Stormy Daniels takes the stand

Says ex-Trump lawyer paid her to keep quiet

By: Aysha Bagchi
Kinbsey Crowley
and Bart Jansen
USA Today

NEW YORK - On the 15th day of the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former president, after all the dreary testimony about ledgers and bookkeeping, Stormy Daniels got to the heart of the incident Donald Trump wanted to hush up: a night in his hotel room.
..... Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had sex with Trump in 2006 and that his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged $130,000 payment to keep her quiet in the closing days of the 2016 election.
..... Prosecutors say the payment represented an unlawful campaign violation as a contribution to influence the election. Trump denies they had sex, argues he was unaware of the payment and has pleaded not guilty.
..... With Trump's son Eric looking on, Daniels unspooled a salacious tale.
..... Daniels said she was 27 years old in Lake Tahoe in July 2006. She was under contract as an adult film director, writer and actor, and knew Trump was probably as old as older than her father.
..... Jurors were shown a photo of Daniels and Trump together. Trump wore a read cap and a yellow polo shirt with what Danials decried as a golf logo.
..... That day, Daniels received advice that she should go to the tournament dinner because it might open up professional opportunities. At the dinner, a Trump bodyguard named Keith approached Daniels, saying Trump wanted to know if she would like to have dinner, Daniels testified. She gave the bodyguard her phone number, she said.
..... Daniels went up to Trump's hotel suite for dinner. It was three times the size of her apartment, she testified.
..... Trump greeted her wearing silky pajamas. She made a joke, asking if Playboy founder Hugh Hefner knew that Trump was wearing his clothes. She told Trump to go change and he obliged politely, she said, putting on a dress shirt and dress pants.
..... They made some getting-to-know-you chitchat, she said. trump asked if she had a boyfriend; she said no, she didn't. He asked business questions about the adult film industry, including whether there was a union, whether there was testing for sexually transmitted diseases and how she got paid.
..... Trump asked her if she had ever had a bad test, meaning a test for a sexually transmitted disease. She told Trump 'nope," never.
..... The light conversation continued. Trump famously proud of his hair, told Daniels about a contest in which the loser would have to shave their head. "You do not have the head designed to be responded. He agreed. He said all that stuff was predetermined and he knew it wouldn't happen ti him.
..... She commented on a photo of Melania Trump that was in the suite: "She's very beautiful - what about your wife?" Trump told Daniels not to worry about that, that he and his wife didn't sleep in the same room, Daniels testified.
..... Some moments came across as flinty, as when Daniels told Trump that he was being rude and someone should spank him. He gave her a look as if he was daring her to do it, she said. She took an item from him, instructed him to turn around and swatted his behind with it, she testified. They continued to talk :and he was much more polite," Daniels said, the cussing his golf course in Scotland and traveling, she said. Trump said he might be able to get her on "The Apprentice."
.... At this point, Judge Juan Merchan told p[prosecutor Susan Hoffinger that the court didn't need so much detail from Daniels.
..... Daniels used the restroom, noticing Old Spice and manicure times that appeared to be made of gold.
..... When she came out, Trump was on the bed-posing in underwear, as if waiting for her, she described. She said she thought in her head, "Oh my God," and asked herself what she had misread.
..... Daniels laughed nervously she said, and at first tried to make a joke and step aorta to leave. she said she didn't feel physically threatened by Trump, although she knew there was a power imbalance and a bodyguard right outside.
..... She decided to go ahead with sex. Daniels make a reference to their sexual position and the defense raised an objection, which the judge sustained. Asked by the prosecution whether Trump wore a condom, Daniels said no.
..... As Daniels was readying to leave the suite after sex, Trump said they were "fantastic together: and that she should be gotten onto his show.
..... Daniels said she later met Trump at a nightclub after Keith the bodyguard reached out. Trump was with his friend, former NFL Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
..... Trump at some point gave Daniels the phone number of someone named "Rhona," saying Daniels could get in touch with him through her. That appeared to be a reference to Rhona Graff, Trump's former executive assistant. Graff previously testified that she cerated a contact information entry on Daniels for Trump, and saw Daniels come in for an appointment at one time.
..... The steamy account Tuesday [05/07/2024] followed a brief appearance by a Random House executive meant to illustrate that Trump kept tack of every penny that went through his business, at one point depositing a check for 50 cents.

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