Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels | Stormy Daniels testifies in the trial against Trump

NORTH CAROLINA, USA (Nettavisen): She has become the face of the “hush money” case. On Tuesday, porn actress Stormy Daniels took the witness stand in New York.

Just weeks from the 2016 election, she was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter she allegedly had with Trump in 2006. Trump was married at the time. He denies having had sex with Daniels.

This is the hush money thing

Donald Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business documents in the “hush money” case. The president is accused of having made three “hush money” payments when he was a presidential candidate in 2016. The most talked about and central payment is to Stormy Daniels through Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen.

Prosecutors believe Trump has booked false expenses or falsified the accounts to hide the “hush money” reimbursements to lawyer Michael Cohen. Trump, for his part, believes the expenses were legitimate legal expenses.

Prosecutors believe the refunds took place to prevent negative information about Trump from getting out and affecting his chances of winning the 2016 election.

The three payments:

The payoff to Stormy Daniels

$130,000 was paid to Stormy Daniels by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter they allegedly had in 2006.

The money was paid two weeks before the presidential election in 2016. Trump has admitted that the payment took place, but denies having had an affair. He claimed in May 2018 that they paid Daniels money to stop the false accusations. She signed an NDA.

The payout to Karen McDougal

Trump is also said to have paid a large sum of money to Playboy model Karen McDougal. She is said to have received $150,000 from the company American Media after she claimed she had a 10-month affair with Trump. The media company would own the rights to the story, without ever publishing it. Attorney General Alvin Bragg claims Trump made lawyer Cohen repay the media company in cash. Trump denies the affair.

The payout to Trump Tower employee

Trump also allegedly paid a former Trump Tower doorman. The man claimed he had information about a child Trump allegedly had out of wedlock. The payment is said to have taken place through the National Enquirer, a company linked to American Media, which is the company that paid money to McDougal. The doorman is said to have received NOK 30,000 to enter into an exclusive agreement with the media company.

Trump risks prison time. He believes himself to be innocent. The ex-president has tried repeatedly to postpone the trial, but without success.

Lawyer Michael Cohen has already pleaded guilty in 2018 and served time in prison. The media company has admitted the payment McDougal. The newspaper considered the doorman’s story to be untrue.

Sources: Washington Post and Ap.

Daniels has been summoned to court. Before Daniels arrived in court, Judge Merchan ruled that Daniels can talk about the alleged sexual relationship, but that the jury did not need to hear the details.

In court, Daniels speaks quickly. The prosecutors had to ask her to speak more slowly several times. Daniels says she met Trump in July 2006 at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. She was 27 years old at the time. “He was the same age or older than my father,” Daniels said in court.

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– “Does Mr. Hefner know you stole his pajamas?”

She is said to have later received a message that Trump wanted to have dinner with her. Daniels is said to have initially said no, but her publisher is said to have recommended that she accept the offer. Trump and Daniels agreed to meet in Trump’s hotel room and go to one of the restaurants in the area.

When Daniels showed up, Trump is said to have been dressed in satin pyjamas. Daniels reportedly joked, “Does Mr. Hefner know you stole his pajamas?”. She then allegedly asked Trump to change his outfit. He came back in a suit.

Before the dinner, Trump is said to have expressed a desire to get to know each other. He asked if Daniels had a husband or a boyfriend. She answered no. Daniels is also said to have opened up about his family and childhood.

The porn actor is said to have also talked about what working in the industry was like. Trump is said to have been interested in the business models behind the industry and labor rights. “Do you get health insurance?”, “are there any unions?”, “are you worried about sexually transmitted diseases?”, are among the questions Trump is said to have asked Daniels.

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Shaked his head

Daniels is said to have asked questions about Donald Trump’s marriage to Melania Trump. He is said to have replied that she is very beautiful, but that they do not sleep in the same room, according to Daniels. Trump was clearly upset by this move. The CNN reporters who are in the trial write that he closed his eyes and shook his head.

In the hotel room, Trump also allegedly took off his clothes while Daniels was in the bathroom. Trump is said to have only been wearing boxer shorts and a t-shirt. “The intention was quite clear.” Trump should not have been threatening, Daniels states.

“I told very few people that we had sex because I was ashamed that I didn’t stop it,” Daniels said in court.

After the meeting, Daniels is said to have met Trump several times in public places. She still had hopes of being on the show “The Apprentice”, which Trump is said to have aired the possibility of in the hotel room. When Trump told her that it was not possible to get her on the TV show, she stopped answering when Trump tried to call.

In 2011, Daniels claims she was threatened by a man in a parking garage. The man is said to have warned her not to “continue to tell her story”. Daniels must have been scared afterwards.

That Cohen and Trump bought the rights to the story in 2016 was the best thing that could happen, according to Daniels. “Then I was safe and the story wasn’t going to get out.”

Believes the trial is invalid

After the break in court, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche reports that they now believe the trial is invalid as “the testimony of this witness is quite different from the story she had in 2016.” According to Blanche, the details of consent and danger to her own life were not the story she told when she sold the rights to the story to Trump.

Prosecutors believe the details Daniels presented were important to show what kind of motive Trump must have had for paying out the money. Trump’s team wants a new trial.

Judge Juan Merchan agrees that several of the details were not necessary, but he will not declare the case invalid at this time.

Owes Trump over half a million dollars

When Trump’s team cross-examines Daniels, the lawyer first asks if she has rehearsed her statements. Daniels claims she has not done that.

“Is it true that you hate President Trump?” Trump’s lawyer asked right after. Stormy Daniels answers yes. Trump’s team is trying to question Daniels’ credibility.

In court, Daniels also confirms that she owes Trump $560,000 for legal fees. Stormy Daniels sued Trump for defamation in 2018. But the judge dismissed the case. Daniels later tried to claim that her lawyer sued Trump without her permission, but that argument was also rejected. Lawyer Michael Avenatti is in prison for stealing from his clients.

In California, the amount has grown to $560,000 as interest of 10 percent accrues.

The case is updated.

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Was threatened with prison

Trump’s team is critical of Daniels testifying as early as Tuesday. “This is unheard of. The lawyers have not been given time to prepare,” he wrote on Truth Social. The post was later deleted.

The trial began on April 15. Trump has several weeks in court ahead of him. On Monday, the judge threatened to send him to prison. The threat came after Trump was once again fined for breaking his muzzle.