In this courtroom sketch, Stormy Daniels testifies on the witness stand as Judge Juan Merchan looks on in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York. A photo of Donald Trump and Daniels from their first meeting is displayed on a monitor. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
The woman at the heart of Donald Trump’s criminal woes in New York City took the stand on Tuesday to much fanfare and attention.
Stormy Daniels, whose birth name is Stephanie Clifford but who prefers her chosen name, is the adult content creator who claims to have had an affair with Trump that led to a hush-money payment she received from Michael Cohen. That payment, the state claims, was directed by Trump and then papered over in a criminal cover-up.
The witness’ story is integral to the case against the 45th president and prosecutors spent several hours trying to tease out the lurid specifics as the defense sought to tamp down on exactly such color and commentary, oftentimes leading the court to rule in Trump’s favor.
Earlier in the day, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan fielded concerns from Trump defense attorney Susan Necheles that Daniels’ testimony might reference “any sexual acts,” according to a report by Just Security fellow Adam Klasfeld.
Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger, in turn, sought to dial back expectations that the adult film star would be talking about anyone’s “genitalia” or anything like that — but stressed that the alleged sexual activity between the witness and the defendant was important to present to jurors on a “very basic” level.
Yet, the fundamental reason the Daniels chapter stands out in, and has achieved such significance to, Trump’s broader story is because her allegation of an affair — tawdry, salacious, wanton; compounded with the claim that the affair was with a then-newly-married man who would become, thrice, the standard-bearer for a political party that holds itself out as a bastion of tradition — lends itself to charges of political hypocrisy. And, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office argues, the perceived political fallout from such a sex scandal was enough to make Trump break the law in order “to corrupt” an election.
So, soon after taking the stand, Daniels delivered a double entendre about a hole on a Lake Tahoe golf course sponsored by a pornography company she worked for in 2006 and then laughed at her own joke, according to a report by Newsweek report Katherine Fung.
It was at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada, where the two met, Daniels testified, hewing to the details of the 2018 interview she gave to In Touch magazine — after previously disputing, in a written statement, that any such affair ever took place.
At the time they met on the course, she was 27 and Trump was around 60, “probably older than my father,” Daniels testified, according to a report by New York Daily News reporter Molly Crane-Newman.
The witness said she was first approached by Trump’s then-bodyguard, Keith Schiller, who relayed a message from his boss that Trump would like to have dinner with her. At first, she rebuffed the offer — but saved Schiller’s number in her cellphone’s contact list as “Keith Trump” so she could remember who he worked for.
Immediately after that, Daniels said, she discussed the offer with her publicist and recalled what she testified were his exact words.
“It will make a great story,” her publicist allegedly told her. “What could possibly go wrong?”
More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Made a boo boo’: Former Trump Organization accounting head details how the company reimbursed Michael Cohen during hush-money trial testimony
First they had dinner, Daniels testified, where Trump compared Daniels favorably to his daughter — to try and convince her to appear on “The Apprentice,” the NBC game show he hosted at the time.
“She is smart and blond and beautiful,” Daniels remembered the defendant say about Ivanka Trump, who was around 24 that year. “You’re not just a dumb bimbo. You’re more than people think.”
Eventually, Daniels made her way back to Trump’s suite, which she described as three times the size of her apartment.
Since she drank a lot of water during dinner, she had to use the restroom, the witness said, which Trump directed her to. Once there, she snooped around but said she was not proud of doing so. Inside of a “leather looking” toiletry bag she found a bottle of Pert Plus, Old Spice, some tweezers, and other banal items, Daniels remembered.
When she came out of the bathroom, the witness said, she was surprised to find Trump in his underwear and posing on the bed, according to a report by Law&Crime Network reporter Terri Austin.
Daniels testified that she remembered feeling like she misread the situation and made to leave — but Trump wanted her to stay. And, when it came down to it, she said she did, without any physical or verbal threat. At the same time, however, Daniels said she felt like there was an “imbalance of power” in the room because of a decided size differential; Daniels is 5’6″ while Trump is 6’3.”
Throughout her testimony, defense counsel lodged several objections — complaining about the granularity of Daniels’ recollections. During one recess, the judge upbraided the prosecution for eliciting such minor details, saying they were “just unnecessary.” Another time, defense counsel raised a sidebar to clarify, on the witness’ own word, that there was no alcohol involved on the night in question.
One exchange was demonstrative of the efforts made by the state, the defense, and the court to cabin how detailed Daniels actually got with her descriptions of the alleged encounter — which is to say the state appeared intent to try and get as much as they could into the record while the court and Trump’s team were not having it.
“Did you end up on the bed having sex with him?” Hoffinger asked at one point, according to a report by MSNBC personality Katie Phang.
Daniels replied in the affirmative and started with a vivid description that was quickly cut off: “I went to the opposite side of the bed and I had my clothes and shoes off, we were in missionary position–.”
After a sustained objection, the state pried away further details.
“Was he wearing a condom?” the prosecutor asked.
“No,” Daniels said.
“Was that concerning to you?” Hoffinger pressed.
“Yes,” Daniels said.
“Did you say anything about it?” the prosecutor continued.
“No,” Daniels said.
“Why not?” Hoffinger asked.
To which Daniels replied: “I didn’t say anything at all.”
An objection was raised and sustained over whether Daniels touched Trump’s skin during the alleged incident. The witness was asked and answered that she remembered the sex being brief. Afterward, the witness testified, her hands were shaking and she struggled to get dressed — while Trump exclaimed the pair were “great” together.
“Let’s get together again, honey bunch,” Daniels recalled Trump saying as she hastily left his hotel room that night.
As the remnants of the disputed evening — Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels — were pored over along with the processes of memory over time, Merchan reportedly grew increasingly frustrated, again, with the state for its line of questioning. The defense raised several objections that were sustained. A sidebar led to a reportedly animated conversation. The state was forced to move on.
For over a year, until the summer of 2007, the two occasionally met and spoke over the phone almost weekly. Daniels said she always put Trump on speaker phone — without his knowledge — because she and her friends thought it was “funny.” During some conversations, she said, he was working to get her to appear on “The Apprentice,” an effort that never panned out. On occasion, she said, Trump made sexual advances which she turned down — with one excuse or another.
When the two spoke with one another, Daniels said, Trump always called her “honey bunch.” She said she thought that was “weird.”
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