Stormy Daniels wraps combative cross-examination
Stormy Daniels finished hours of combative cross-examination by Donald Trump‘s lawyer Thursday in the former president’s New York hush money trial, while lawyers said former Playboy model Karen McDougal would not testify.
Trump attorney Susan Necheles raised minor inconsistencies in how Daniels has told the story of her alleged sexual encounter with Trump over the years. Necheles has also pressed Daniels on the ways she has profited from her story.
Stay posted with the latest newsTrump trial live updates: Ex-Oval Office aide who testified on checks returns to stand
Daniels’ story of that 2006 evening formed the basis for a $130,000 hush money payment she got from Trump lawyer Michael Cohen less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors allege the payment violated federal campaign finance laws and that Trump falsified records to cover it up.
After Daniels’ defiant testimony wrapped, prosecutors called less controversial witnesses, including Madeleine Westerhout, who was Trump’s White House special assistant before she was fired in 2018 for dishing on the Trump children with reporters. Judge Juan Merchan also rejected the former president’s request for a mistrial.
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Catch up with USA TODAY’s live updates from inside and outside the Manhattan courtroom:
Proceedings end for Thursday
The jury was sent home early today, but proceedings for everyone else ran late. After denying for a second time the Trump team’s request for a mistrial based on Stormy Daniels’ testimony, the judge sent everyone home. Proceedings will start again at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Friday.
– Aysha Bagchi
Judge uses Trump lawyer’s words against him, denies motion for mistrial
Judge Juan Merchan said he went back to the transcript of opening statements at the trial after the Trump team asked for a mistrial on Tuesday. He said Trump lawyer Todd Blanche denied Trump and Daniels ever had sex.
That denial was, indeed, clear and emphatic: Blanche said Daniels was paid for her agreement not to publicly spread “false – false – claims” about Trump, placing emphasis on the first word.
“Your denial puts the jury in a position of having to choose who they believe,” Merchan said Thursday. The prosecution, he said, had the right to rehabilitate Daniels’ credibility after that opening statement, which had “immediately attacked it.”
Merchan also disputed the Trump team’s claim that they didn’t object earlier in Daniels’ testimony because they believed Merchan had ruled in advance that it was permitted. He said, looking back at the record, Trump lawyer Susan Necheles objected very early on, and so she can’t say she didn’t object because of his ruling. He said there were many times when she could have objected and didn’t, and he pointed to specific page numbers in the transcript.
– Aysha Bagchi
Donald Trump lashes out at judge over gag order preventing him from talking about Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump stormed out of the courtroom on Thursday blasting Judge Juan Merchan, who refused to modify his gag order so that Trump could respond to the testimony from porn actress Stormy Daniels.
“Everybody saw what happened today,” Trump told reporters in a one-minute statement. “I don’t think we have to do any explaining. I’m not allowed to anyway because this judge is corrupt.”
Merchan refused Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s request to change his order prohibiting Trump from talking about witnesses or jurors in the trial.
Daniels had detailed a sexual encounter that Trump has denied outside court ever happened. But Merchan said if Trump wanted to rebut her testimony, he should do so in court rather than outside.
– Bart Jansen
Prosecutor says Stormy Daniels’ story is why Donald Trump ‘tried so hard to prevent the American people from hearing about this’
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass argued that the bad light Daniels’ story puts Trump in is core to the entire election interference case, alleging that Daniels’ story was Trump’s “motive” for the hush money arrangement.
The fact that “the testimony is prejudicial and messy, according to Mr. Blanche – that is why Mr. Trump tried so hard to prevent the American people from hearing about this.”
Steinglass added that the prosecution kept out many embarrassing details about Trump. He said he could submit a private document to the court on those details, and he specifically referenced details of the alleged sexual encounter. He characterized the earlier alleged dinner as a “relatively harmless conversation,” by comparison.
– Aysha Bagchi
Stormy Daniels used a ‘dog whistle for rape,’ Trump lawyer says
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche − who is urging Judge Merchan to both allow Trump to respond publicly to Stormy Daniels’ testimony and to declare a mistrial based on it − said portions of her testimony were a “dog whistle for rape.” He complained about her saying she forgot aspects of the alleged sexual encounter and describing a power imbalance between her and the real estate mogul.
Blanche also said “it almost defies belief that we’re here about a records case” and the government is asking about Daniels rolling up a magazine while at dinner with Trump and “spanking him.” He questioned the relevancy of the testimony, compared to what he described as its prejudicial nature.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump visibly displeased as judge indicates he will maintain gag order
Trump shifted from leaning forward to sitting back in his chair, making a face of visible displeasure, as the judge responded to defense lawyer Todd Blanche’s argument for modifying the gag order.
Merchan said: “I don’t see what you’re referring to as a new set of facts.”
While Merchan continued talking to Blanche, whom the judge asked to sit down, Trump turned to his right and started simultaneously quietly speaking to Blanche for a short time.
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Here’s what to know about Donald Trump’s lead lawyer in his hush money trial
Judge signals he won’t modify gag order, citing Trump’s ‘track record’
Judge Juan Merchan and defense attorney Todd Blanche are still in a back-and-forth, but Merchan has indicated he’s not inclined to modify Trump’s gag order.
“My concern is not just with protecting Ms. Daniels or a witness who has already testified,” he said. “My concern is with protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole.”
“Witnesses who have not testified will see what happens,” Merchan added. He said potential witnesses will see Trump assailing people who have testified and infer they could be next.
“I can’t take your word for it” that Trump’s comments, if permitted, would be “low key,” Merchan added. “Because that’s just not the track record.”
Trump has been found in contempt for violating Merchan’s gag order on 10 occasions, and the judge has threatened jail time for future violations.
Merchan referred to past attacks Trump has made in his legal cases, which the judge referenced when he issued the gag order, describing them as “vitriol.”
“Your client’s track record speaks for itself,” Merchan said.
Nonetheless, Blanche is continuing to plead about the issue.
– Aysha Bagchi
Prosecutor paints potential gag order changes as a threat to witnesses
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy is pushing an argument Judge Juan Merchan has already expressed some sympathy for: That Donald Trump’s gag order doesn’t just protect the potential and actual witnesses that Trump would be inclined to attack, it also protects other potential witnesses who haven’t yet been named.
“The gag order doesn’t just protect the potential and actual witnesses that Trump would otherwise target, but also other potential witnesses who see the attacks,” Conroy said.
Merchan made that point when he previously addressed the Trump team’s complaint that Trump can’t attack Michael Cohen’s likely participation in the hush money trial, even though Cohen regularly attacks Trump on public platforms.
Modifying the gag order “would signal to future witnesses that they could be at risk as well,” Conroy said.
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Under threat of jail, stakes for Trump gag order violations climb. What can he still say?
Trump lawyer targets gag order over Stormy Daniels testimony
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche is asking for accommodation when it comes to Judge Merchan’s gag order so that Trump can respond to porn star Stormy Daniels’ testimony.
Blanche said the press has been reporting over the past 24 hours on the “current version” of Daniels’ story, which “we believe is completely false.” Blanche characterized Daniels’ story as “completely different in kind” from her past accounts of a purported 2006 sexual liaison with Trump. Blanche also characterized Trump’s ability to respond as an election-related issue.
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy has begun responding.
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Trump’s trial, Stormy Daniels and why our shifting views of sex and porn matter right now
Former Playboy model Karen McDougal will not testify, Trump lawyer says he’s been told
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said the prosecution told him they don’t plan to call former Playboy model Karen McDougal to testify.
McDougal received a $150,000 payment form the National Enquirer’s parent company to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. Trump denies he had a relationship with the December 1997 Playmate of the Month.
For that reason, the Trump team is no longer renewing a motion to exclude her testify, Blanche said.
– Aysha Bagchi
Jury sent home for evening
Judge Juan Merchan sent the jury home for the evening, indicating we will start back up tomorrow. However, Merchan is still holding a hearing now about issues Trump lawyer Todd Blanche raised earlier.
– Aysha Bagchi
‘He was a really good boss’: Westerhout praises former president
Former presidential aide Madeleine Westerhout said Trump never once made her feel like she didn’t deserve her job in the White House, or that she didn’t belong there, which she found especially notable since she was in an office filled with “older men.”
“He was a really good boss,” she said, adding she hopes he respected her and her job. She found him “really enjoyable to work for.”
– Aysha Bagchi
Westerhout praises Trump as she describes book, seeing Trump at fundraiser
Madeleine Westerhout testified about writing her 2020 book, Off the Record, about her experience in the White House. She said she wanted to document the “incredible experience” she had in the Trump administration, and that it was important to her to share with the American people “the man that I got to know.”
Westerhout was fired from the White House in 2018, but her allegiance to Trump endured. “I don’t think he’s treated fairly and I wanted to tell that story,” she said.
Westerhout said she has spoken to Trump since the publication of her book. She saw he was having a fundraiser near her home and called one of his aides to ask if she could come to say hello. The aide said yes, so she got to see him then.
– Aysha Bagchi
Aide admired relationship between Melania and Donald Trump
Before speaking about getting fired, former Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout said she had admired the relationship between Melania and Donald Trump. She characterized it as “really special” and a relationship of “mutual respect.”
“I know he cares a lot about her opinion,” Westerhout added.
Westerhout also said of the couple’s relationship: “There was really no one else who could kind of put him in his place.” She also said the couple “laughed a lot.” She described Melania Trump sometimes texting her to say it was after dinner time and asking about her husband.
“I just really respected their relationship,” she said.
Asked whether the relationship changed after news of the Stormy Daniels hush money deal broke, Westerhout said: “Not that I saw.”
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Former President Trump, senators attend Palm Beach funeral for Melania Trump’s mother
Trump ‘upset’ by Stormy Daniels story
Before she began crying as she described getting fired, Westerhout was asked how Trump reacted when a story about the hush money deal with porn star Stormy Daniels came out. Westerhout said: “I remember he was very upset.” She said she believes Trump and Michael Cohen spoke at that time.
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Stormy Daniels spills details about alleged Trump affair. How will they spin this one?
Westerhout begins crying on witness stand
Madeleine Westerhout began crying on the witness stand when prosecutor Rebecca Mangold asked about how Westerhout got fired. She described getting fired after she said things she now regrets saying to a reporter.
Westerhout, Trump’s White House gatekeeper and personal assistant, abruptly resigned in August 2019 after making what Trump then described as “hurtful” remarks about his children during an off the record session with reporters.
On the stand on Thursday, she said she’s learned a lot from that experience and “I’ve grown a lot since then.”
– Aysha Bagchi
Former aide Westerhout involved in checks awaiting Trump’s signature
Madeleine Westerhout appears to have been involved in the process of Trump signing his checks while he was in the White House. This is important because the checks form part of the allegedly falsified business records at the heart of the case.
Earlier today, Trump Organization bookkeeper Rebecca Manochio described Westerhout as a contact she used at the White House when Manochio was sending checks via FedEx for Trump’s signature. Westerhout has now been asked about an email she sent to Trump assistant Rhona Graff, which stated:
“R – can you have someone send me a fedex label to send back the checks the President just signed?”
– Aysha Bagchi
‘First time boarding Air Force One!’: Trump shared photo with Weisselberg
Prosecutor Mangold asked former Trump White House aide Westerhout about an email she sent to Rhona Graff at the Trump Organization, asking Graff to send a photo of Trump boarding Air Force One to Allen Weisselberg.
“First time boarding Air Force One!” the email said. The email stated that Trump had sent the photo to his family, and wanted Weisselberg to see it as well.
Prosecutors seem to be pointing to that as well as statements by Trump about Weisselberg to try to show the two were close and had a relationship built on loyalty.
– Aysha Bagchi
More:Tiny cell, toilet and a bench: what Trump might face if jailed for violating gag order
Prosecutor homes in on contacts for Trump family, David Pecker and Allen Weisselberg
From a list of contacts Graff sent Westerhout, assistant district attorney Rebecca Mangold noted a handful in her questioning. She asked Westerhout about contacts for Trump’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, his brother, Robert Trump, and his daughter, Tiffany Trump.
Mangold also highlighted David Pecker from the list. Pecker was the head of the parent company for the National Enquirer. Pecker already testified to participating in an arrangement with Trump and Michael Cohen to identify stories about Trump that could damage his 2016 campaign and prevent them from coming out.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump contact list included Serena Williams, Tom Brady and Jerry Falwell
The jury was shown a list of contacts Trump Organization executive Rhona Graff sent Trump’s White House special assistant Madeleine Westerhout. The phone numbers were partially redacted.
It included a host of famous names, among them former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, NFL coach Bill Belichick, and tennis superstar Serena Williams.
Others were major media names, including Mika Brezinski, Sean Hannity, Bret Baier, Bill O’Reilly, Joe Scarborough, and Jeanine Pirro.
Other prominent names included Jerry Falwell of Liberty University, Mark Burnett of Mark Burnett Productions, Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts, and investor Tom Barrack.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump liked to use the Oxford comma, former aide says
Westerhout said Trump “liked to use the Oxford comma,” referring to putting a comma before “and” when more than two things are listed in a sentence. It’s unclear if and how prosecutors plan to use that testimony in their case.
Westerhout also said Trump “was attentive” when it came to “things brought to his attention.”
The Oxford comma, or serial comma, is often a point − or comma − of contention among writers and publishers.
“There are people who embrace the Oxford comma and people who don’t,” author Lynne Truss wrote in her bestselling book on punctuation, Eats, Shoots & Leaves. “And I’ll just say this: Never get between these people when drink has been taken.”
– Aysha Bagchi
Westerhout asked Trump Organization for Trump’s frequent contacts
Trump’s former White House aide Madeleine Westerhout said Rhona Graff, Trump’s long-time assistant was Westerhout’s main Trump Organization contact in 2017.
The jury was shown an email in which Westerhout asked for a list of “the people” Trump frequently talk to. The email, read, “Could you have the girls put together a list for me of people that he frequently spoke to? I don’t want to have to bug you all the time − even though I will still call often :)”
Westerhout explained to the jury that Trump would often ask to call someone, and Westerhout didn’t have those people’s phone numbers, so her email to Graff was an effort to collect the contact information for people he might ask to speak to.
Graff responded over email: “I’m working on it. Hope to have it to you in a little while.”
– Aysha Bagchi
RNC mulled dumping Trump as 2016 candidate after Access Hollywood tape release, ex-Trump aide says
Madeleine Westerhout, Trump’s presidential special assistant, described working for the Republican National Committee before joining the White House at the beginning of Trump’s presidency. She said she recalls the release of the Access Hollywood tape in early October of 2016 – in which Trump crudely boasted about groping women – “rattling” the RNC’s leadership.
There were conversations about “how it would be possible to replace him as a candidate if it came to that,” she said.
– Aysha Bagchi
Westerhout describes Trump liking to read while president
Westerhout said Trump liked hard copy documents while he was president, and liked to read. She confirmed to prosecutor Rebecca Mangold that his role required a lot of reading. She also confirmed she can recognize Trump’s signature.
– Aysha Bagchi
Madeleine Westerhout, who sat outside Trump’s Oval Office, testifying
Madeleine Westerhout, who was Trump’s special assistant and director of Oval Office operations during Trump’s presidency, has been called by the prosecution. She has described sitting in a room just outside the Oval Office after she joined the White House in January of 2017.
– Aysha Bagchi
Brief cross-examination of Menzies ends
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche only had a brief cross-examination for Menzies, in which he asked her about Trump’s relationship with a ghostwriter.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump quoted on getting even
Menzies read aloud two more quotes from Trump’s book, one instructing that when somebody screws you, “screw them back in spades.” The other said: “Getting even is not always a personal thing. It’s just part of doing business.”
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump: ‘I just can’t stomach disloyalty’
Menzies read aloud another Trump quote stating: “I just can’t stomach disloyalty. I put the people who are loyal to me on a high pedestal and take care of them very well.” He added that he goes out of his way to do bad things to a woman who was disloyal.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump quoted on value for loyalty, including loyalty of ex-CFO Weisselberg
Menzies read aloud a quotation from Trump stating: “I think the reason we have so many loyal people is that we reward loyalty, and everybody knows this.”
Trump went on to say: “People like Allen Weisselberg and Matt Calamari are great and have proven themselves over many years.”
– Aysha Bagchi
‘(Get) the best people, and don’t trust them’: Trump quotes being used against him
Prosecutor Rebecca Mangold is introducing quotations from Trump’s book, “Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and…