©Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the heart of Donald Trump's hush money case, testified in a packed Manhattan courtroom Tuesday about a 2006 sexual encounter that precipitated the criminal trial of the former United States president.
Trump is charged with falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment made to Daniels to silence her on the eve of his 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, when the lurid story of marital infidelity could have sunk his campaign.
Daniels' testimony is providing a pivotal moment in the courtroom drama rocking the scandal-plagued Republican's attempt to recapture the White House in November.
She said a member of Trump's security detail told her the real estate tycoon wanted to have dinner with her, which she was initially reluctant about, but agreed to after discussing it with her publicist.
Daniels admitted she willingly engaged in sexual intercourse with Trump, while the former President denied the act ever took place.
Prosecutors say that Trump – desperate to kill Daniels' story before it could wreck his chances in the narrow 2016 race – illegally reimbursed Cohen, to cover up the hush money payment.
Cohen, who has become a vocal critic of his former boss, is also expected to testify at the trial as a prosecution witness.
Gag order
The courtroom face-off comes exactly six months before election day, when Trump will try to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden for a shock return to power.
Trump will be constrained from attacking Daniels after Judge Juan Merchan on Monday found him in contempt of court for his repeated violations of a partial gag order.
The gag order is meant to prevent Trump from using his huge media presence to attack witnesses, members of the jury and court staff in a bid to influence the trial.
Merchan said that in addition to a series of already imposed fines, Trump will face the threat of jail time for future violations. The trial is the first criminal prosecution in the history of US presidents, and is one of four cases against the real estate tycoon.
In addition to the New York case, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.
He also faces charges of illegally storing top-secret documents taken from the White House at his home in Florida and refusing to return them.
Gregory Walton with AFP
Trump is charged with falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment made to Daniels to silence her on the eve of his 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, when the lurid story of marital infidelity could have sunk his campaign.
Daniels' testimony is providing a pivotal moment in the courtroom drama rocking the scandal-plagued Republican's attempt to recapture the White House in November.
She said a member of Trump's security detail told her the real estate tycoon wanted to have dinner with her, which she was initially reluctant about, but agreed to after discussing it with her publicist.
Daniels admitted she willingly engaged in sexual intercourse with Trump, while the former President denied the act ever took place.
Prosecutors say that Trump – desperate to kill Daniels' story before it could wreck his chances in the narrow 2016 race – illegally reimbursed Cohen, to cover up the hush money payment.
Cohen, who has become a vocal critic of his former boss, is also expected to testify at the trial as a prosecution witness.
Gag order
The courtroom face-off comes exactly six months before election day, when Trump will try to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden for a shock return to power.
Trump will be constrained from attacking Daniels after Judge Juan Merchan on Monday found him in contempt of court for his repeated violations of a partial gag order.
The gag order is meant to prevent Trump from using his huge media presence to attack witnesses, members of the jury and court staff in a bid to influence the trial.
Merchan said that in addition to a series of already imposed fines, Trump will face the threat of jail time for future violations. The trial is the first criminal prosecution in the history of US presidents, and is one of four cases against the real estate tycoon.
In addition to the New York case, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.
He also faces charges of illegally storing top-secret documents taken from the White House at his home in Florida and refusing to return them.
Gregory Walton with AFP
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