Pajamas, ‘honeybunch,’ sex: Stormy testi es vs Trump in trial
NEW YORK (AFP) – It was the courtroom face-off everyone was waiting for – testimony of high legal importance, and salacious sexual content.
Donald Trump, the former US president who has always prided himself on being in charge and in control, was forced to sit and listen to a porn star describe in open court a bedroom encounter that he denies ever took place.
“When I opened the bathroom door to come out, Trump had come into the bedroom,” Stormy Daniels told the New York court. “The intention was pretty clear, someone stripped down to their underwear posing on the bed waiting for you.”
Trump stared ahead through Daniels’ testimony, which often veered into graphic sexual detail despite the judge’s best efforts.
“My clothes and shoes were off, I think I still had my bra on. We were in missionary position.” Was he wearing a condom? “No.” Was it brief? “Yes.” Judge Juan Merchan appeared wrongfooted by the adult material, ordering Daniels to “just answer the questions” after repeated objections from the defense, several of which he upheld.
But he was not the only one: at one point, during a sidebar, Merchan told Trump’s lawyers that the Republican was “cursing audibly” and shaking his head during Daniels’ testimony.
That had the potential to intimidate the witness, Merchan said, ordering the former president’s attorneys to temper their client’s behavior, according to a trial transcript released late on Tuesday.
Daniels still revealed a plethora of unforgettable allegations.
She told the court Trump called her “Honeybunch,” and she described multiple phone calls with him – some of which she put on speakerphone to entertain her friends.
The encounter took place in 2006, she recalled, when Trump had pushed to have dinner with her at a golf tournament.
When she arrived via the penthouse elevator, Trump greeted her in silk or satin pajamas before changing into casual clothes after she teased him.
“He said it was a bit early, maybe we could talk a little bit and get to know each other,” Daniels said.
She recounted that he asked if she had a boyfriend, about the economics of the porn industry, and the threat of catching a sexually transmitted disease in her job.
“I said well, we were tested every 30 days,” Daniels told the court, occasionally looking straight at Trump, who did not return her gaze.
Daniels said their lengthy conversation touched on Trump’s wife Melania – with Trump saying “we actually don’t even sleep in the same room” – as well as whether Daniels should go on Trump’s hit show “The Apprentice.”
“He said I reminded him of his daughter because she’s smart and blonde,” Daniels added in another excruciating comment.
When Trump showed her a magazine with him on the cover, she joked: “Someone should spank you with that,” she told the court.