Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the testimony of Stormy Daniels, a porn actor, in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump. Daniels recounted her 2006 sexual encounter with Trump and the subsequent payments made to her to keep the story quiet during the 2016 presidential campaign.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Stormy Daniels' Testimony

1. What did Stormy Daniels testify about her encounter with Donald Trump?

• Daniels testified about a 2006 sexual encounter she had with Trump, which she says Trump initiated after inviting her to dinner and back to his hotel suite.
• She described the encounter as "brief" and said she did not feel physically or verbally threatened, though she perceived an imbalance of power as Trump was "bigger and blocking the way."
• Daniels said that after the encounter, Trump told her "Oh, it was great. Let's get together again, honey bunch," but she just wanted to leave.

2. How did Trump react to Daniels' testimony?

• Trump stared straight ahead when Daniels entered the courtroom and later whispered to his lawyers and shook his head as she testified.
• The judge had to summon Trump's lawyers to discuss his audible cursing and visible shaking of his head, which the judge said had the potential to intimidate the witness and the jury.

3. What was Daniels' motivation for coming forward with her story?

• Daniels testified that her motivation was not money, but to "get the story out." She said she was in the best financial shape of her life when she authorized her manager to shop her story during the 2016 campaign.
• However, the defense lawyer pressed Daniels on the fact that she owes Trump hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and had tweeted that she "will go to jail before I pay a penny."

[02] The Hush Money Payments

1. What was the purpose of the $130,000 payment from Trump's lawyer to Daniels?

• The payment was made by Trump's then-lawyer and personal fixer, Michael Cohen, in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign to keep Daniels quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

2. How did the hush money deal come about?

• Before the "Access Hollywood" tape was made public in October 2016, there was little interest in Daniels' claims. A deal was reached with the National Enquirer for Daniels' story, but the tabloid backed out.
• Davidson, Daniels' then-lawyer, then began negotiating directly with Cohen, increasing the price to $130,000, and a deal was reached.

3. What happened after the initial $130,000 payment deadline?

• After the deadline for the $130,000 payment from Cohen came and went, Daniels authorized her lawyer to cancel the deal. However, the deal was revived about two weeks later.
• Daniels testified that she ended up with about $96,000 of the $130,000 payment, after her lawyer and agent got their cuts.