Stormy Daniels’ detailed testimony about Trump encounter rattles defense

Stormy Daniels testified at Trump’s hush-money trial on Tuesday. A star witness for the prosecution, she gave direct, detailed testimony about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Donald Trump in a hotel suite at a golf tournament. At one point, the defense moved for a mistrial based on the nature of the testimony, which was denied by Judge Juan Merchan.

Daniels is a key player in the hush money trial: Ahead of the 2016 election, Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, paid Daniels $130,000 to keep silent about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Trump has denied ever having sex with Daniels.

The adult film actress told the court she felt “ashamed” after the encounter, and that Trump did not ask her to keep their encounter confidential.

Daniels said that in fall 2016, she and her then-publicist decided to sell the story to news outlets, testifying: “My motivation wasn’t money. It was to get the story out.” Daniels added that she did not negotiate the $130,000 figure. In cross examination, Trump’s lawyers tried to undermine her credibility as a witness. Daniels pushed back at the defense’s questions suggesting money was the driving motivator for her allegations about Trump.

Separately on Tuesday, US District Judge Aileen Cannon postponed indefinitely Trump’s criminal trial for allegedly mishandling classified documents, which could mean the hush-money case is the only one to conclude before the presidential election in November.