NEW YORK (AP) â The judge in Donald Trump's hush money case denied a second request from defense attorneys to declare a mistrial over porn actor Stormy Daniels' testimony, .
Judge Juan M. Merchan, echoing his denial Tuesday of the defenseâs initial mistrial motion, said Trumpâs lawyers had ample opportunities to object to questions that elicited what they said were damaging details about the alleged sexual encounter between the former president and Daniels.
Daniels spent roughly 7 1/2 hours on the stand over two days. The porn actor , the alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the former president that she was eventually paid to keep quiet about during the 2016 presidential election.
The former president's attorneys aggressively sought to poke holes in Daniels' credibility during cross-examination accusing her of trying to extort Trump, rehearsing her testimony and changing her story over the years â all things she forcefully denied.
Trump denies the two ever had sex.
Also on Thursday, defense attorneys asked New Yorkâs mid-level appeals court on Wednesday to expedite a decision on Trump's gag order appeal.
The court did not take immediate action but set deadlines for court filings in the next two weeks.
Prosecutors say Trump and two of his associates orchestrated a scheme to influence the 2016 election by purchasing and then burying stories that might damage his campaign.
Daniels' testimony is a build-up to the prosecution's star witness Michael Cohen, who arranged the $130,000 payment to Daniels and later for orchestrating the payments and other charges.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records to cover up the hush money payments and instead recording them as legal expenses. He has .
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the to reach a jury.
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TRUMP LEAVES COURT, CALLS RULING âA DISGRACEâ
Speaking briefly to reporters outside the courtroom late Thursday afternoon, Donald Trump railed against Judge Juan M. Merchan, who had just denied his lawyersâ requests to modify the gag order so he could respond to Stormy Danielsâ testimony, and to declare a mistrial based on what she said.
âThis judge, what he did, and what his ruling was, is a disgrace,â Trump said. âEverybody saw what happened today.â
Court will resume on Friday morning.
JUDGE DENIES SECOND REQUEST FOR MISTRIAL
The judge in Donald Trump's hush money case on Thursday denied another request from defense lawyers for a mistrial over Stormy Daniels' testimony.
Judge Juan M. Merchan, echoing his denial Tuesday of the defenseâs initial mistrial motion, said Trumpâs lawyers had ample opportunities to object to questions that elicited what they said were damaging details about the alleged sexual encounter between the former president and Daniels.
âThere were many times, not once or twice, but many times when Ms. Necheles couldâve objected but didnât,â Merchan said.
In particular, the judge said, the defense shouldâve objected to prosecutor Susan Hoffingerâs question about whether Trump used a condom, which led to Danielsâ response that he hadnât.
âI agree. That should never have come out. That question should never have been asked and that answer should never have been given,â Merchan said. âFor the life of me, I donât know why Ms. Necheles didnât object.â
PROSECUTION SAYS CLAIM DANIELS CHANGED HER STORY IS âEXTRAORDINARILY UNTRUEâ
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass countered a claim by Donald Trump's defense attorneys that Stormy Daniels changed her story as âextraordinarily untrue,â though there may be details âsaid in one forum and not another.â And, he said, the defense lawyersâ claim that they couldnât foresee what prosecutors would ask and what Daniels would answer âis just nonsense.â
Steinglass said on Thursday that prosecutors have always contended that the details of the alleged 2006 encounter â a two-hour conversation Daniels said she had with Trump in his hotel suite â corroborate her account that they had sex and, therefore, adds to Trumpâs motivation to silence her.
âIf they want to offer testimony that the sex never happened, thatâs their prerogative,â Steinglass said.
Steinglass argued the defense was trying to discredit Danielsâ allegations while precluding prosecutors from corroborating the details of the claim.
âTheyâre basically trying to have their cake and eat it too,â he said in pushing back against the defense's request for a mistrial.
DEFENSE CALLS DANIELS' TESTIMONY âSO PREJUDICIALâ
Defense attorneys in Donald Trump's hush money trial on Thursday said Stormy Daniels' testimony went far afield of rules established to protect Trump from being prejudiced by tawdry details, and didnât match the account that was offered up to Cohen when he decided to pay her $130,000 for the rights to her story.
âThat is a power description. That is an extremely prejudicial statement by a witness and thereâs no evidence that was said to AMI or Mr. Cohen, no evidence it had anything to do with the motive to enter into that NDA,â Todd Blanche said, arguing in favor of a mistrial.
âThat is so prejudicial and so incredible for a jury to hear,â Blanche added, blaming prosecutors for asking questions that elicited intimate details of the alleged sexual encounter, including asking Daniels about whether Trump had used a condom.
âItâs a dog whistle for rape,â Blanche concluded.
IN BID FOR MISTRIAL, TRUMP'S LAWYERS ARGUE DANIELS' STORY IS INCONSISTENT
In renewing their bid for a mistrial in Donald Trump's hush money case, Trumpâs lawyers leaned on what they say are discrepancies between Stormy Danielsâ testimony and her previous tellings of the alleged sexual encounter, which Trump denies ever happened.
Under defense questioning earlier, Daniels insisted that while some reports on what she said had been incomplete, she hadnât changed her story or fabricated it.
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche also alleged that prosecutors elicited a level of detail from Daniels that went far beyond what was agreed to.
âYou have jurors who are now hearing about an imbalance of power between a man and a woman, none of that is information that goes to motive in this case,â Blanche said, adding: âWe didnât know these questions were coming. We didnât know.â
Blanche further took issue with Danielsâ testimony about the visceral reaction she had when she says she saw Trump sitting on the bed of his hotel suite stripped down to his boxers and T-shirt. Daniels testified that she felt like the room was spinning, blood rushing from her hands and feet, and feeling like sheâd blacked out.
Even as she described the power dynamic, though, Daniels told attorneys the sex was consensual.
JUDGE REJECTS REQUEST TO ALTER GAG ORDER
Judge Juan M. Merchan on Thursday rejected the defenseâs request to modify the existing gag order to allow Donald Trump to publicly respond to Stormy Danielsâ testimony.
âMy concern is not just with protecting Ms. Daniels, or a witness who has already testified. My concern is with protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole,â Merchan said.
As the judge described his âvery threatening attacksâ on potential witnesses, Trump sat forward in his chair, hands clasped in front of him. Once the order was read, Trump leaned back, appearing to exhale.
The gag order bars the former president from speaking publicly about jurors, witnesses and others connected to the hush money case.
PROSECUTION PUSHES BACK ON DEFENSE REQUEST FOR CHANGES TO GAG ORDER
The prosecution in Donald Trump's hush money case pushed back Thursday on a defense request for changes to the gag order that bars the former president from speaking publicly about jurors, witnesses and some others connected to the case.
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy responded that the gag order shouldnât be altered to allow comments about Stormy Daniels because those remarks could have a chilling effect on other witnesses. He added that he's spoken with one future witness who is worried about the consequences of taking the stand.
Trump, Conroy said, goes after âanyone he deems worthy of his venom. He does it selfishly with no concern for the safety of the people heâs attacking.â
Conroy said heâd had a conversation Wednesday night with a witness whose role was simply to authenticate some records and who was worried about the consequences of testifying.
âModifying this gag order now would signal to future witnesses that they could be at risk,â Conroy argued.
TRUMP'S LAWYERS ASK JUDGE TO LET HIM PUBLICLY RESPOND TO DANIELS' TESTIMONY
Donald Trump's attorneys have asked Judge Juan M. Merchan to alter his gag order so that the former president can ârespond publicly to what happened in court over the last day and a halfâ with Stormy Danielsâ testimony.
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche was concerned that Trump is being harmed by unchecked reporting on various claims she made about him on the witness stand.
âHe needs an opportunity to respond to the American people and the reasons for the gag order as it relates to Ms. Daniels is over. Sheâs no longer a witness,â Blanche said.
Blanche contends âthis isnât just the same story that has been going around for the last couple years, itâs much different.â
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy, meanwhile, accused Trumpâs defense team of living in an âalternate realityâ and said that the gag order shouldnât be altered to allow comments about Daniels because those remarks could have a chilling effect on other.
TESTIMONY CONCLUDES FOR THE DAY AS DEFENSE RENEWS MISTRIAL MOTION
Testimony in Donald Trump's hush money case has concluded for the day.
Madeleine Westerhoutâs testimony will continue on Friday. The judge is now sending the jury home so that he can attend to several issues the defense plans to raise, including renewing its motion for a mistrial following Stormy Danielsâ testimony.
FORMER SECRETARY ON WHY SHE WAS FIRED FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
Madeleine Westerhout wiped tears from her eyes and asked for a moment as prosecutors turned to her exit from the White House during her testimony on Thursday.
She said she was fired after divulging private details about the job during a dinner with reporters that she believed was âoff the record.â
âI am very regretful of my youthful indiscretion,â she said. Donald Trump she was dismissed for saying things about his children.
As she spoke in court, Trump shook his head twice from the defense table.
Westerhout went on to publish a book, âOff the Record,â about her time in the White House, in order to âto share with the American people the man that I got to know,â she testified. âI donât think heâs treated fairly and I wanted to tell that storyâ she added.
STACKS OF CHECKS WERE SENT TO WHITE HOUSE FOR TRUMP TO SIGN
Earlier Thursday, Trump Organization executive assistant Rebecca Manochio testified about her practice of sending batches of unsigned checks to the White House via FedEx for Donald Trump to sign from his personal account.
Westerhout provided the White House perspective on that arrangement, recounting how Trump would receive packages about twice a month â some containing one check and others with a stack about a half-inch thick. The checks were often attached to invoices stating what the payment was for.
After signing the checks, Westerhout said Trump would give them back to her and sheâd sent them back to the Trump Organization using a prelabeled FedEx envelope.
At times, Westerhout said Trump would sometimes pull aside a check and ask for more information before signing. In those instances, she said she remembered Trump calling the company's then-chief finance chief âAllen Weisselberg or someone else in the Trump Organization to ask for clarification.â
Manochio had testified earlier that, to her knowledge, Trump didnât speak to Weisselberg once he became president.
JURORS SEE TRUMP CONTACT LIST, INCLUDING BILL O'REILLY, TOM BRADY AND OTHERS
Jurors in Donald Trump's hush money trial got a look at a redacted contact list that Trumpâs assistant at his company sent to Madeleine Westerhout, representing people he spoke to frequently or might want to.
Itâs a whoâs who of big names, including former Fox 51°”Íű host Bill OâReilly, tennis player Serena Williams, casino mogul Steve Wynn, football legends Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, and âThe Apprenticeâ producer Mark Burnett.
Their contact details are redacted.
Closer to home, the list included the names of some of Trumpâs family members, as well as trial figures David Pecker, Michael Cohen and Allen Weisselberg.
Another name on the list, Fox 51°”Íűâ Jeanine Pirro, was in attendance at the trial earlier Thursday, watching Stormy Danielsâ testimony from an overflow room down the hall.
EX-DIRECTOR OF OVAL OFFICE OPERATIONS TAKES THE STAND
Prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial called Madeleine Westerhout â Trump's personal secretary from 2017 to 2019 and the former director of Oval Office Operations for the Trump White House from February to August 2019 â to the stand Thursday afternoon.
Before going to the White House, Westerhout worked for the Republican National Committee. She was there when Trumpâs infamous âAccess Hollywoodâ tape was made public weeks before the 2016 election.
She recalled, in testimony, the tape ârattling RNC leadershipâ and that âthere were conversations about how it would be possible to replace him as the candidate if it came to that.â
After Trump won the 2016 election, Westerhout and others from the RNC began working frequently in Trump Tower to aid the transition. And late that year, she said, her boss asked whether she had any interest in working right outside the Oval Office.
âI said, âYes, I would. That sounds like a really cool job,ââ she recalled with a smile.
MANOCHIO CONCLUDES TESTIMONY
Following roughly four minutes of cross-examination after a lunch break Thursday afternoon, Rebecca Manochio finished giving testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial.
Manochio, a junior bookkeeper at the Trump Organization at the time Donald Trump was president, was responsible for sending unsigned checks for him to sign at the White House for his personal expenses.
Manochio confirmed previous testimony that Trump was the only person authorized to sign checks for his personal account and that he was not involved in signing any checks for his business because those assets had been put into a revocable trust while he was president. His son Donald Trump Jr. and Allen Weisselberg, then-Trump Organization chief financial officer, had authority to sign checks for the business.
Manochio testified that Trump and Weisselberg would speak at least once a day before Trump embarked on his run for president. After Trump started campaigning and was out of the office more often, the frequency of their contacts decreased, Manochio said. And, to her knowledge, she testified, Trump and Weisselberg didnât speak at all after Trump became president.
DEFENSE TO RENEW CALL FOR A MISTRIAL
Before breaking for lunch, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told Judge Juan M. Merchan that the defense plans to renew its call for a mistrial in the hush money case based on Stormy Danielsâ testimony.
Blanche also said they will seek to prevent former Playboy model Karen McDougal from testifying and that they will make further arguments about the gag order that bars Donald Trump from speaking publicly about jurors, witnesses and others connected to the case.
Merchan said he would send the jury home at 4 p.m. and subsequently take up the defenseâs arguments.
DANIELS CONCLUDES TESTIMONY
Stormy Daniels concluded her testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial midday Thursday following the conclusion of cross-examination by the defense and a brief round of redirect questioning from prosecutors.
She has completed her testimony, given over two days in Trumpâs criminal trial.
As Daniels walked off the stand and out of the courtroom, Trump turned his gaze away from her, appearing to look at a screen in front of him.
DANIELS ACKNOW
LEDGES SHE NEVER SPOKE TO TRUMP ABOUT THE HUSH MONEY PAYMENT
Stormy Daniels testified Thursday that she never spoke with Donald Trump about the $130,000 hush money payment she received from Michael Cohen and had no knowledge of whether Trump was aware of or involved in the transaction.
âYou have no personal knowledge about his involvement in that transaction or what he did or didnât do,â Trump lawyer Susan Necheles asked.
âNot directly, no,â Daniels responded.
Upon further questioning, Daniels noted that she didnât negotiate directly with Cohen, either, but that her lawyer at the time, Keith Davidson did.
Necheles used the questions in the final moments of her cross-examination to underscore that Daniels does not know of any of the allegations underlying Trumpâs charges in the case, that he falsified his companyâs records to hide the true nature of reimbursement payments to Cohen.
Necheles asked Daniels if she was aware of what Trump had been indicted for, producing an uncomfortable answer that the lawyer wanted stricken from the record. Her answer: âThereâs a lot of indictments.â
Daniels went on to say that she knew the charges involved business records, but when asked if she knew anything about Trumpâs business records, she acknowledged: âI know nothing about his business records. No. Why would I?â
JURORS APPEAR RIVETED BY THE BACK-AND-FORTH OF CROSS-EXAMINATION
Amid the tension between Stormy Daniels and defense lawyer Susan Necheles during cross-examination in Donald Trump's hush money trial, the courtroom itself was relatively calm.
There were no audible reactions from the gallery â mostly reporters with one row of public observers â when testimony grew particularly tense Thursday morning. If anything, the drama unfolded somewhat like a Broadway show with Necheles and Daniels playing off each other.
Many jurors viewed the back and forth the way they might watch a tennis match: swiveling their heads between the lawyersâ lectern and the witness box with each question and answer. Some jurors scribbled notes, others leaned back in their chairs.
Trump watched intently.
The rest of the audience watched wide-eyed but respectful of the courtâs decorum.
DANIELS INSISTS HER STORY HAS NOT CHANGED
Before a morning break in Donald Trump's hush money trial, Stormy Daniels pushed back on suggestions by the defense that her story about their alleged sexual encounter has changed over time.
Daniels that while she wasnât physically menaced, she felt a âpower imbalanceâ as Trump, in his hotel bedroom, stood between her and the door and propositioned her.
As for whether she felt compelled to have sex with him, she reiterated Thursday that he didnât drug her or physically threaten her.
But, she said, âMy own insecurities, in that moment, kept me from saying no.â
Trump denies any sexual encounter happened.
Several times, defense lawyer Susan Necheles accused Daniels of altering the details of her story over time, saying at one point: âYour story has completely changed.â
Daniels insisted it has not. âYouâre trying to make me say that it changed, but it hasnât changed at all.â
NECHELES HOM
ES IN ON DANIELS' CAREER IN PORNOGRAPHY
Donald Trumpâs defense attorney zeroed in on Stormy Danielsâ career in adult films to suggest that her story about being shocked and frightened by Trumpâs alleged sexual advances is not believable.
âYouâve acted and had sex in over 200 porn movies, right?â asked Necheles. âAnd there are naked men and women having sex, including yourself, in those movies?â
Necheles continued: âBut according to you, seeing a man sitting on a bed in a T-shirt and boxers was so upsetting that you got lightheaded, the blood left your hands and feet and you felt like you were going to faint.â
Daniels replied that the experience with Trump was different from porn for several reasons â including the fact that Trump was more than twice her age, larger than her and that she was not expecting to find him undressed when she emerged from the bathroom.
âI came out of a bathroom seeing an older man that I wasnât expecting to be there,â she said.
TRUMP'S LAWYER TRIES TO POKE HOLES IN DANIELS' TESTIMONY
Defense lawyer Susan Necheles tried to show during cross-examination on Thursday that details from Stormy Danielsâ story of meeting Donald Trump in 2006 have changed over time, pointing to a 2011 interview in which she said the two talked âbefore, during and afterâ dinner in his hotel room, though she testified earlier this week that they never got any food.
Daniels rebuffed the idea that there was a discrepancy: saying that what she meant was that they talked during dinnertime but that she never said they actually got food, to her frustration, as sheâs âvery food-motivated.â
âIâve maintained that in every interview â that we never actually ate,â she said during an extended exchange on the dinner details, and explained: âHaving dinner, at least from where Iâm from, doesnât necessarily mean you have to put food in your mouth. Youâre going to someoneâs house for dinner, itâs dinnertime.â
âThe details of your story keep changing, right?â Necheles asked at one point.
âNo,â Daniels said.
DANIELS ADDR
ESSES PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES AND MORE
In one of the hush money trialâs odder moments, Stormy Daniels was pressed about her experience dealing with a ghost â which may have just been a marsupial.
Asked by Trump lawyer Susan Necheles about her claim that she lived in a New Orleans home that was âhaunted and the spirits attacked you,â Daniels launched into an explanation of her possible encounter.
âThe house had some very unexplained activity. We brought in experts, people to measure the electromagnetic fields, religious experts, scientists,â she said. âA lot of the activity was completely debunked as a giant possum that was under the house.â
The line of questioning appeared aimed at undermining Danielsâ credibility while giving Necheles a chance to highlight that Daniels is working on a paranormal investigation show called Spooky Babes.
Necheles then turned pointedly to Daniels' career, asking: âYou have a lot of experience in making phony stories about sex appear real?â
âThe sex in those films is real, just like the sex in that room,â Daniels replied. âThe character themes might be different, but the sex is very real. Thatâs why itâs pornography, not a B movie.â
Regarding her account of having a sexual encounter with Trump â a claim he denies â Daniels said: âIf that story was not true I wouldâve written it to be a lot better.â
âBecause youâre a good story writer, right?â Necheles responded.
NECHELES HIGHLIGHTS DANIELS' TRUMP-RELATED MERCHANDISE
Defense lawyer Susan Necheles pressed Stormy Daniels on her social media marketing of merchandise tied to her public persona as a Trump antagonist.
Asked about an âin celebration of new indictmentsâ promotion from last year that offered a gift for new orders, Necheles asked whether the performer wasnât using the circumstances to flog products.
âNot unlike Mr. Trump,â Daniels calmly retorted.
Necheles then suggested Daniels was âbraggingâ by offering a âStormy Saint of Indictmentsâ candle.
âNo, Iâm not bragging. I think itâs funny that a store made that for me to sell,â Daniels said.
And no, she corrected Necheles, sheâs not making $40 per candle, but rather about $7.
DANIELS TO DEFENSE LAWYER: âYOUâRE PUTTING WORDS IN MY MOUTH'
Several times on Thursday, Stormy Daniels has taken issue with Trump lawyer Susan Nechelesâ questioning.
Amid questions about the financial arrangements for her documentary, Daniels accused Necheles of âtrying to trick me into saying something thatâs not entirely true.â
At another point, Daniels demanded the defense lawyer back up her claim about something she claimed Daniels had said regarding Donald Trumpâs arrest.
âShow me where I said Iâd be instrumental in putting President Trump in jail,â the witness said, steady and unflustered.
After Necheles showed Daniels a social media post sheâd made that did not reflect those precise words, Daniels replied: âI donât see the âinstrumentalâ or âjail.â Youâre putting words in my mouth.â
Trump spent much of the first hour of testimony leaning back in his seat and staring straight ahead, nodding at times as his attorney called jurorsâ attention to social media posts by Daniels insulting him.
It was a far cry from the visible repulsion he displayed during her initial testimony to prosecutors.
DANIELS UNDERSCORES COMPENSATION SHE HAS AND HAS NOT RECEIVED
During cross-examination Thursday morning, porn actor Stormy Daniels underscored several times that she received no compensation for she gave in 2018, relaying her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump. But Susan Necheles, the defense lawyer, contended that the publicity from the TV appearance led to other moneymaking opportunities, including a book deal and a strip club tour.
Daniels said sheâs received $100,000 and is due another $25,000 for footage and other rights she provided to the makers of a documentary about her experiences that aired recently on the NBC streaming service Peacock.
Some of the money was used to compensate camera operators who had filmed her before the documentaryâs producers got involved, she said.
Daniels said she was not paid for any interviews she gave for the documentary.
DEFENSE LAWYER GOE
S THROUGH NDA WITH DANIELS
Trump attorney Susan Necheles ran through the finer points of the nondisclosure agreement that Stormy Daniels had with Michael Cohen, asking Daniels to confirm that she agreed to highlighted portions.
Daniels responds in terse one-word answers, âYes,â adding: âI signed this only based on what my attorneys suggested.â
Necheles confronted Daniels with two statements she signed in early 2018 denying that she ever had any sexual involvement with Trump or received money to keep quiet. She said her then-lawyer, Keith Davidson, advised her to sign it, and that she was told that Cohen was pressing him to get her to do so.
Necheles noted that by then, Trump wasnât running for election â an apparent effort to buttress the defenseâs argument that Trumpâs desire to squelch what he says are false claims about his personal life wasnât related to his political ambitions, but rather to protect his family and reputation.
âI wouldnât know what he wanted to protect,â Daniels said.
DANIELS DENIES YELLING AT HER FORMER LAWYER
Stormy Daniels conceded Thursday that she was angry when Michael Cohen was slow to pay her the $130,000 heâd promised in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter with Donald Trump, but she denied ever yelling at her then-lawyer Keith Davidson demanding to be paid.
âYou were furious, werenât you?â Trump lawyer Susan Necheles asked during cross-examination.
âYes,â Daniels testified.
Necheles then played an audio recording of a phone call in which Davidson told Cohen that if he didnât pay up, the boyfriend of Danielsâ manager might go public claiming heâd heard her on the phone screaming at Davidson to settle the case.
Davidson, relaying what the boyfriend might say about Daniels, was heard saying: âIf (Trump) loses this election, we all lose all (expletive) leverage. This case is worth zero.â
Daniels denied that the third-hand imagined account of what her managerâs boyfriend might say bore any resemblance to how she actually interacted with her lawyer at the time.
âIâve never yelled at Keith Davidson on the phone,â Daniels testified, looking at a transcript of the recording. âThis specifically says Ginaâs boyfriend was going to go out and tell a story.â
DEFENSE ACCUSES DANIELS OF TRYING TO PROFIT OFF STORY
Defense attorney Susan Necheles resumed cross-examination of Stormy Daniels on Thursday by pressing her on why she decided to take money to keep silent about her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump instead of holding a press conference, as Daniels has said she wanted to do.
âWhy didnât you do that?â Necheles asked.
âBecause we were running out of time,â Daniels said. Did she mean, Necheles asked, that she was running out of time to use the claim to make money? âTo get the story out,â Daniels countered. The negotiations were happening in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign.
As Daniels was negotiating her non-disclosure agreement with Michael Cohen, she testified, she was also speaking with other journalists, including an editor at Slate as a âbackupâ plan.
While Daniels said she was most interested in getting her story out and ensuring her familyâs safety, Necheles accused her of refusing to share the story with reporters because she wouldnât be paid for it.
âThe better alternative was for you to get money, right?â Necheles said.
âThe better alternative was to get my story protected with a paper trail so that my family didnât get hurt,â Daniels replied.
TRUMP WANTS HIS GAG ORDER REMOVED
Donald Trump's lawyers asked New York's mid-level appeals court on Wednesday to expedite a decision on his gag order appeal.
The court did not take immediate action but set deadlines for court filings in the next two weeks. If the court refuses to lift the gag order in Trump's hush money case, his lawyers want permission to take their appeal to the stateâs high court, called the Court of Appeals.
The gag order bars the former president from speaking publicly about jurors, witnesses and some others in his criminal trial.
THE STORMY DANIELS EFFECT
Over the first few weeks of Donald Trump's hush money trial, the scene outside the courthouse has largely settled into a routine â a few dozen members of the public, a typically small group of demonstrators and the journalists covering the day-to-day developments.
But the arrival of Stormy Daniels seems to have shifted that equilibrium.
With Daniels set to re-take the stand on Thursday, a far larger share of the public has amassed outside 100 Centre Street, alongside new ranks of media from the U.S. and abroad. A few minutes before 8 a.m., as lines swelled to their longest since the start of the trial, court officers said they had no choice but to turn people away.
Among the members of the public in line was Rose Brennan, a 63-year-old woman wearing a hand puppet meant to resemble Donald Trump. âHe has accompanied me on many adventures,â she said of the puppet. âEven though I hoped he would have been retired by now.â
She said she and the puppet traveled from New Jersey, arriving outside the courthouse at 5:30 a.m. because âI just want to be a witness to history.â
A WEEK OF DEVELOPMENTS IN TRUMP'S OTHER CASES
Donald Trump is facing four criminal indictments and a civil lawsuit. You can .
A Georgia appeals court on Wednesday agreed to review a lower court ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue to prosecute the she brought against the former president.
On Tuesday, the federal judge in Florida presiding over the has canceled the May 20 trial date, postponing it indefinitely.
TRUMP LEANS INTO THE PAGEANTRY OF VICE PRESIDENTIAL TRYOUTS
As former President remains stuck in the courtroom of an extramarital sexual encounter he denies, another spectacle is playing out in the background as his tryouts get underway.
The dynamic was on full display in Florida at a fundraiser at his .
âThis weekend, we had 15 people. ... Theyâre all out there campaigning,â Trump told Spectrum 51°”Íű 1 Wisconsin on Tuesday. âIt might actually be more effective this way because, you know, every one of them thinks they could be chosen, which I guess possibly is so.â
For now, the presumptive GOP nominee is happy to revel in the attention as reporters parse his choices and prospective candidates jockey and woo him in an âApprenticeâ-style competition.
The Associated Press
