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Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial continued on Tuesday at Manhattan Criminal Court with the testimony of adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
She regaled jurors with how she met the former president, their now-infamous sexual encounter in July 2006, and events leading up to the 2016 presidential election.
After lunch, the defence moved for a mistrial given her “prejudicial” evidence, which was denied by Judge Juan Merchan.
As cross-examination began, Ms Daniels was confronted about whether she hates Mr Trump and wants to see him in jail — to which she replied she wants to see him held accountable.
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On Monday, the jury heard from Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarasoff, about the paper trail within the Trump Organization leading to Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Daniels to ensure her silence about the sexual encounter, which his inner circle feared could sink his campaign.
Earlier that day, the former president was found in contempt of court for a tenth time, fined another $1,000 and warned that the next violation of his gag order would result in jail time.
The Independent’s Alex Woodward is covering the trial at Manhattan Criminal Court.
‘I’ll do that sacrifice’: Trump says he will go to jail over gag order
“Frankly our Constitution is much more important than jail,” Trump said to press in the hallway of the Manhattan courthouse where he is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records in an alleged bid to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. “It’s not even close. I’ll do that sacrifice any day.”
Martha McHardy reports:
Trump told Stormy Daniels he and Melania ‘don’t sleep in the same room’, she testified
The former president has repeatedly denied that the affair ever happened.
Read on…
Trump’s valet admitted they chose ‘at random’ which boxes of classified documents to return
The new documents reveal some of Nauta’s answers to questions from FBI agents investigating the case.
John Bowden has the story:
Rikers Island ‘prepared’ for Trump if he’s jailed, insists NYC mayor
Mike Bedigan reports:
Judge indefinitely postpones Trump’s trial date in Mar-A-Lago classified documents case
Josh Marcus reports:
Trump was given the day off for Barron’s graduation. Now he’s headlining a Republican fundraiser
Graig Graziosi reports:
Donald Trump is now planning to headline a political fundraiser on the day he demanded a break in his hush money trial so that he could attend his youngest son Barron’s high school graduation.
On Monday, the Minnesota Republican Party announced that the former president will headline its annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner event on 17 May.
“We are thrilled to welcome President Trump back to Minnesota,” state GOP chairman David Hann said in a statement. “I can think of no one more fitting to join us this year than President Trump.”
Read on…
Defiant Stormy Daniels comes face to face with Trump in court for tense testimony about ‘jump scare’ hotel sex
The adult film star testified about a highly-publicised sexual encounter from 2006 at the centre of the hush money case, reports Alex Woodward.
Key takeaways from ‘honeybunch’ Stormy Daniels’ testimony at Trump trial
Stormy Daniels’ hotly anticipated testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial finally got under way in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, with the adult film star revealing intimate details about the alleged affair at the heart of the case.
The Manhattan jurors and Mr Trump alike sat, rapt, listening as she testified about how her meeting with the then-60-year-old real estate mogul at a celebrity golf tournament turned sexual.
Her testimony was so detailed — providing comments about everything from what the floor tiles looked like to Mr Trump’s Hugh Hefner-like pajamas — that the judge warned her to stop including any “unnecessary narrative.”
In the afternoon, the defense team also took issue with Ms Daniels’ testimony, calling for a mistrial. The judge denied the request.
For almost four hours on the 13th day of his hush money trial, Mr Trump was forced to listen to her memory of the romantic liaison that ultimately led to his alleged criminal activity.
The former president is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to Ms Daniels before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her keeping quiet over their alleged 2006 affair.
Here are the key takeaways from the dramatic day in court:
Fox News host slammed as ‘gross’ for ‘slut shaming’ Stormy Daniels
Mike Bedigan writes:
On Tuesday, Harris Faulkner and Lisa Kennedy Montgomery dismissed Ms Daniels’ claims that she was “nervous” and had “blacked out” during an alleged sexual encounter with the former president, saying that they were “hard to believe” due to her profession.
The pair were later slammed online for their “cackling and cruelty” which was described as “unbelievable” and “slut-shaming”.
Continue reading…
Watch: Former Trump aide weighs in on how she believes Stormy Daniels testimony went
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