Daniels testifies about hotel room encounter with Trump
Stormy Daniels, whose account of a tryst with Donald Trump is at the core of the first criminal trial of a U.S. president, took the stand Tuesday and described in excruciating detail an encounter she said left her shaking and bewildered, and the hushmoney payment that bought her silence.
Daniels received $130,000 from Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, just before the 2016 election to bury her account of the sexual encounter, which she said took place a decade earlier and which Trump has denied. Daniels’ account and the subsequent payment underpin the case against Trump, who prosecutors say falsified business records to cover up his reimbursement of Cohen.
In her testimony, Daniels described having sex with Trump after he invited her to dinner in his Lake Tahoe hotel suite following a golf tournament in 2006. That night, she said, Trump dangled an appearance on “The Apprentice” in front of her, and told her not to worry about the fact that he was married.
Daniels denied Tuesday being motivated by money during the talks for her silence, and testified that she wasn’t paid on time – a delay she attributed first to Cohen, then to Trump.
Trump, 77, has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. Sitting just a few feet from the witness stand, he wore a sour expression throughout Daniels’ testimony, and at one point appeared to mouth an expletive. If convicted of falsifying the business records associated with the reimbursement, he could face prison time or probation.
Here’s what else to know about the trial:
Trump’s words used against him: The first witness of the day was Sally Franklin, an employee of Penguin Random House, who read from books by Trump. She discussed passages in which he wrote about focusing on minute details of financial transactions and watching every penny that leaves his accounts. On Monday, two witnesses walked jurors through the dry but crucial financial records that tie Trump to the reimbursement, most of which came from his personal account.
Pushed into the spotlight: Since her interactions with Trump gained her international fame, Daniels has engaged in podcasting, sold merchandise and taken part in ghost-hunting shows. She now lives in Florida.
Trump complains: Before court began Tuesday, Trump posted on Truth Social an angry message saying he had just learned about a coming witness and that his lawyers had “no time” to prepare. Within 30 minutes, he had removed the post, likely because it risked prosecutors saying it violated his gag order, which bars him from attacking witnesses and others connected to the trial.