Testimony continues in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial this week in New York.
Trump is facing 34 felony charges related to his purported efforts to conceal claims of extramarital affairs that emerged during his 2016 presidential campaign. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case centers on $130,000 in hush money paid to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. It also focuses on the role of Trump and his team in a “catch and kill” scheme whereby the National Enquirer, then run by David Pecker, buried negative stories about Trump, including one regarding an alleged affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Daniels is testifying in the trial. Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who spent time behind bars over his role in the hush money scheme, is also expected to take the witness stand.
Judge Juan Merchan is presiding over the trial. Trump’s legal team is led by Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and Susan Necheles, while the prosecution is led by Susan Hoffinger, Joshua Steinglass, Christopher Conroy and Matthew Colangelo.
Read live updates from the trial below:
Daniels Pushes Back On Accusations Her Story Has Changed
For example, Necheles suggested that Daniels told InTouch magazine in 2011 that Trump invited her to dinner himself. On the stand this week, she said it was his bodyguard.
Daniels pushes back, saying that she “didn’t specify in 2011” who asked her to dinner because her publicist at the time encouraged her not to name people unnecessarily. She also considered being asked by a bodyguard the same as being asked directly.
Necheles also suggested Daniels told InTouch she actually ended up eating with Trump in his hotel room.
“It was dinner time … but we never got food,” Daniels said. “My story’s the same.”
She joked that she is "very food-motivated."
At one point, Necheles asked point-blank, “The details of your story keep changing, right?”
“No,” Daniels responded.
Daniels Responds With A Zinger After Trump Lawyer Calls Her A 'Shill'
Necheles accused her of “shilling” merchandise around Trump’s criminal proceedings and Daniels responded with a zinger: “Not unlike Mr. Trump.”
Trump's campaign hawked merchandise with the president's mugshot shortly after it was released by the Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff’s Office in August 2023.
Trump Attorney Suggests Daniels’ Sex Work Meant She Had ‘A Lot Of Experience’ With ‘Phony Stories’
“You have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex appear to be real, right?” Necheles asked.
“That’s not how I would put it,” Daniels said. “The sex is very real. That’s why it’s pornography.”
She later quipped that if her story about sex with Trump “was untrue, I would have written it to be a lot better.”
Trump Attorney Grills Stormy Daniels On Her Online Store, Ghost Hunting Show
“Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can’t respond… also don’t want to spill my champagne,” read the tweet, with a link to her online store.
Necheles then brought up several items from the store, including a “Stormy, Saint of Indictments” prayer candle. Daniels said a store in New Orleans made them, and she put them on her store because she thought it was funny. Another product, a $30 comic book, was shown.
“Keep in mind I did not write this comic book,” Daniels says with a laugh.
Daniels then faced several questions about a ghost-hunting show she worked on called “Spooky Babes.” Necheles repeatedly brought attention to the idea of talking to dead people.
Clinton Says Hush Money Trial Is About Election Interference
"Justice delayed is justice denied," she told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Clinton also commented on the hush money trial underway in New York, saying it “is really about election interference.”
“It is about trying to prevent the people of our country from having relevant information that may have influenced how they could have voted in 2016, or whether they would have voted,” Clinton said. “I think that the defendant, the former president, knew exactly what he was doing when he went to such great lengths to try to squash, bury, kill stories, pay off people, because he understood the electoral significance of them.”
'Orange Turd' Tweet Shown To Jurors
“Exactly! Making me the best person to flush the orange turd down,” Daniels wrote in response. She objected to Necheles’ earlier characterization of the tweet, pointing out that it doesn’t contain the word “instrumental.”
Daniels said that she has responded to “hundreds of tweets” calling her names.
Stormy Daniels Hated The Tagline 'Make America Horny Again'
Necheles then turned to Daniels’ strip club tour, which was dubbed “Make America Horny Again.”
“I did not name that tour, and I fought it tooth and nail,” she said of the tagline, adding that a club owner in North Carolina had come up with it.
“I have no control over how a club advertises,” she testified. “I hate it,” she said of the tagline.
Daniels also pushed back on a question that she received $125,000 for the rights to her book from a documentary crew.
“You’re trying to trick me into saying something that’s not entirely true,” Daniels said after noting that she had also not received the full payment for the book rights.
Trump Attorney Questions Stormy Daniels’ 2018 Denials
“Let’s be clear, I did not write this… it was given to me, and I was told I had to sign it,” Daniels clarified.
Necheles then read from the Jan. 30, 2018, statement Daniels signed denying the alleged affair, asking Daniels to affirm she signed it.
“I am not denying this affair because I was paid ‘hush money’ as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened,” the statement says.
Daniels Admits She Was Mad When Cohen Kept Delaying Payment
Jurors heard Davidson say that Daniels was “basically yelling and screaming and calling me a pussy,” and imploring him to settle the deal before the election, because Daniels thought Trump would surely lose and she would lose “all leverage.”
Daniels said she did not recall making any such remarks.
“I never yelled at Keith Davidson on the phone,” Daniels said, suggesting that Davidson was either exaggerating or actually speaking about things said to him by her manager, Gina Rodriguez, and her boyfriend.
Trump Attorney Hammers Stormy Daniels On Accepting Hush Payment
“I chose to be safe,” Daniels said. “I chose to take the nondisclosure.”
“The better alternative was for you to make money?” Necheles asked. Daniels responded that “the better alternative” was to have her story “protected with a paper trial” and to preserve her family’s privacy.
“It was a perfect solution,” she said.
Trump Says Left Poses 'Bigger Danger Than China Or Russia'
"You have nothing to worry about, believe me," Trump said. "Your problem is from the left, it's not from the right."
He added that the left poses "a bigger danger than China or Russia.”
During his remarks to reporters, Trump blasted Biden over his latest warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. would withhold sending offensive weapons to the country if they went ahead with their plan to invade Rafah in southern Gaza, where about one million Palestinians have sought refuge.
“What Biden is doing with respect to Israel is disgraceful,” Trump told reporters. “If any Jewish person voted for Joe Biden, they should be ashamed of themselves.”
“He’s totally abandoned Israel,” Trump continued.
Trump was joined in court by some GOP members, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who did not address the media.
Stormy Daniels Takes The Stand Again
Also of note: Merchan did not allow the usual gaggle of photographers to take Trump’s photo before proceedings began today, reportedly because someone violated the terms of his order on photography.
Trump Arrives To Hear More From Stormy Daniels
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) arrived with him. Upon Trump’s entrance, a man stood in the public gallery and gave him a thumbs up before being ordered to sit.
Trump ally and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro is in the overflow room to watch the proceedings alongside dozens of reporters and members of the public, according to MSNBC’s Katie Phang.
What To Expect From Day 14 Of Trump's Hush Money Trial
- Stormy Daniels is expected to return to the witness stand to continue being cross-examined by Trump's lawyers, who are seeking to discredit her account.
- Daniels on Tuesday spoke at length about her meeting and sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which the former president denies.
- Judge Juan Merchan has already rejected a request by Trump’s lawyers to declare a mistrial over Daniels' testimony.
Judge Juan Merchan Warned About Trump ‘Cursing Audibly,’ Other ‘Contemptuous’ Behavior
“I understand that your client is upset at this point,” Merchan told Blanche, according to transcripts from the trial obtained by The Washington Post. “But he is cursing audibly and he is shaking his head visually and that’s contemptuous. It has the potential to intimidate the witness and the jury can see that.”
“I am speaking to you here at the bench because I don’t want to embarrass him,” Merchan added. “You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that.”
Trump Hails ‘Very Big Day’ In Comments After Court
“This was a very big day, a very revealing day as you see their case is totally falling apart,” he said, without offering any specifics. “They have nothing on books and records and even something that shouldn’t bear very little relationship to the case — it’s just a disaster for the DA.”
Trump also said he thinks the nationwide protests at college campuses “seem to be” funded by Biden’s backers. He didn’t explain why he believed protesters, who are critical of the president, would be paid for by the president’s supporters.
Daniels Gets Defensive As Court Adjourns For The Day
Merchan then called it a day, and Trump filed out of the courtroom once more.
Stormy Daniels Testimony Dominates Day 13 Of Trump Trial
- Adult film star Stormy Daniels spoke at length Tuesday about her interactions with Donald Trump, beginning with an alleged sexual encounter at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in 2006.
- Daniels said Trump invited her to have dinner — then stripped to his underwear while she was in the bathroom and implied she should have sex with him to advance her career. An appearance on “The Apprentice” was dangled as a possibility, she said. They never ended up having dinner.
- The two had a handful of other run-ins after the 2006 encounter. Daniels said she refused Trump’s advances during a meeting in Los Angeles in 2007 and said she was “ashamed” of their earlier encounter.
- Trump’s lawyers argued after lunch that Daniels’ testimony was so lurid it tainted the jury, and asked for a mistrial. Judge Merchan refused the request, instead encouraging the defense to lodge more objections should objectionable content arise.
- In 2011, after Daniels spoke with an InTouch magazine reporter about her relationship with Trump, she said she was “approached by a man in a parking lot in Las Vegas” who threatened her to stop talking.
- She also addressed her side of the hush money payments central to the case, corroborating earlier testimony that Trump’s associates paid her $130,000 in exchange for the rights to her story — and her silence.
Daniels Explains Change Of Heart On Going Public
“I didn’t just decide that, I was given advice by someone to do so,” Daniels responded, adding that she wanted to "get out in front" of her story.
“I was a very different and much braver person in 2016 than I was in 2011," Daniels testified.
“There’s a big difference between a reality TV star and someone running for office,” she said. Necheles suggested contrarily that Daniels had merely spotted an opportunity to make money off Trump.
Brief Afternoon Break
Merchan confirmed with Necheles that Daniels will return for more testimony on Thursday, followed by redirect. But we have a little more still to go today.
Trump’s Team Tries To Muddy The Waters
Just like the prosecution brought in details from Trump’s books, Trump’s team is using details from Daniels’ book in their questioning.
Daniels testifies that while she initially thought Cohen sent the man who threatened her, she no longer believes that.
Necheles begins to ask a question suggesting that both Daniels and Cohen have been trying to make money off the persecution of Trump, but Merchan sustains an objection to it.
Asked whether her whole story was made up, Daniels says, "No, none of it was made up."
Meanwhile, Fox News Attempts To Discredit Stormy Daniels
In a particularly unhinged segment Tuesday, Fox contributor Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery accused Judge Merchan of being a “perv” because he’d asked Daniels to speak more slowly so the court reporter could keep up.
She also accused him of asking Daniels to speak in “lurid” detail about her encounter with Trump, which is false: He’d asked she err on the side of less detail.
“Number one, the judge sounds like a perv because he wants her to speak in lurid detail and he’s asking her to speak more slowly. That’s gross,” she said in a gross misstatement of facts.
She continued: “Number two, let’s say the transaction did take place. I’m talking the physical one. Her being surprised that she was going to a hotel room, alone with a man, to have body congress is like Pete Sampras being surprised at being invited to a tennis court and you want to see his serve. And then he says, ‘I started shaking when I saw a tennis racket!’”
Daniels testified this morning that Trump had invited her to dinner (not to have "body congress"), that he’d stripped to his underwear when she used the bathroom and that there was a pretty clear power imbalance between the two, particularly with Trump’s bodyguard outside the door.
Stormy Daniels Alleges That Gloria Allred Wanted Her To Embellish Story
“She wanted to force me to say things that were not true,” Daniels testifies.
Jurors Follow Stormy Daniels Testimony Closely
Trump Attorney Drills Down On Stormy Daniels' Financials
Necheles then asks whether it is true that she is “hoping that if Donald Trump is convicted, [Daniels] will not have to pay him.”
“I hope I don’t have to pay him no matter what happens,” Daniels replied.
Asked accusingly whether she has been making money by telling people she had sex with Trump, Daniels replies: “I have been making money by telling my story about what happened to me.”
“And that story has made you a lot of money, right?” Necheles asks.
“It has also cost me a lot of money,” Daniels says.
More Name-Calling About Donald Trump Entered Into Court Record
Trump's attorney points out that the tweet represented Daniels calling Trump names, much like he called her “horseface.”
“He made fun of me first,” Daniels says.
“So one of you started it, but you both continued it, correct?” Necheles asks.
Daniels says yes.
Trump Team Hammers Nonpayment Of Defamation Fines
“You didn’t take any money out of your pocket and pay it to Donald Trump, did you?” Necheles asks.
“No,” Daniels says. She testifies that she has no intention to do so.
Daniels reads a tweet she posted on March 21, 2022: “I will go to jail before I pay a penny.”
“That was me saying that I will not pay for telling the truth,” she says.
Stormy Daniels Affirms She ‘Hates’ Trump
“Yes,” Daniels responded.
“And you want him to go to jail?”
“I want him to be held accountable,” Daniels said, adding that she would want him to go to jail if he were found guilty.
Stormy Daniels Hasn’t Paid Trump For Failed Defamation Lawsuit
She lost the case (and fired Avenatti). But Daniels still owes Trump money from the trial, she revealed Tuesday.
Daniels said she doesn’t think the verdict was fair, nor does she have the money to pay.
Stormy Daniels Addresses Trump 'Horseface' Post
Daniels confirmed she was both the “horseface” and “sleaze bag” Trump was talking about in the post, but testified Trump's claims were not true, as she had seen and talked to him multiple times since their Lake Tahoe meeting in 2006.
Hoffinger is done with direct. Necheles is handling cross.
Daniels Speaks About Media Appearances
(Avenatti is in prison for embezzling money from clients, including Daniels.)
Daniels Says Wall Street Journal Bombshell Created ‘Chaos’ In Her Life
Daniels said that she initially did not want to sign the two denials issued on her behalf on Jan. 10, 2018, and Jan. 30, 2018. She did so, however, on advice from her attorney and manager.
Daniels said that her manager set up her “Jimmy Kimmel” interview that aired Jan. 30, 2018 in order to “give an example of how I could go on to do promotions and things and not break the NDA.” But she pulled a trick with the statement she signed shortly beforehand denying the affair with Trump. She said she made her “Stormy Daniels” signature look different than all her others, to try and tip Kimmel off to its inauthenticity.
“Is this statement false?” Hoffinger asked.
“Yes,” Daniels said.
Eric Trump: ‘They Don’t Give A S**t About The Merits Of This Case’
“To be clear, they don’t give a s**t about the merits of this case,” he wrote. It’s unclear who he means by “they.”
He added in a followup post, “Pure EXTORTION!!!!”
Daniels Resumes Testimony In Less Detail
Daniels reveals that she spoke with Slate for an unpaid interview around this time.
The nondisclosure agreement was revived, however, by the end of the month. Daniels said she walked away with roughly $96,000, after fees paid to her attorney and management. She said she wanted to respect the terms of the NDA.
Prosecutor Steps Out To Better Instruct Stormy Daniels
Trump Argues For ‘MISTRIAL’ In Lunchtime Truth Social Post
“THE PROSECUTION, WHICH HAS NO CASE, HAS GONE TOO FAR. MISTRIAL!” Trump wrote in all caps.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche urged Judge Merchan to declare a mistrial to no avail.
Merchan Refuses To Declare Mistrial
The judge said he does not think we are "at a point” where a mistrial is warranted, and declined to grant the request.
Merchan also encouraged the defense to lodge more objections, referring to a point from the morning where he voiced an objection himself.
“The court has done everything that I can possibly do,” Merchan said. “You have the remedy of cross-examination.”
Blanche Slams Daniels’ Testimony, Asks Judge To Delcare Mistrial
“The court set guardrails for this testimony and the guardrails … were just flung to the side,” Blanche said. Although jurors were instructed to disregard certain responses Daniels gave, Blanche said his side was afraid there was “no way to un-ring the bell.”
“All of this has nothing to do with this case and is extraordinarily prejudicial,” Blanche said.
“There should be a mistrial,” Blanche told the judge.
Hoffinger countered that prosecutors were "extremely mindful about not eliciting too much testimony," and that details such as Trump's lack of condom use had been made public in recent years.
Trump & Son Are Back
NYC ‘Ready’ Should Trump Find Himself In Jail, Mayor Says
“They're professionals,” Adams told reporters of the NYC Department of Corrections. “They’ll be ready.”
As Cohen Delayed Payment, Daniels Got Nervous
Trump wore a stern expression as he left court.
Daniels Was Happy To Sell Story To Cohen, Didn’t Want The Publicity
“They were interested in paying for the story which was the best thing that could happen,” Daniels said, noting how she did not want her husband to know about the sexual encounter with Trump. Asked why she didn’t ask for more money, Daniels said, “I didn’t care about the money.” At the time, she said, her career was taking off.
Davidson, Daniels' attorney at the time, arranged for her to sign an NDA. An email between the attorneys was shown for the jury.
Daniels said she was eager to get the deal wrapped up before the election, fearing that it would peter out and she would not be “safe” otherwise.
Stormy Daniels Spoke With InTouch Magazine In 2011 For Story That Was Spiked
In June 2011, Daniels said she was “approached by a man in a parking lot in Las Vegas” who threatened her.
“He threatened me not to continue to tell my story,” she testified. She did not call the police, she said, because she was scared. (Daniels has also told this aspect of the story in the past.)
When a gossip blog, TheDirty, published a rumor about her affair with Trump, Daniels said she was "freaking out" at the potential publicity. She hired attorney Keith Davidson, and the blog post was taken down. Davidson testified earlier about receiving a panicked phone call from Cohen about the post, on behalf of Trump.
Daniels Says She Was ‘Ashamed’ Of Sexual Encounter With Trump
During a more intimate meeting with Trump in Los Angeles in the summer of 2007, Daniels said that Trump tried to proposition her for sex again, but she told him she was menstruating. That was the last time she saw Trump in person, she said. She spoke to him once more before cutting off contact and moving on with her life. (Daniels has one daughter.)
Daniels Recalls Brief Trump Tower Meeting
“He was very busy,” she testified. “At one point he did step out and leave us in his office, and we took selfies.”
“[With Trump] it was always ‘I’m always still working on ‘The Apprentice’ thing,'” she said. Trump did not seem concerned about her presence, she said, noting how he introduced her to "everybody."
Trump Kept Calling Daniels, She Testified
After their sexual encounter, Daniels said that Trump called her often, and she put him on speaker, saying she thought it was “funny.” She never told Trump he was on speaker. While Trump was dangling the "Apprentice" opportunity, she said she felt like she had to keep a relationship with him.
“Ms. Daniels, please just keep the answer short,’” Merchan told her at one point, apparently finding her answers too long-winded.
Daniels Briefly Describes Sex With Trump
“There was an imbalance of power for sure,” she said, noting the presence of Trump's bodyguard nearby, “but I was not threatened verbally or physically.”
Upon mention of the “missionary position,” an attorney for the defense voiced an objection, which Merchan sustained.
Daniels said Trump was not wearing a condom. She stared up at the ceiling during the encounter. Upon her departure, Trump called her "honeybunch," she testified, adding that bade her goodbye with a suggestion to meet up again soon.
They never ended up having dinner.
Merchan Tells Prosecution Not To Get Bogged Down In Details
But with Daniels back on the stand and jurors seated once more, Daniels kept recounting her evening with Trump in Lake Tahoe — in detail. She looked through Trump’s toiletry bag while she went to use the bathroom, finding Old Spice and Pert Plus items lying alongside “gold tweezers.”
By the time she came out, Trump was on the bed wearing only his boxers. Daniels likened the moment to a “jump scare.” She said a thought crossed her mind: “What did I misread to get here?”
“I just thought to myself, ‘Great. I put myself in this bad situation,'" Daniels said.
Daniels said Trump implied that she should have to have sex with him if she wanted to advance her career. Then, a sidebar.
Trump Looks Away From Witness Stand As Stormy Testifies
The former president also didn't appear to look at Daniels as she walked past his table when the court took its morning recess.
Trump Silently Exits, Reenters Courtroom For Morning Break
Daniels Retells Trump Hotel Room Story
“Are you always this rude?” Daniels said she told Trump. “You don’t even know how to have a conversation,” she recalled telling him. Daniels said she remembered telling Trump that someone should “slap” him with the magazine, and he ended up allowing her to do so. Trump's demeanor relaxed afterward, she said.
Trump told her that he reminded her of his daughter, who was also “blonde” and “smart,” Daniels testified.
Later, Trump suggested that Daniels might appear on his show “The Apprentice,” although she said she did not fully believe him. But she had ambitions to write and direct films with larger budgets, and to be "taken seriously," not seen as an "airhead."
(She has told this story publicly in the past.)
Trump Wanted To Know Business Aspects Of Adult Film Industry, Daniels Says
Daniels wanted to know about wrestling, she said.
She has been asked multiple times to slow down in her testimony. Her tone has been bubbly and light.
Daniels Talks Meeting Trump At His Hotel Penthouse
“This hotel room was three times the size of my apartment,” she said.
Trump was wearing “silk or satin pajamas” when she first saw him, prompting her to make a joke about Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, she testified. Daniels said that she told him to change, and “he obliged, very politely.”
Daniels recalled roughly how the penthouse was laid out, and how the pair sat at a dining room table together. She told him about her childhood, and then her career.
Trump’s Bodyguard Helped Arrange Tryst
Daniels said that she considered the dinner with Trump a “really good excuse” to skip a work-related dinner that she did not want to attend.
“What could go wrong?” she recalled a friend telling her of the invitation.
Stormy Daniels Recalls Meeting Donald Trump
Trump remembered Daniels after their first meeting, she said, calling her “the smart one.” Someone then came back and asked her if she would have dinner with Trump, she said.
Daniels was asked to point to Trump in the courtroom, and she extended her arm and pointer finger in his direction. Jurors were shown a photo of Daniels and Trump from the “gift room” that later appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on the hush money payment to her. Trump is wearing a bright yellow polo in the photo, posing close to a smiling Daniels.
Daniels Once Ran For Office, But Not Seriously, She Says
She told Fox News at the time she’d been recruited by a group of citizens unhappy with Vitter, but was worried it’d be perceived as a publicity stunt.
"If I'm the person to do that, then I'm willing to do everything I can in my power to make it to make it legit, and like I said, the best that I can do," she said at the time.
Daniels Talks About Her Background
She said that she started appearing in adult films in her early 20s in order to make more money, at the advice of a female friend. She also had parts in non-adult content, like the movie “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”
'The People Call Stormy Daniels'
Daniels affirms that she has also been known as Stephanie Clifford, but prefers Stormy Daniels. Growing up in Louisiana, she originally wanted to be a veterinarian.
Books Give Jurors Insight Into Trump's Hands-On Business Practices
Mangold also repeatedly highlighted passages in which Trump emphasizes how hands-on he is with his business, signing checks by hand and paying close attention to expenses.
People know “you’re watching them” when they see “your signature at the bottom of a check,” Franklin read from “Think Like A Billionaire.”
Trump Team Tries Sowing Doubt On Book Content
“Our goal is to make the authors happy,” Franklin said. “We also want to sell the book.”
On redirect for the prosecution, Mangold has Franklin affirm that “the ghostwriter works for the author.”
Portions Of Trump’s Books Are Shown To The Jury, Showcasing His Business Sense
Franklin is then asked to read short passages from the book, such as the title to certain chapters: “Be A General” and “Sometimes You Still Have To Screw Them.”
“Like it says in the Bible, an eye for an eye,” Franklin said, reading from Trump’s book. Another passage read: “All the women on ‘The Apprentice’ flirted with me, consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.”
The cover of 2005’s “Trump: Think Like A Billionaire” is then shown. “TRUMP” once again takes up around a third of the space, Franklin affirms. Franklin read chapter titles such as, “How To Pinch Pennies.”
“Penny-pinching, you bet — I’m all for it. As I’ve said before, I always sign my checks, so I know where my money’s going,” read one passage from the book that went on to describe how Trump is willing to bargain even at high-end stores. “Numbers that seem trivial add up and have enormous implications,” Franklin read from Trump’s book.
In another section, Trump sang the praises of his now-former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, who is currently in prison for perjury.
Next Witness: A Penguin Random House Representative
Franklin affirms that Penguin published some of Trump’s titles, including “Trump: How To Get Rich” and “Trump: Think Like A Billionaire.”
Prosecution To Judge :‘No Descriptions Of Genitalia’ In Response To Trump Team’s Objection On Daniels Testimony
“I agree with you that she’s got credibility issues,” Merchan said, siding with the prosecution.
Daniels will be the second witness called today, Necheles revealed.
Trump & Son Have Arrived In Court
Eric Trump accompanied his father to court again, this time to hear expected testimony from a porn star.
Stormy Daniels Is Expected As A Witness Today
Trump earlier posted and then deleted on his Truth Social platform, "I have just recently been told who the witness is today. This is unprecedented, no time for lawyers to prepare. No Judge has ever run a trial in such a biased and partisan way."
Prosecution's Case Is Ahead Of Schedule
Steinglass estimated their side would be finished calling witnesses two weeks from Tuesday. Once they are finished, Trump's lawyers can call their own witnesses, the AP reported.
Donald Trump Misconstrues Gag Order After Court, Complains About It
“I can’t talk about it because this judge has given me a gag order and said you’ll go to jail if you violate it,” he said.
The order permits Trump to discuss the case, but he cannot attack witnesses, the jury or courthouse staff beyond the district attorney or the judge.
The former president seemed to welcome the possibility of jail time should he continue to violate the gag order, presenting it as a false dichotomy necessary to protect the U.S. Constitution.
“Frankly, you know what, our constitution is much more important than jail, it’s not even close,” he said. “I’ll do that sacrifice any day. “
Trump has previously claimed the gag order would prevent him from testifying in his own defense, which is false.
Donald Trump's Hush Money Trial Is Done For The Day
Prosecution Says They’ll Need ‘Two Weeks From Tomorrow’ To Finish Presenting Evidence
Blanche, for the defense, was quite upset at this, saying it was prejudicial to have to cross-examine Longstreet again after the defense assumed prosecutors had introduced all the evidence through her that they intended to introduce.
After prosecutors tell the judge they intended to introduce just three more exhibits through Longstreet, and said they expected to recall her on Thursday or Friday, Merchan says he’ll allow it, but asks the prosecution to give the defense 24 hours notice to prepare for exhibits she’ll be introducing.
Prosecutors Say ‘Just Not True’ That Donald Trump's Defense Hasn’t Known About Exhibits
That material, Steinglass says, is "relevant to a subsequent witness's testimony."
Blanche counters that “We did not know which exhibits [prosecutors] would be trying to offer through that witness” and that, though he could be wrong, Longstreet was not on the witness list.
The Trial Is Stopping A Bit Early Today
Defense Tries To Separate Donald Trump From Accounting Process, Then Ends Questions Of Witness
Defense Begins Cross-Examination Of Deborah Tasaroff
Trump has fully turned in his seat, right arm draped over the back of the chair, to observe Blanche directly.
Witness Testimony So Far Shows Tiny Trump Accounting Operation
Prosecution Continues To Go Through Check Details
Court Back In Session
Time For Afternoon Recess
Get Caught Up On Trump’s Trial So Far
- Two witnesses testified on Monday: Jeffrey McConney, a former Trump Organization corporate controller, and Deborah Tarasoff, an accounts payable supervisor who still works at the Trump Organization.
- Both McConney and Tarasoff were involved in the administrative acts of reimbursing Cohen for his hush money payment to Daniels. Other expenses and a tax-avoidance scheme put the grand total of Cohen’s reimbursement at $420,000, which was paid over the course of Trump’s first year in office.
- Since opening statements on April 22, more than 10 witnesses have taken the stand. They have included David Pecker, the former head of American Media Inc. and the National Enquirer who agreed to help Trump’s 2016 campaign; Hope Hicks, who handled communications for Trump’s campaign and later his administration; and Keith Davidson, a former attorney for McDougal and Daniels who funneled payments to those clients.
- The first two weeks appeared to establish the ultimate goal of the hush money payment, according to prosecutors, which was to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
- This week, however, gets into the nitty-gritty details of the business records which were allegedly falsified; payments to Cohen were reimbursed as “legal expenses.”
- Trump’s family has been represented in court by Eric Trump, who appeared last week and again on Monday, and seems to be following attentively.
- Merchan warned Trump that any further gag order violations — attacks on the court and jurors that could taint the trial — could land him in jail. Trump has been fined $10,000 for 10 separate violations so far.
Donald Trump’s Bold Sharpie Signature, In A Check To Michael Cohen
Of note, Trump signed the April check for Cohen in June because, the evidence shows, an earlier check was apparently lost and canceled
Prosecution Walks Witness Through Monthly Checks To Michael Cohen
On an April invoice, Tarasoff confirms that the source of the payments is different than months past, changing from Trump’s trust to Trump’s personal account.
Check Shows First Payment To Michael Cohen
(Eric, sitting next to attorney Alina Habba and behind his father, is following the trial and watching the exhibits as they appear on screen.)
Accounting Witness Describes Turning Emailed Invoices Into Accounting Records
Witness Says ‘We Would Send [Checks] To The White House" For Trump To Sign
The Trump Organization used FedEx to send the checks to Washington, D.C., and they would come back signed by Trump, she testifies.
Trump Org’s Accounts Payable Supervisor Explains How Trump Voided Checks
For Trump’s personal account, the former president's own signature was needed for all checks, no matter the amount, Tarasoff testifies. And if he didn’t want to sign a check, he would write “VOID” on it – in black sharpie, the Trump choice.
Trump signed checks for his personal account even after he became president, Tarasoff testifies.
‘I Cut Checks’: Trump Org’s Accounts Payable Supervisor Explains Her Job
Describing Alan Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former CFO, Tarasoff said he “had his hands in everything.”
Witness From Trump Organization Accounts Payable Takes Stand
“There’s a bunch” of organizations in the Trump Organization, she explained, near the start of a series of questions about the company.
Donald Trump's Defense Objects To Certain Banking Records Being Admitted In Trial
“There’s all kinds of information stamped on this check, all kinds of information [presumably from] Capitol One,” Bove says. “There’s a lot of information on this check that I don’t think the witness can explain.”
The judge sides with the prosecution, that Tarasoff will be able to say that she generated the check and delivered it to the bank.
“We believe this is the business record of a bank, and that’s our objection,” Bove concludes.
“Okay, noted, overruled,” Merchan says before bringing in the jury.
Judge Arrives, Attorneys Discuss Next Witness: Deborah Tarasoff From Accounts Payable
Donald Trump Back In The Courtroom, Trial About To Restart
Prosecution Confirms With Controller: ‘This Was All Happening Above Your Head?’
Donald Trump's Defense Explains Away More Prosecution Documents
With that, the defense has nothing further.
Trump's Defense Continues Trying To Weaken Documentary Evidence
McConney Has ‘No Idea’ About Details Of Trump Trust
McConney says he only saw a chart and one paragraph describing the trust. But he does know that there were over 500 entities in the trust from all corners of the Trump Organization.
Asked by Bove whether there was a “very real commercial risk to adverse publicity” for the Trump Organization, McConney responds, “I’m not a marketing person.” Prodded further, he says he understood the Trump Organization employed such professionals.
Defense Tries To Distance McConney From Trump, Cohen
“Alan never told me” Trump had any knowledge of the payments, McConney confirms. McConney also confirms he didn’t speak to Cohen about “these issues,” in Bove’s words.
Bove stresses that during 2017, Cohen was using “Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump” in his signature block – not “fixer” or even a Trump organization email domain. For accounting purposes, Cohen was "akin to a vendor," Bove asks, and McConney confirms.
Emil Bove Begins Cross-Examination For Defense
Asked if Michael Cohen was a lawyer at the time under discussion, McConney says "okay," drawing a laugh from the room.
Trump’s Conflict Of Interest Form
“I’ve seen it many times,” McConney confirms of Trump’s signature. Colangelo zoomed in on one line on the form that announces, “in the interest of transparency,” an un-itemized expense incurred by Cohen and reimbursed by Trump,, which the form states is valued somewhere in the range of $100,001-250,000. Colangelo asks if that range is consistent with the $180,000 figure discussed earlier, to which McConney affirms that it is. With that, the prosecution has no further questions.
Tax Forms Show Personal, Trump Trust Payments To Cohen
2018 Accounting Docs Don’t Show Any Legal Expense Payments To Cohen, Witness Confirms
McConney Is Describing Spreadsheet Tracking Payments To Cohen
McConney confirms the document shows all payments to Cohen in 2017. Handwriting on the side of the document includes two numbers – $105,000 and $315,000 – indicating the totals for the columns representing the payments to Cohen in the first three months of the agreement from Trump's trust, for the former, and from Trump's personal account, for the latter. The trust payments are written as “DJT Rev” – Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.
The total of the payments is $420,000, echoing the testimony we just heard about the monthly payments of $35,000 to Cohen.
Editor's note: This post has been updated to correct the accounts each payment came from.
Court Back In Session
Court Takes Morning Recess
Trump grinned politely at someone in the audience — it's unclear who — but otherwise appeared nonchalant.
McConney Recalls Thinking ‘The Invoice Was Approved To Pay’
Responding to a question from Colangelo — ”Did you understand from Weisselberg’s email to you that the invoice was approved to pay?” — McConney confirmed as much.
The witness is now describing similar emails from Cohen to Weisselberg, — and then Weisselberg to McConney, and McConney to Tarasoff with the note “please pay” — for the month of May.
With one exception — an email from McConney to Tarasoff, asking her to stop payment on a check that McConney says was lost somewhere — the prosecution is walking McConney through several months' worth of payments to Cohen.
‘DJT Needs To Sign Check’
Describing that new reality, McConney recalled: “Somehow, we’d have to get a package down to the White House, get it down to the President, get the President to sign the checks, get the checks returned to us, and get the checks out.”
Of note: When prosecutors moved to introduce another new exhibit, the defense objected again, and indicated they would object in the same fashion for other exhibits moving forward. The judge overruled again.
More Detailed Description Of Documents After Another Overruled Objection
Earlier, we saw an email from McConney to Tarasoff in accounts payable, asking that the January and February payments be paid from the Trump trust, under legal expenses, and described as “Retainer for the month of January and February 2017.” For the March payment, McConney instructed Tarasoff to post the expense in the same fashion as the first two, to legal expenses.
Contested Exhibit Is Email Chain Describing ‘Retainer Agreement’ For Paying Cohen
Cohen responds with an emailed invoice that describes the payments as part of a “retainer agreement.”
Upon questioning from Colangelo, McConney confirms he wasn’t aware of any such agreement. A subsequent email states “Ok to pay as per agreement with Don and Eric,” Trump’s children, who during his presidency were running his business. Another email from McConney to Deborah Tarasoff in accounts payable asks to “pay from the Trust,” which according to McConney indicates it was a personal expense.
Defense Objects To Another Exhibit — And Judge Overrules Again
But Judge Merchan said they could simply raise objections as the exhibits came up, one-by-one, during the trial.
A few minutes ago, the defense objected to one document — I didn’t catch which, but the objection was overruled — and just now, they objected again. After both sides conferred privately with the judge for several minutes, Merchan announced, “The objection is noted and overruled.” Exhibit 37a — a print-out of an email chain — is now being discussed.
McConney Describes $35,000 Monthly Payments To Michael Cohen
A separate document includes a breakdown of payments: $180,000 for the Essential Consulting payment and tech services payment, “times two for taxes,” plus a $50,000 bonus, divided by 12 for monthly payments. The bonus was increased to $60,000, according to McConney, because “this was a fast conversation, and I just scribbled down notes. So the total is $420,000.
McConney said he wasn't aware of another time in which an expense reimbursement was doubled for taxes.
McConney Describes Documents, Conversation Concerning Payments To ‘Essential Consulting’
Colangelo is confirming both Weisselberg and his own handwriting on the document. The document describes a total amount to be repaid in monthly intervals, and it was kept in a payment book in a locked drawer in his office. The witness, upon questioning, is also describing hand-written notes that he took during his conversation with Weisselberg about the payment in question. The two documents were stapled together in the payment book, McConney said.
“Essential Consultants LLC, care of Michael Cohen”– that’s what the document said, as read by the witness. Essential Consultants is the entity allegedly used to hide the hush money payments at the heart of this trial. An amount of $130,000 was made to the account, the document shows. Lower, in Weisselberg’s handwriting describes a $180,000 figure – the sum of the total owed to Michael Cohen, and $50,000 to Red Finch for tech services.
'Are You Familiar With Someone Named Michael Cohen?'
“I had conversations with him by the... coffee machine," McConney said.
The prosecution asked about Cohen's role within the organization.
“He said he was a lawyer," McConney replied to laughter in the courtroom.
Prosecution Walks McConney Through Financial Records
“For an outside attorney, I would assume so, yes,” McConney answered after clarifying.
Previously: Jeffrey McConney Said He ‘Gave Up’ Trump Org Job Due To Constant Legal Problems
“I just wanted to relax and stop being accused of misrepresenting assets for the company that I loved working for. I’m sorry,” he testified last year, the AP reported.
As the Trump Organization’s former corporate controller, prosecutors in the current trial say he was instrumental to arranging the $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels.
McConney Describes ‘The Donald J. Trump Personal Account’
It turned into the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust after Jan. 20, 2017, when Trump began his time as president.
Before Trump became president, Trump alone had signature authority on money leaving the account, McConney says. Afterward, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Alan Weisselberg had signature authority. Multiple signatures were required for checks over $10,000, he says.
McConney is recalling one time when Trump literally told him “you’re fired," but he didn’t mean it. Rather, Trump was scolding McConney for some payment that he wished had been negotiated more thoroughly. Deborah Tarasoff was the only person in accounts payable when McConney left, the witness recalls, before describing the various people who had authority to sign off on a payment after Trump became president.
McConney Describes His Trump Org Relationships
McConney is describing accounting practices and software, including MDS, a computer program for recording receipts and bills. McConney also said he's been receiving quarterly payments from the Trump Organization since his retirement, part of a separation agreement.
Two bespectacled jurors in dress shirts are taking notes. Others are nodding along.
More On Contempt: Judge Dings Trump On Comment Attacking Jurors
What got him in trouble was saying after court on April 22: “You know [the judge is] rushing the trial like crazy. Nobody’s ever seen a thing go like this. That jury was picked so fast — 95% Democrats. The area’s mostly all Democrat … just a purely Democrat area. It’s a very unfair situation, that I can tell you.”
Merchan found that the attack on jurors violated Trump’s gag order, writing that the "Defendant not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings, but again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.” What didn’t get Trump in trouble was calling Cohen a liar or calling ex-AMI CEO David Pecker “a nice guy,” which could be interpreted as an attempt to sway or intimidate the witnesses.
The judge previously found Trump in contempt for nine other comments, out of 10 the prosecution had asked him to look at. He owes $10,000 in fines so far, and could face jail time for further infractions. Read Merchan's latest order here.
McConney Describes Trump Org Business Structure
McConney earlier described the Trump Organization’s practice of creating entities for ownership of various Trump properties – for example, an individual entity under Trump’s control owns Trump Tower.
McConney Says Trump Org Is Paying For His Attorney
Trump Attorney Alina Habba Appears In Court
Former Trump Org Controller Jeffrey McConney Is First Witness
Attorneys Debate Exhibits, Witness
When Merchan says he’s fine with the exhibits coming up at trial, Bove says “it’s very hard for me to do that on the fly.” Regarding the unnamed witness, the judge says “You waited until I came out at 9:30.”
Merchan is calling in the jury.
Judge Finds Trump In Contempt, Warns Of Potential Jail Time
"Going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction," he said.
Merchan said Trump is the past president and perhaps the next one as well, and speaks about how much of a disruption potential jail time would be – for Trump, the trial itself, and the court officers tasked with potentially jailing Trump in the future.
"The magnitude of such a decision is not lost on me, but at the end of the day, I have a job to do," Merchan says, adding that that job includes protecting the "integrity of the judicial system."
Trump's breaches of the court's order, the judge says, constitute a "direct attack on the rule of law."
This contempt finding is in response to prosecutors' complaint that Trump was criticizing witnesses, contrary to a court gag order.
Karen McDougal 'Reflecting'
The Trump trial has featured testimony about various catch and kill schemes to keep Trump scandals out of the media, including one involving McDougal.
Trump, Eric Trump Are In The Courtroom
Trump aide Boris Epshteyn is also here, sitting behind Eric.
Hello From The Courtroom
Trump’s Weekend: Rhetoric And Running Mates
Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday, Trump didn't hold back, likening the Biden White House to a “Gestapo administration.”
“And it’s the only thing they have,” said Trump, according to audio obtained by The New York Times. “And it’s the only way they’re going to win, in their opinion, and it’s actually killing them. But it doesn’t bother me.”
On the comparison to Nazi Germany's secret police force, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates in a statement: “Instead of echoing the appalling rhetoric of fascists, lunching with Neo Nazis, and fanning debunked conspiracy theories that have cost brave police officer their lives, President Biden is bringing the American people together around our shared democratic values and the rule of law — an approach that has delivered the biggest violent crime reduction in 50 years.”
The Republican retreat was also apparently something of a pageant to help Trump choose his 2024 running mate: Senators Marco Rubio (Fl.), J.D. Vance (Ohio) and Tim Scott (S.C.) were among those flaunting their stuff.