Defense team questions adult film star about hush money payment in case against former US president.
Donald Trump’s defense attorney is cross-examining adult film star Stormy Daniels, the most prominent witness to date in the New York criminal trial against the former US president.
Daniels’ account of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 captivated jurors earlier this week and reminded U.S. voters of the more lurid aspects of the real estate developer-turned-politician as he fights to retake the White House this year.
On Thursday, Trump attorney Susan Necheles questioned Daniels about the transaction that was at the center of Trump’s hush money trial.
Necheles pressed Daniels on why she accepted a $130,000 payment to keep quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump rather than go public.
“Why didn’t you do that?” Necheles asked, wondering why Daniels didn’t hold a news conference in 2016 as originally planned to tell reporters about her encounter with Trump, which the former president denies ever happened.
“Because we were running out of time,” Daniels said.
Necheles asked if she thought she was running out of time to make money on the claim. “To bring the story to light,” Daniels replied.
The negotiations took place in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, a critical point in the case against Trump as prosecutors argue that he and his allies covered up potentially damaging stories to influence the election results.
The former president is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the alleged hush money payment intended to silence Daniels.
Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee in November’s election, denies any wrongdoing.
Daniels’ testimony was an extraordinary moment in what may be the only criminal case against Trump that goes to trial before voters decide whether to send him back to the White House.
He faces three additional criminal charges, including two related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
In the New York hush money case, Daniels testified Thursday that while negotiating a nondisclosure agreement with Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen, she also spoke to journalists as a “backup” plan.
Necheles accused her of refusing to share the story with reporters because she wouldn’t get paid. “The better alternative would be for you to get money, right?” Necheles said.
Daniels said she was most concerned about getting her story out and ensuring her family’s safety.
“The better alternative would be to protect my story with a paper trail so my family isn’t hurt,” Daniels replied.
Speaking to reporters on his way to court on Thursday, Trump called it a “Frankenstein case.”
“It is not a recognizable crime that any of us have seen,” he said. “This is a prosecutor making things up as he goes along.”
Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case, has imposed a gag order on Trump that prohibits him from publicly attacking witnesses. Trump has already been fined 10 times for violating the order and held in contempt of court.