing room on Tuesday, shortly before 9:30 a.m. local time (4:30 p.m. Romanian time), six months before the presidential election in which he dreams of defeating the Democratic president in exercise Joe Biden.
“We want to reiterate our objection to her (Stormy Daniels – no) testifying about any sexual act”, pleaded the defendant’s lawyer.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger replied that the details could be left out, but that it was “important to establish that a sexual act took place and what she felt.”
Message deleted
Since the payment was revealed in an article published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in January 2018, during the presidential term of Donald Trump, he has always denied a relationship with the former porn actress. He attacked her credibility and called her “horse face”.
The money was paid by the former personal lawyer of the billionaire, Michael Cohen, through a front company.
Starting April 15, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee faces a grand jury trial on 34 counts of falsifying accounting documents in the payment, which could earn him the first criminal conviction of a former U.S. president and, in theoretically, a prison sentence.
Even if he is convicted, he will be able to run on November 5 against Joe Biden. The payment itself is not contested, but Donald Trump’s lawyers deny any criminal wrongdoing.
A few hours earlier on Tuesday, a post on Donald Trump’s account on his social network Truth Social was deleted. The former American president complained in this post – without naming him – about the witness heard on Tuesday and protested about the short time his lawyers had at their disposal to prepare this moment.
The judge banned Donald Trump from publicly attacking witnesses or jurors outside the courtroom and fined him ten dollars each — the maximum amount — for as many violations of that ban. On Monday, the judge threatened him, for the second time, to imprison him if he attacks again.
Follow us on Google News
Tags: trial Donald Trump Stormy Daniels Testifies President Afraid
-
