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

Defense attorney Susan Necheles, resuming her cross-examination of Stormy Daniels following a break, raised the defense claim that Donald Trump was the victim of extortion.

"You were looking to extort money from President Trump, right?" Necheles asked.

"False," Daniels replied.

"That's what you did, right?" Necheles insisted.

"False," Daniels responded.

On occasion, Daniels has been hesitant to answer questions during the cross-examination, especially when Necheles quickly presents an exhibit to jurors.

"You want me to comment on something when I don't know the context, and that is not fair," Daniels said at one point.

Defense attorney Susan Necheles asked Stormy Daniels a line of questions about what details Daniels included and omitted from her 2018 book, based on some of what she said today court.

At one point Necheles directly asked if Daniels was simply making up her story about Trump.

"You are making this up as you sit there?" Necheles said.

"No," Daniels forcefully responded.

"The whole story was made up, wasn't it?" Necheles said.

"None of it is made up," Daniels responded.

For most of the cross-examination, Donald Trump, at the defense table, has been sitting back in his chair and angled toward the witness stand. His eyes are frequently closed, and he rarely confers with his lawyers.

Defense attorney Susan Necheles is attempting to suggest that Daniels has profited from what defense attorneys have argued is a false claim of a sexual encounter.

"You have been making money by claiming you had sex with Donald Trump for more than a decade?" Necheles asked.

"I have been making money by telling my story about what happened to me," Daniels responded.

"And that story has made you a lot of money, right?" Necheles followed up.

"It has also cost me a lot of money," Daniels said.

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.