Trump trial: Stormy Daniels tells (almost) all about alleged encounter with Trump

Donald Trump watched Stormy Daniels testify on Day 13 of his hush money trial.

Last Updated: May 7, 2024, 10:56 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

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May 07, 2024, 10:55 AM EDT

Daniels describes meeting Trump on golf course

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, shifting the topic to Trump, asked Daniels about her role at the Lake Tahoe Golf Tournament where Daniels met Trump in 2006.

"Did you meet Donald Trump on the golf course at the celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe?" Hoffinger asked.

"Yes I did," Daniels said. "It was a very brief encounter on the course."

Daniels testified she was 27 when she met Trump.

Former President Donald Trump attends his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 7, 2024.
Win Mcnamee/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

"I didn't know his age, but I knew he was as old as or older than my father," Daniels said, noting her father was 60. One juror cracked a smile.

Asked what she knew about Trump, Daniels said she knew "he was obviously a golfer and that he had a television show that I had never seen."

Trump, sitting at the defense table, remained stoic, slouched in his chair and averting his gaze from the witness stand. He has been looking down or straight ahead at intervals, seeming to zone out and then return to attention.

May 07, 2024, 10:48 AM EDT

Daniels ticks through her film credits

Stormy Daniels testified that she starred in her first adult film at 23 after she traveled to Los Angeles with a friend.

She said she was a background actor in a film when a producer from Wicked Films approached her. Within days she had her first contract.

"I was honestly kind of scared to do it," Daniels said.

Daniels testified about her work producing adult films. She said she has produced over 150 films and won multiple awards.

"I was one of the youngest -- if not the youngest -- featured director," Daniels said.

She also said she was in music videos for Maroon 5 and acted in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up."

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Daniels twice to slow the pace of her delivery after she raced through her film credentials.

May 07, 2024, 10:43 AM EDT

Daniels describes her start as exotic dancer

Stormy Daniels told jurors she began dancing in clubs in high school to make money.

“[A friend] was an exotic dancer and invited me to the club to dance, and they didn’t bother checking my ID,” Daniels said, adding she could make more money in one weekend than she would “shoveling manure eight hours a day.”

Jurors appeared laser focused on Daniels as she described her upbringing -- nobody looking at their monitor, only two people appear to be jotting down notes. Otherwise, all eyes on Daniels.

Daniels testified that she began posing nude in magazines when she was 21 so she could elevate her dancing career.

“If you are just a regular girl in the club ... but if you were like the Playboy centerfold, you were the headliner,” Daniels said.

Trump, meanwhile, has his gaze fixed downward or straight ahead -- nowhere near the witness.

He is exchanging notes with his attorney Todd Blanche.

May 07, 2024, 10:39 AM EDT

Daniels begins with details of her background

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger began the questions by asking Stormy Daniels to tell the jury about her life.

"Tell the jury a little bit about your life growing up in Louisiana," Hoffinger asked.

Donald Trump appeared to tilt his head slightly as Stormy Daniels walked by on her way to the witness stand. He then looked disinterested as she recounted her upbringing.

Daniels told the jury about how she was raised by her mother and grew up in a low-income household. She says she edited her high school newspaper and participated in 4-H.

The start of the testimony appears to be an effort to humanize Daniels -- who the jury has heard plenty about -- and make her relatable.

"I'm going to ask you to slow down a little bit," Hoffinger said.

"I have an accent still, sorry," Daniels said.

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