Trump trial: Stormy Daniels tells (almost) all about alleged sexual encounter with Trump
Donald Trump watched Stormy Daniels testify on Day 13 of his hush money trial.
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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Daniels says Avenatti sued Trump without her consent
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Stormy Daniels about her 2018 lawsuit against Donald Trump for defamation.
Trump had called Daniels' allegations of being threatened in Las Vegas a "con job." A court later dismissed the case and ordered Daniels to pay Trump's legal fees.
According to Daniels, her attorney at the time, Michael Avenatti, filed the lawsuit against her will.
"Did you want him to do that?" Hoffinger asked.
"No," Daniels said. "It just seemed really risky and it didn't seem like something that could be won. It seemed like a bad choice. Not worth it, I guess."
Daniels later fired Avenatti, who was disbarred and imprisoned for stealing from clients.
Daniels testified that she still owes Trump for the legal fees in the case.
"Because I don't have the means to pay that kind of funds and because I didn't think it was fair," Daniels said about why she hasn't paid.
She testified that the outcome of this criminal case will have no outcome on her outstanding fees -- possibly getting ahead of a potential line of cross-examination.
Daniels sought to get out of agreement in 2018
Stormy Daniels testified that she approached a new attorney, Michael Avenatti, in 2018 to help her get out of her agreement with then-President Trump after Michael Cohen began speaking publicly about her -- "because he could talk about it and I couldn't."
"Why did you want to get out of the NDA at that point?" prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked.
"So I could stand up for myself," Daniels said.
She said she later appeared on "60 Minutes" in an interview with Anderson Cooper "to get my story out."
Daniels says she issued false denial to 2018 WSJ article
Stormy Daniels testified that she honored the terms of her nondisclosure agreement in the following year after signing it, including declining to comment on a 2016 Wall Street Journal article about AMI's payment to Karen McDougal just days before the 2016 election.
When the Wall Street Journal published a story about Cohen's payment to Daniels in 2018, Daniels issued a denial -- which she testified was false -- authored by her then-attorney Keith Davidson.
"What kind of impact did it have?" Hoffinger asked about the impact of the 2018 reporting.
"Chaos," Daniels said, testifying the article "blew my cover."
"Suddenly I was front and foremost everywhere," Davidson said.
Daniels testified that on Jan. 30, 2018, she was booked on the Jimmy Kimmel show. As her talent agent, Gina Rodriguez, arrived with dresses, Daniels testified that her attorney at the time, Keith Davidson, came with a statement for her to sign denying a sexual relationship with Trump.
On television, Daniels said the signature on the statement was not hers. Asked why, Daniels said she wanted to "tip off to Jimmy Kimmel" that she "didn't sign it willingly."
Daniels, on the stand, appears more subdued following the break, with her testimony is consisting of more yes-or-no answers.
Daniels says she understood agreement to be with Trump
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger resumed her direct examination by asking Stormy Daniels about October 2016, when she agreed to sell the rights to her story -- but the payment from Michael Cohen was repeatedly delayed.
Jurors were shown the final signed agreement between Stormy Daniels, through her attorney, and representatives for Donald Trump.
"Is that who you understand you were signing this agreement with?" Hoffinger asked, referring to Trump.
"Yes," Daniels answered.
Daniels said she received $96,000 of the $130,000 wired by Michael Cohen. The jury has previously seen the paperwork associated with the wire transfer to her attorney Keith Davidson.
Court ends for the day
Judge Merchan has ended the proceedings for the day.
Former President Trump was conferring with his attorney when Stormy Daniels passed by the defense table on her way out of the courtroom, and she and Trump did not appear to acknowledge each other.
Court is off tomorrow, with Daniels' cross-examination scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.