Welcome back, Deadline: Legal Newsletter readers. We're here with another special edition to mark the testimony of the latest big witness in People v. Donald Trump: Stormy Daniels. The woman at the center of the so-called hush money case finally took the stand for the prosecution against the former president in Manhattan.
The porn star's appearance livened up the trial after a drier (but more legally important) day of testimony Monday that focused on the business records Trump is charged with falsifying. Daniels' testimony Tuesday helped further set the stage and corroborate the hush money scheme that Trump is accused of covering up with those false records. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty and denied having sex with Daniels.
Before she took the stand, prosecutors called a witness from the publishing industry whose impact shouldn't be overlooked on a day that understandably focused on Daniels. The state used that first witness to introduce books Trump wrote that displayed his financially obsessive micromanagement, producing key Trump quotes for the jury, like: "I always sign my checks so I know where my money is going." Expect the prosecution to return to those words and others from the defendant in summation, to argue that there's no way that he wasn't involved in the alleged financial scheme.
Then Daniels took the stand. She walked the jury through her claimed sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and her hush money payoff just ahead of the 2016 election. She described the purported one-night stand in painstaking detail — indeed, too much detail for Judge Juan Merchan, who complained to the prosecution about it.
Merchan nonetheless denied a mistrial when the defense sought one after complaining that the bell of Daniels' salacious testimony can't be un-rung. The judge thought the witness went too far at points but that a drastic remedy like a mistrial wasn't warranted. He left the defense to press its case on cross-examination.
The defense did so with aggressive questioning by veteran lawyer Susan Necheles. She went after Daniels right out of the gate, attacking her trial preparation with prosecutors and getting the witness to agree that she hates Trump and wants him jailed. "If he is found guilty, absolutely," the witness said, as Necheles proceeded to persistently question her credibility.
The day ended with cross unfinished and jurors set to return Thursday morning (the court hasn't been sitting on Wednesdays). When cross concludes, the prosecution can question Daniels on re-direct for any needed damage control. Look out for Friday's newsletter to see how her testimony wraps up and other key events in this historic trial.
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