tense atmosphere, detailed story, silence money… What to remember from Stormy Daniels’ testimony

The former porn star spoke for the first time on Tuesday, as the billionaire is being prosecuted for hiding a $130,000 payment to buy his silence regarding their sexual relationship.

Crucial testimony in a very sensitive trial for Donald Trump. Former porn star Stormy Daniels gave a raw account on Tuesday May 7 in New York about the sexual relationship she claims to have had in 2006 with the former President of the United States.

In another sensitive case, for which the Republican billionaire is accused of negligent use of classified documents, a federal judge in Florida postponed the start of the criminal trial on Tuesday indefinitely. This decision, taken by a magistrate appointed by Donald Trump himself, makes it very unlikely that a trial will be held in this case before the presidential election of November 5 for which he is a candidate.

The fact remains that the arrival at the bar of Stormy Daniels, in this first trial, was particularly anticipated. The ex-president, who denies any sexual relationship with her, is being prosecuted for concealing a payment of $130,000 to the actress to buy her silence at the very end of the 2016 presidential campaign. Franceinfo summarizes this for you. that we must remember from the testimony of the former porn star, which will continue on Thursday.

A hearing in a tense atmosphere

Despite the serious accusations against him, Donald Trump did not hesitate to show insolence. Judge Juan Merchan asked his lawyer Todd Blanche in an aside to moderate the attitude “contemptuous” of his client who never stopped “swear audibly”, according to a report relayed in the American press and on social networks. The judge also threatened him with prison if he attacked witnesses again. According to New York TimesDonald Trump “spent a large part of the trial with his eyes closed (…) often with a sour expression on his face”.

The defense unsuccessfully requested a mistrial of the entire trial on the grounds that the prosecutors’ questions were out of line and the answers were untrue. “extremely damaging” for the Republican presidential candidate.

As for Stormy Daniels, her body language was “tense”reports CNN. “Overall, the testimony was so long and detailed that Juan Merchan repeatedly advised Stormy Daniels to slow down., according to the American media. But in the face of Donald Trump’s other lawyer, Susan Necheles, his tone also “changed considerably”, when the latter tried to dismantle its credibility. Stormy Daniels gave him “short and laconic answers to many of his questions”describes CNN.

Details of his meeting with Donald Trump

The 45-year-old actress recounted in great detail the day when, on the sidelines of a golf competition, she met Donald Trump, then a figure in the business world and the jet set. After “a very brief encounter”, a member of security offers him a dinner with the billionaire. Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, describes a hotel suite “which was three times the size of [son] apartment”. Donald Trump welcomed her there “dressed in silk or satin pajamas”.

The conversation is playful, the billionaire is promising her an appearance on his famous reality TV show “The Apprentice”, according to her. Then, she explains that, coming out of the bathroom, she found Donald Trump in boxers and t-shirt, on the bed, half lying down, details The world. If she did not feel threatened, she assures that the businessman’s intention “was quite clear” and the “unbalanced balance of power”.

“I felt the blood drain from my hands and feet like when you get up too quickly.”

Stormy Daniels

during the trial in New York

“I ended up having sex with him.”she adds, specifying, at the request of the prosecutor, that Donald Trump was not wearing a condom. “I was ashamed of not having stopped it, of not saying no”, she confides. Judge Juan Merchan seemed annoyed by certain questions from the prosecutor, while Donald Trump’s defense asked that the sexual relationship not be mentioned.

Money at the heart of the trial

Stormy Daniels claims she ran into Donald Trump a few times, then lost contact. According to his account, when the billionaire launched the presidential campaign, his agent advised him to monetize his testimony. An American tabloid, whose boss was close to Donald Trump, had already paid twice to buy exclusive rights to similar stories, never published. “I wasn’t interested in money,” she assures, recounting having been threatened in 2011 by a stranger in a Las Vegas parking lot, not to speak.

The $130,000 was ultimately paid to Stormy Daniels by the billionaire’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, via a shell company, to buy her silence. He was reimbursed in 2017 by Donald Trump’s holding company, the Trump Organization, for expenses disguised, according to the prosecution, as “legal fees” which are at the center of the lawsuits. The forty-year-old then recounted the “chaos” that followed in his life when the payment was revealed by the Wall Street Journal in January 2018.

“Suddenly I was front and center everywhere.”

Stormy Daniels

during the trial in New York

During her cross-examination, Susan Nechele sought to portray her as a venal character. The actress responded “Yes” when the lawyer asked her if she hated Donald Trump. The tone rose further when the lawyer claimed that she had sought to extort the former president. “Fake”, replied Stormy Daniels dryly. And if the actress admitted on the stand to having “earned money by telling [son] history”restores the New York Timesshe retains this: “It also cost me a lot of money.”