Stormy Daniels takes the stand in Donald Trump's hush money trial
Testimony in Donald Trump's hush money case is set to resume Tuesday morning at what could be the midpoint of the first criminal trial against a former president.
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels has taken the witness stand at former President Donald Trump's New York criminal trial.
Daniels was the second witness called on Tuesday. Trump took a good look at Daniels as she took the stand, and then looked down. Daniels, who was born Stephanie Clifford, said she preferred to be called by her stage name, and that she was testifying in response to a subpoena.
She first described her background growing up in Louisiana, where she said she worked at a stable in high school. She said she started doing exotic dancing when she was 17. “I made more in two nights than I did shoveling manure eight hours a day.” She said she then started modeling and doing adult films in order to bolster her dancing career. Daniels, who appeared nervous and was speaking quickly, said she was directing films by the time she was 23.
Payments made to Daniels by Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign are at the heart of the case, the first criminal trial of a former president. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in return for keeping quiet about her allegation that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the claim.
Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom at Manhattan Criminal Court, in New York City, on May 6, 2024.Julia Nikhinson / Pool via Getty ImagesProsecutors say Trump repaid Cohen the money in payments that were falsely described as legal expenses and have charged him with 34 counts of falsifying business records. He’s pleaded not guilty.
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