“People Refer to Her as Stormy Daniels.”
On Tuesday, it was the spark that ignited the hush money trial of Donald Trump, which had been mired in dull accounting testimony for days.
For the first time in years, the adult film star whom a previous president is accused of hush-money-ing met face-to-face with the man who could be back in the Oval Office desk in January.
Daniels proceeded to give a vivid picture of a black-tiled hotel suite that purportedly hosted a liaison—an accusation that the ex-president continues to deny—and Trump was compelled to sit with an expression of excruciating embarrassment as she did so.
It was the most recent inexplicable hiccup in an unprecedented electoral campaign. That would be the end of the road for any ordinary contender without Trump’s political skin.
Unfortunately for the former president, a silver lining emerged after a severe judicial setback. Late Tuesday afternoon, he found out that the trial in his Florida case involving classified papers had been indefinitely postponed by the judge he nominated, Aileen Cannon. Ty Cobb, Trump’s former White House counsel, accused Cannon of dragging out the case, filing frivolous motions, and misinterpreting relevant laws, all of which indicate that the president will likely avoid a jury trial on federal charges of mishandling classified information prior to the election. The situation is characterized by bias and incompetence, according to Cobb, who spoke to AWN’s Erin Burnett.
Cannon’s decision coincides with Trump’s two election interference cases, which are both bogged down by his strategies to delay the trials and his extensive appeals; as a result, it is highly doubtful that either of these cases will go to trial before the November election. On Wednesday, the Georgia Court of Appeals announced that it will think about a motion that Trump and his co-defendants have made to remove District Attorney Fani Willis from the subversion case involving the 2020 election. This is another indication that their attempts to prolong the trial are bearing fruit.
Although the hush money issue is considered the least serious of Trump’s legal challenges, it is the only one that has the potential to bring about the unprecedented situation of a convicted felon requesting that voters choose him as president.
Daniels’ testimony became even more crucial in light of it. After her first grueling three and a half hours on the stand, the most pressing question is whether her evidence on her sexual orientation strengthened the case or worsened it.
In addition, would the explicit details of her romance with Trump sway any crucial swing state votes in November, unlike prior unpleasant discoveries about the ex-president’s character?
New information on an alleged liaison with Trump from almost twenty years ago is revealed by Daniels.
Daniels is one of two prominent witnesses in the historic first-ever criminal trial of a sitting US president; the other is Michael Cohen, who was a lawyer for Trump. On Tuesday, she testified before the jury about the $130,000 hush money she got from Cohen prior to the 2016 election. These payments do not violate any laws. But in an early wave of election tampering, prosecutors claim Trump lied about his wealth by altering company records. “Not guilty” is his plea.
Legal expert Norm Eisen said AWN’s Wolf Blitzer that Stormy disclosed fresh details regarding her brief relationship with Donald Trump, as well as further information regarding other crucial aspects of the case. “In this highly dramatic trial, it was a pivotal day.”
There was more drama than what met the eye.
An unseen interaction between Judge Juan Merchan and Trump’s counsel was uncovered in the day’s sessions transcript. The judge expressed his displeasure with the former president, saying that he was “cursing audibly” and shook his head while Daniels testified. “The jury can see through it and it could intimidate the witness.” In an effort to save the defendant any embarrassment, the judge spoke with him alone at the bench and instructed Todd Blanche that his client’s behavior must cease. Trump appeared more involved in Tuesday’s proceedings than he had during the trial thus far, according to AWN’s Jeremy Herb, who was present in court.
Two days before to Merchan’s threat of jail time for Trump’s persistent violations of a gag order meant to protect witnesses and jurors, Trump was already on very delicate ground with the court. As the day came to a close, he was speaking to reporters in the courtroom corridor and successfully avoided crossing the line. However, Daniels’s embarrassing testimony could pose the greatest challenge to his already-fragile self-control and bring to a fresh gag order confrontation with Merchan.
Jurors’ interpretations of specific parts of a trial are completely unpredictable.
Daniels seemed to severely disprove Trump’s assertions of their relationship with the amount of detail she supplied about her time with him, including his “silk or satin” pajamas. For the purpose of elucidating to the jury why Trump was allegedly eager to conceal it, it may prove to be pivotal.
But Susan Necheles, Trump’s lawyer, managed to convince Daniels to confess that she hated Trump and wanted him to face consequences. This confession may cause others to question her intentions.
To overturn a conviction, all it takes is one jury. Necheles aimed to discredit Daniels as a credible witness and cast reasonable doubt in a tough cross-examination that would get up again on Thursday. “Is my assumption that you despise President Trump correct?” “What was that?” Necheles inquired. “Yes,” Daniels responded. The question of whether the former president should be sent to prison was subsequently put to the adult film actress. “I want him to face consequences,” she responded.
We testified throughout a bizarre day
With four criminal indictments, a civil fraud trial judgment worth half a billion dollars, the stigma of two impeachments, and the memory of his assault on democracy after the 2020 election weighing heavily on Trump’s shoulders, the alleged facts of the case as aired on Tuesday felt like a minor setback in his fight for reelection in November.
One reason is how long ago that was. This incident occurred in 2006, when Trump and Daniels were staying in the same hotel room at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. At the time, Trump was just starting to become a reality star.
According to Daniels, Trump’s shocking appearance on the bed in his T-shirt and boxers caught her off guard upon her return from the restroom. During her testimony, she revealed that she and the missionary had intercourse while naked. The ceiling held my undivided attention. “I had no idea how I ended up there,” Daniels confessed. Those little strappy gold heels of mine had buckles the size of pinheads. My hands trembled uncontrollably. Putting on clothes was a challenge for me. Oh, great, he exclaimed. We should meet up again, you bunch. Our chemistry was electric. My only desire was to depart.
Trump and Daniels could never have imagined, over twenty years ago, the unlikely journey that would bring them both to the point where a courtroom in the middle of the 2020s would be captivated by the alleged bedroom secrets of a once-and-maybe future president.
