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 recounts going to Trump's suite

Jurors were shown the contact information for Trump's bodyguard in Daniels' phone. It is listed as "Keith Trump." Daniels testified she did not know his last name at the time.

"If nothing else you'll get a great story," Daniels recalls her then-publicist telling her when she told him Trump invited her to dinner. Daniels said she reconsidered Trump's invitation after her then-agent encouraged her to join Trump for dinner.

"He said, 'I think you should go. It would make a great story. He is a business guy. What could possibly go wrong?' That was his words to me," Daniels said.

Daniels testimony appears consistent with how she described the interaction in her 2018 book "Full Disclosure."

Daniels said that she went to Trump's Harrah's resort to meet Trump and went directly to his suite per the directions of bodyguard Keith Schiller.

"The door was already open, so I walked right in," Daniels said.

Trump, at the defense table, sat with his head cocked slightly to the left, as Daniels described details from the night they met for dinner at his hotel room.


Daniels identifies Trump in court

Asked to identify Trump in court, Stormy Daniels slightly got up from her chair to see Trump clearly.

"Navy blue jacket, second at the table," Daniels said.

Jurors the saw a series of images, starting with a photo of Trump and Daniels together, in which Donald Trump wears a yellow shirt and red hat. Daniels smiles next to him.

Trump and defense attorney Todd Blanche were reviewing paperwork on the desk and Trump did not did not appear to look up as the photo of Daniels and him flashed on the monitor in front of him.

In the next exhibit, jurors saw a photo of Trump at the golf outing wearing the identical outfit.

Trump attorney Emil Bove, seated at the end of the defense table, whispered a message to Todd Blanche, who then appeared to relay the message to Trump.

Daniels testified that at that meeting, Trump's bodyguard came to her with a proposal: "That Mr. Trump was interested in having me joining him for dinner"

"F--- no," Daniels said of her reaction, including a bleeped out expression.

"I'm sorry?" Hoffinger asked.

"No," Daniels repeated with a laugh.


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.

"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.


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.


Judge denies motion for mistrial after Stormy Daniels testimony

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger pushed back on the defense's request for a mistrial, arguing Daniels' testimony was consistent and permissible.

"This story -- her account -- is highly probative of the defendant's intent," she said. "This is not new. This is not a new account."

"They opened the door to this," she said. Her testimony was necessary for prosecutors "to rehabilitate credibility where they attacked it" in their opening statement.

Hoffinger defended her direct examination, telling Merchan she dialed back the testimony at his request.

"We were extremely mindful of not eliciting too much testimony about the actual act," Hoffinger said.

Blanche fired back, telling Merchan that the testimony from Daniels was a harmful distraction.

"I don't think anybody can listen to what that witness said and think it had anything to do with the charged conduct," he said. "You run a very high risk of the jury not being able to focus on the evidence that really does matter."

"I don't believe we are at the point where a mistrial is warranted," Merchan said.