Former porn star Stormy Daniels, central character in the politically charged trial of Donald Trump & New York, delivered Tuesday crucial testimony on the sexual relationship she claims to have had in 2006 with the former president of the United States, an episode at the heart of the case. A little nervous, the 45-year-old actress began to recount in great detail that day in 2006 when, on the sidelines of a golf competition, she met Donald Trump, then a figure in the business and political world. the jet set. “It was a very brief meeting”, then, a member of security “(told me) +Mr. Trump would like to know if you would like to have dinner with him+,” she said, in front of jurors visibly absorbed by her story. Donald Trump remained impassive when she entered the crowded hearing room. In a black pantsuit, a thick line of eyeliner on her eyes , Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims to have then had a sexual relationship with the billionaire in the suite of his hotel, which the Republican categorically denies. During her testimony, prosecutors showed a now-famous photo of her and Donald Trump posing together. – Reality TV – The actress detailed the conversation they had in the suite, “a hotel room that was three times the size of my apartment”, where Donald Trump welcomed her “dressed in silk or cotton pajamas satin”, which she made fun of. She talks about a rather playful conversation, during which Donald Trump takes an interest in her. With my wife Melania “we don't sleep in the same room”, she confided to him, according to her testimony. The billionaire would have dangled an appearance in her famous reality TV show, “The Apprentice”. Then, answering questions from prosecutor Susan Hoffinger who is leading the interrogation, Stormy Daniels recounts this moment when, leaving from the bathroom, she said she found Donald Trump undressed on the bed. “I felt the blood leave my hands, and my feet like when you get up too quickly,” she remembered. If she did not feel threatened, she assures that the businessman's intention “was quite clear” and that the “balance of power was unbalanced”. “I ended up having sex with him,” she adds, comparing the situation to “a blackout.” “I was ashamed of not having stopped it, of not saying no” and “I told very few people.” In the In the tense atmosphere of the interrogation, Judge Juan Merchan seemed annoyed by certain questions from the prosecutor, while one of Donald Trump's lawyers, Susan Necheles, had pleaded for the sexual relationship not to be mentioned. “It’s excessively damaging,” she added. The meeting is at the heart of the matter. Ten years later, at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign, Stormy Daniels received $130,000 to keep quiet about this episode, a payment hidden at the center of the file. The former president of the United States in the courtroom of the New York court where he is on trial, May 7, 2024 © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA – WIN MCNAMEE The money was paid by the billionaire's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, via a shell company. He was reimbursed in 2017 by Donald Trump's business group, the Trump Organization, for expenses recorded as “legal fees” which are at the center of the lawsuits. Since April 15, the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election has appeared before a jury for 34 falsifications of accounting documents, which could earn him the first criminal conviction of a former president of the United States and, in theory, a sentence of prison. – Threat – The payment itself is not disputed, but Donald Trump's lawyers deny any criminal offense. Even convicted, Donald Trump could still run on November 5 against Joe Biden. Since the payment was revealed by the Wall Street Journal in January 2018, in the middle of Donald Trump's presidential mandate, the latter has always denied a relationship with the former American pornographic film star. He attacked her credibility and gave her the nickname “horse face”. The judge has banned Donald Trump from publicly attacking witnesses or jurors outside the courtroom and has already imposed ten fines of $1,000, the maximum amount, for as many violations of this ban. On Monday, he threatened for the second time that he would be incarcerated if he did it again. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116