Donald Trump’s lawyer accused porn star Stormy Daniels of profiting from the story of her sexual encounter with the former US president in 2006, in an effort on her part to undermine her credibility as a witness in the first criminal trial of a current or former US president.
Daniels’ unpleasant account of a sexual encounter in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite piqued the interest of jurors on Tuesday, bringing to American voters’ minds more interesting aspects of his presidency from 2017 to 2021 as he campaigns to return to the White House this year. .
Trump, 77, was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s payment of $130,000 before the 2016 election to Daniels, 45, in exchange for her silence about the alleged meeting. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied ever having sex with Daniels.
His attorney, Susan Nicholls, showed jurors social media posts Daniels made to advertise merchandise at her online store around the time of Trump’s impeachment last year.
Nicholls asked Daniels, “A large part of your livelihood for several years has been making money from the story of your sexual encounter with President Trump, and that you will help convict him, right?”
Trump, wearing a blue tie, sat leaning forward at the defense table, frowning, as Daniels testified.
Prosecutors say Trump falsely described payments to his lawyer Michael Cohen in 2017 as legal expenses, when they were actually a reimbursement of $130,000 that Cohen paid to Daniels after negotiating with her.
She testified that she was eager to take the money before the 2016 election because she was concerned that he would not pay her if he won.
Prosecutors say it amounts to an illegal attempt to influence the 2016 election by buying the silence of people with potentially damaging information.
This case is widely seen as less important than three other criminal trials facing Trump, but it is the only case certain to be considered by the judiciary before the election.
The other cases accuse Trump of trying to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat and mishandling classified documents after leaving office. Trump pleaded not guilty in all three cases.
In Florida, where Trump faces charges of illegally keeping secret documents, a judge decided on Tuesday to postpone the trial indefinitely.
