“Stormy Daniels is called to the stand,” says a prosecutor. Immediately, silence fell in the crowded New York court where former US President Donald Trump is being tried. On Tuesday, the former porn actress faced the Republican candidate for the November presidential election, sitting a few steps from her.
With an impassive face, he stared straight ahead as Stephanie Clifford, her real name, straightened her hair and put on glasses. It was prosecutor Susan Hoffinger who questioned the forty-year-old about the affair which led to the real estate magnate appearing before a judge in the middle of the electoral campaign.
Donald Trump denies any relationship
He is being prosecuted for 34 falsifications of accounting documents which allegedly served to conceal the payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels in the home stretch of the 2016 presidential election, which he won narrowly against Hillary Clinton. This payment was used to buy Stormy Daniels’ silence about a sexual relationship she claims to have had with Donald Trump in 2006, when he was already married to his current wife, Melania. A relationship he denies.
The revelations about the affair have been a thorn in the Republican’s side for years. On Tuesday, the latter spoke with his lawyer Todd Blanche, his head tilted towards him, while the former porn actress turned director described how she was elected “Miss Nude North America”.
“Detrimental”
She began her testimony by recounting her schooling, her experience in ballet and horse riding – she is passionate about horses. “I was collecting manure,” she said. “Then I started dancing.” A friend who worked at a dance club took her there, and Stormy Daniels ended up performing there. “They didn’t bother to look at my identity card (…). I made more money than collecting manure,” she said.
Before Stormy Daniels even began to speak in the courtroom, Donald Trump had lost his temper. “I just recently learned who today’s witness is. It’s unprecedented, the lawyers haven’t had time to prepare,” he stormed in a publication he has since deleted on its Truth Social platform. It was with a more closed face than usual that Donald Trump entered the court.
One of his attorneys, Susan Necheles, objected to Stormy Daniels being called to the stand to discuss details of the alleged affair in front of the jury. “We learn that the witness, the second witness, will be Stormy Daniels. We wish to renew our objection to her testifying about any sexual acts,” she said, calling it “prejudicial.” The prosecutor promised that the testimony would not include a “description of genitals.” But “it’s important to establish the sexual act and how she felt about it,” she continued. “There will be a few details, very brief.”