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

Judge Merchan has had to intervene on multiple occasions to play the role of mediator as the back-and-forth between Stormy Daniels and defense Susan Necheles has grown heated.

When Daniels at one point started to speak unprompted, Necheles snapped: "OK, Miss Daniels, you understand there's no question pending, right?"

That prompted the judge to instruct Daniels, "Please wait until there's a question asked, and then you can answer the question."

At various points when prosecutors have objected to Necheles' line of questions, Daniels shoots her head to her right toward Merchan, who sits less than five feet away from her.

She stares at Merchan until he rules on the objection, then continues her testimony where she left off.

Stormy Daniels raised her voice at one point during a testy exchange with defense attorney Susan Necheles.

Necheles showed Daniels a Tweet she wrote that said, "I don't owe him s--- and I'll never give that orange turd a dime."

A few jurors cracked smiles when Nicheles read aloud one of Daniels' tweets, in which she called Trump an "orange turd."

"That's you calling President Trump names, correct?" Necheles asked.

"In retaliation for him calling me names," Daniels responded.

"You call him names all the time, right?" Necheles asked. "You despise him."

Daniels responded that she was countering the names he called her that the jury previously saw, namely Horseface and Sleazebag.

"Cause he made fun of me first," Daniels said.

"So one of you started it and you both continued it?" Necheles said.

Defense attorney Susan Necheles played up the animosity Stormy Daniels has for Donald Trump after a California court dismissed a lawsuit she filed against him and awarded Trump legal fees totaling more than a half million dollars.

"You're choosing not to pay President Trump one penny," Necheles said. "You've chosen to disobey a court order."

She read a Tweet from Daniels saying she would go to jail before paying Trump the money a court determined she owed.

Necheles' voice, during questioning, is almost rising to shout, jolting the courtroom.

Judge Merchan reminded Necheles to allow Daniels to answer the question before rushing on to the next one.

Defense attorney Susan Necheles began her cross-examination of Stormy Daniels by suggesting that Daniels' testimony was rehearsed.

"The prosecution subjected you to several grueling prep sessions, which included brutal mock cross examinations?" Necheles asked.

"My testimony was not rehearsed," Daniels responded.

"The memories were hard to bring up -- they were painful," Daniels added.

"Am I correct that you hate President Trump?" Necheles asked.

"Yes," Daniels responded.

"And you want him to go to jail?" Necheles asked.

"I want him to be held responsible," Daniels said.