Trump lawyer bits Daniels' credibility

Actor's motives are questioned during cross-examination

By: Aysha Bagchi
Kinsey Crowley
and Bart Jansen
USA Today

..... Stormy Daniels faced more cross-examinaiton Thursday [04/09/2024] at former President Donald Trump's New York hush money trial. the adult film star described on Tuesday [05/07/2024] having sex with Trump after meeting him at a 2006 golf tournament.
..... Daniels' story of that evening formed the basis for a $130,000 hush money payment she got from Trump lawyer Michael Cohen lees than two weeks before the 2016 election. Prosecutors allege that the payment violate federal campaign finance laws and that Trump falsified records to cover it up. Trump denies Daniels' story and has pleaded not guilty.
..... Defense attorney Susan Necheles peppered Daniels with questions aimed to undermine her credibility and portray her as a financial opportunists - as Daniels pushed back energetically.
..... "A large part of your livelihood for a bunch of years now has been making money off the story that you had sex with President Trump and that you will help President Trump be convicted, right? Necheles asked.
..... Necheles implied that Daniels didn't really want to share her story in 2016: She just wanted to profit and sued the election for leverage. Danial explained she took the non-disclosure deal because she chose to be :safe."
..... "You chose to make money, right?" Necheles shot back.
..... "I chose to take the nondisclosure," Danial replied.
..... Daniels confirmed signing two statements in early 2018 denying having had an affair with Trump.
..... Necheles detailed the merchandise Daniels sells - a $30 "Stormy Daniels: Political Power" comic book, a $40 "Stormy Saint of Indictments" prayer candle - and her business deals.
..... Daniels confirmed that she tweeted that she made $1 million from her 2018 book "Full Disclosure" as well as participating on a reality TV show, "The Surreal Life." Daniels said she made $200,000 form appearing on the show. She makes about $7 per candle, she said.
..... She defend those decisions, saying that she needs money to foot her legal bills - she owes Trump more than $500,000 form a failed defamation lawsuit - and that selling merchandise was part of her job.
..... "That is me during my job,: Daniels said in a confident tone.
..... Then Necheles began digging into Danial's account of her interaction with Trump and what followed.
..... "Details of your story keep changing, right?" Necheles asked.
..... "NO," Daniels retorted.
..... Necheles suggested Daniels made up her story: "You have a lot of experience in making phony stores about sex appear to be real?"
..... "Wow," Daniels said, laughing. "T Hat's not how I would put it. The sex in the films is very much real, just like what happened to me in that room."
..... "If that story was untrue, I would have written it to be a lot better," she added.
..... Finally, Necheles got to the legal heart of the matter: whether Trump knew about the hush money deal.
..... Upon questioning, Daniels confirmed she didn't have any "personal knowledge" of his involvement - or lack thereof - in her hush money deal.

..... Contributing: Reuters

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