NEW YORK—On the 10th day of testimony Thursday in the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, a heated exchange between Stormy Daniels and Susan Necheles, a defense attorney representing Trump, marked a historical day in what has been called an extraordinary criminal case. This was the second and last day of testimony for Daniels, who says she had an affair with Trump at Lake Tahoe in 2006.
It was on cross-examination that Necheles bit into Daniels, resulting in a heated stand-off between the lawyer and the prosecution's witness.
Necheles pointed to two separate statements attributed to Daniels denying that she had a relationship with the former president. These statements were in
During previous testimony by Daniels' former attorney, Keith Davidson, it was revealed to jurors that he and Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, coordinated on denial statements after news outlets reported on a catch-and-kill scheme to suppress any potential stories during the 2016 election that harmed Trump's electability.
Cohen, who directly paid Daniels $130,000 through a shell corporation on behalf of Trump through Davidson, texted the Los Angeles-based attorney representing Daniels at the time in a coordinated response to claims that she had an affair with the former president in an effort to ensure that the contract she signed using a pseudonym would be enforced.
Necheles accused Daniels of changing the details of her story and simply profiting from the media exposure she's received over the years.
Necheles attempted to establish examples of Daniels benefitting and profiting from sharing a story that Trump has publicly denied.
Daniels made appearances on CNN programming, 60 Minutes on CBS, and ABC's The View. Necheles mentioned Michael Avenatti, Daniels' former attorney, who successfully defrauded her and his other clients, and how Avenatti arranged high-profile media appearances and set a book deal for her.
Trump's attorney then challenged Daniels, based on this context. Necheles asked, "The details of your story keep changing, right?" Daniels responded, "No."
As expected, Necheles also tried to use Daniels' successful career in adult entertainment against her—for instance, with this exchange:
Necheles: "You have a lot of experience of making phony stories about sex appear to be real?"
Daniels: "The sex in the films is very real, just like what happened to me in that room."
Necheles alleged that Daniels' work in adult movies is purely fictional. Daniels responded that if she were to fictionalize her encounter with Trump, "I would have written it to be a lot better."
Daniels testified for more than seven hours over the two days she was on the stand. Her testimony is a central part of the case made by the prosecution. Trump was indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, as filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his army of prosecutors.
On redirect, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger allowed Daniels to discuss her fear for her safety and how she still owes Trump $560,000 in attorney's fees.
Hoffinger asked, "Have you been telling lies about Mr. Trump or the truth about Mr. Trump?" Daniels said, “The truth.”
After the jury was dismissed for the day, Trump's attorneys once again motioned for a mistrial. Necheles characterized Daniels' sexually explicit testimony throughout as prejudicial.
Todd Blanche, another attorney for Trump, said that they took issue with the graphic testimony Daniels provided during their inquiry as to whether Trump used a condom during the affair. Blanche inappropriately referred to this as "a dog whistle for rape." Blanche added: "This is not a case about sex. ... This is extremely prejudicial testimony."
Judge Juan Merchan declined the mistrial motion. Judge Merchan said, "The more specificity Ms. Daniels can provide about the encounter, the more the jury can weigh whether the encounter did occur and, if so, whether they choose to credit Ms. Daniels’ story."
"These details add a sense of credibility if the jury chooses to believe them," Merchan explained. "Your motion for a mistrial is denied. ... My concern is not just with protecting Ms. Daniels or a witness who just testified. My concern is protecting these proceedings as a whole."
Another motion to amend the standing gag order Merchan imposed on Trump was also denied.
Three other individuals testified. First, Trump Organization bookkeeper Rebecca Manochio testified that she used to FedEx checks that needed to be paid to the White House during Trump's tenure as president. Manochio is still employed at the Trump Organization.
Tracey Menzies also testified briefly. She is the senior vice president of production and creative operations at book publishing giant Harper Collins. As the company's custodian of records, Menzies' testimony was used to introduce into evidence excerpts from the book Trump co-wrote with Bill Zanker, Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life.
Madeleine Westerhout, a Republican political operator and former director of Oval Office Operations for the Trump White House, also testified. Despite the title, she basically served as former President Trump's personal assistant and was regarded as a "gatekeeper" to Trump's access.
Westerhout told the jury that she recalls Trump being "very upset" when Daniels' story was coming out. She added that Trump spoke to Cohen around the time of the first report on Daniels.
Westerhout was the second White House aide from the Trump era to testify after Hope Hicks, the former director of communications at the White House. Reports from outlets with staff in the courtroom mentioned that Westerhout became emotional on the stand. "I am very regretful of my youthful indiscretion," she said.
