Trump brands judge ‘corrupt’ nd after bid for a retrial is rejected
Justice Juan Merchan last night denied a renewed motion for a mistrial in Donald Trump’s New York trial, ruling that prosecutors have a burden of proving a sexual encounter occurred because Donald Trump has denied that any sex happened.
And Trump, speaking to the media as he left the court, said the judge's ruling was a "disgrace" and called Judgemerchan "corrupt".
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche had claimed that Stormy Daniels’s account of a sexual encounter with Trump that sounded nonconsensual is “too prejudicial” to the jury for the case to go forward and demanded a mistrial.
However, the judge said he had reviewed his pre-trial rulings to make sure nobody had violated them, and he found neither side had.
Judge Merchan said when Mr Blanche denied Ms Daniels’ story in the trial’s opening statements, it made it necessary for prosecutors to introduce corroborating evidence from Ms Daniels so the jury could weigh who was telling the truth.
He also noted that he granted several objections from another Trump lawyer, Susan Necheles, during the prosecutor's questioning of Ms Daniels.
Earlier, Mr Blanche has argued that because Ms Daniels is no longer a witness, she should no longer be covered by the gag order in place on Trump and that his client should be able to respond to balance out the “avalanche” of reporting about her testimony in the case, which included an assertion that her encounter with Trump was not wanted.
“He needs to be able to respond to the American people,” Blanche said.
The judge also denied that claim, saying: “Your client’s track record speaks for itself.”
Ms Daniels returned for more testimony yesterday, avoiding eye contact with the former president as she walked into the Manhattan courtroom and made her way to the witness stand.
Trump’s lawyers have sought to paint the adult film actor as a liar and extortionist who is trying to take down Trump after drawingmoneyandfamefrom her story about him.
Turningpointedlytomsdaniels’ career as an adult film actor, writer and director, Ms Necheles asked: “You have a lot of experience in making phoney stories about sex appear real?”
“The sex in those films is real, just like the sex in that room,” Ms Daniels replied. “The character themes might be different, but the sex is very real. That’s why it’s pornography, not a B movie.”
Ms Daniels was first called as a witness on Tuesday, describing what she said happened during their 2006 encounter in graphic detail. That testimony came after jurors heard others in Trump’s orbit testify that they saw Ms Daniels around Trump Tower. The jury also heard nuts-and-bolts testimony about bank records and payments received.
Members of Trump’s staff also testified yesterday about how payments were made from his personal and business accounts and how cheques were sent to Washington for him to sign.