NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Porn actor Stormy Daniels Tuesday in the hush money case against Donald Trump, who as she detailed their alleged sexual encounter and the payment she got to keep it quiet.
Prosecutors allege Trump paid Daniels to keep quiet about the claims as he ran for president in 2016. Her testimony aired them very publicly as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee seeks to win the White House again.
Trump denies having sex with Daniels, and his lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial midway through her testimony.
It’s the biggest spectacle yet in the first of a former American president, now in its in Manhattan.
Here are some takeaways from Daniels’ testimony:
WHO IS STORMY DANIELS?
The case centers on a $130,000 payment to Daniels from Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, in the final weeks of Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign. Prosecutors say it was part of a scheme to illegally influence the campaign by burying negative stories about him.
His lawyers have sought to show that Trump was trying to protect his reputation and family 鈥� not his campaign 鈥� by shielding them from embarrassing stories about his personal life.
Daniels, whose real name is , told jurors that she started exotic dancing in high school and appearing in adult films at age 23, eventually moving on to direct more than 150 films and winning a roster of porn industry awards.
MEETING TRUMP
Daniels testified she first met and chatted with Trump at a 2006 Lake Tahoe celebrity golf outing where her studio was a sponsor.
He referred to her as 鈥渢he smart one鈥� and asked her if she wanted to go to dinner, she said. Daniels testified that she accepted Trump鈥檚 invitation because she wanted to avoid dinner with her co-workers and thought it might help her career. Trump had his bodyguard get her number, she said.
When they met up later in his penthouse, she appreciated that he seemed interested in the business aspects of the industry rather than the 鈥渟exy stuff.” He also suggested putting her on his TV show, 鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥� a possibility she hoped could help establish her as a writer and director.
She left to use the bathroom and was startled to find Trump in his underwear when she returned, she said. She didn鈥檛 feel physically or verbally threatened but realized that he was 鈥渂igger and blocking the way,鈥� she testified.
鈥淭he next thing I know was: I was on the bed,鈥� and they were having sex, Daniels recalled. The encounter was brief but left her 鈥渟haking,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just wanted to leave,鈥� she testified.
PAYMENTS FOR SILENCE
Daniels was asked if Trump ever told her to keep things between them confidential and said, 鈥淎bsolutely not.鈥� She said she learned in 2011 that a magazine had learned the story of their encounter and she agreed to do an interview for $15,000 to make money and 鈥渃ontrol the narrative.鈥� The story never ran.
In 2016, when Trump was running for president, Daniels said she authorized her manager to shop the story around but did not initially receive interest from news outlets. She said that changed in October with the release of the in which Trump bragged about grabbing women sexually without asking permission. She said she learned that Cohen wanted to buy her silence.
MISTRIAL PUSH
Midway through her testimony, Trump’s lawyers moved for a mistrial.
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Daniels’ testimony about the alleged encounter and other meetings with him had 鈥渘othing to do with this case,鈥� and would unfairly prejudice the jury.
The judge rejected it, and he faulted defense attorneys for not raising more of their objections while she was testifying.
Before Daniels took the stand, Trump鈥檚 lawyers had tried to stop her from testifying about the encounter’s details, saying it was irrelevant in 鈥渁 case about books and records.鈥�
Prosecutors countered that Daniels鈥� testimony gets at what Trump was trying to hide and they were 鈥渧ery mindful鈥� not to draw too much graphic detail. Before Daniels took the stand, they told the judge the testimony would be 鈥渞eally basic,鈥� and would not 鈥渋nvolve any details of genitalia.鈥�
While the judge didn鈥檛 side with Trump鈥檚 lawyers, he acknowledged that some details were excessive. The objections could potentially be used by Trump鈥檚 lawyers if he is convicted and they file an appeal.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
Trump’s lawyers tried to attack Daniels’ credibility, suggesting she was motivated by money and that her account has shifted over the years.
鈥淎m I correct that you hate President Trump?鈥� Defense lawyer Susan Necheles asked Daniels at one point. Daniels acknowledged she did.
鈥淎nd you want him to go to jail?鈥� the lawyer asked.
鈥淚 want him to be held accountable,鈥� Daniels said. Pressed again whether that meant going to jail, she said, 鈥淚f he鈥檚 convicted.鈥�
The defense pressed Daniels on the fact that she stemming from an unsuccessful defamation lawsuit and on a 2022 tweet in which she said she 鈥渨ill go to jail before I pay a penny.鈥� Daniels dug in at times in the face of pointed questions, forcefully denying the idea that she had tried to extort Trump.
TRUMP IN COURT
Trump whispered frequently to his attorney during Daniels鈥� testimony, and his expression seemed to be pained at one point as she recounted details about the dinner she says they shared. He shook his head and appeared to say something under his breath as Daniels testified that Trump told her he didn鈥檛 sleep in the same room as his wife.
At one point, the judge told defense lawyers during a sidebar conversation 鈥� out of earshot of the jury and the public 鈥� that he could hear Trump 鈥渃ursing audibly” and see him shaking his head, according to a transcript of the proceedings.
鈥淚 am speaking to you here at the bench because I don鈥檛 want to embarrass him,鈥� Judge Juan Merchan told Blanche, Trump’s lawyer. Blanche assured the judge he would talk to his client.
鈥淵ou need to speak to him. I won鈥檛 tolerate that,鈥� the judge said.
On the way out of the courthouse, Trump called it 鈥渁 very revealing day.” He didn’t address Daniels’ testimony explicitly but claimed the prosecutors’ case was 鈥渢otally falling apart.鈥�
A JARRING SPLIT SCREEN
Trump鈥檚 appearance in court Tuesday, like all other days he鈥檚 stuck in the courtroom, means he can鈥檛 be out on the campaign trail as he runs for president a third time. It鈥檚 a frequent source of his complaints, but Daniels’ testimony in particular might underscore how much of a distraction the trial is from the business of running for president.
While Trump was stuck in a Manhattan courthouse away from voters and unable to speak for much of the day, his rival, Democratic President Joe Biden, was attending a Holocaust remembrance ceremony and condemning antisemitism.
It鈥檚 an issue Trump has against Biden in the campaign by seizing on the protests at college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war.
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Whitehurst reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, Jake Offenhartz and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this story.
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