Former porn star Stormy Daniels, a central character in Donald Trump’s politically charged trial in New York, gave raw and detailed testimony on Tuesday about the sexual relationship she claims to have had in 2006 with the ex- President of the United States, an episode at the heart of the matter.
His testimony was particularly anticipated because Donald Trump, who denies any sexual relationship with Stormy Daniels, is being prosecuted for a concealed payment of $130,000 to the actress at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign to buy her silence.
Suite at the hotel and dinner
It took place in a tense atmosphere, and the defense requested, in vain, the entire annulment of the trial, on the grounds that the story went beyond the scope of the case and proved “extremely prejudicial” for the candidate. Republicans in the White House.
Nervous but talkative, the 45-year-old actress recounted in great detail that day in 2006 when, on the sidelines of a golf competition, she met Donald Trump, then a figure in the business and jet world. -set.
After “a very brief meeting”, a member of security “(told me) ‘Mr. Trump would like to know if you would like to have dinner with him'”, she said, in front of visibly absorbed jurors, while the person concerned remained impassive.
In a black pantsuit, a thick line of eyeliner on her eyes, Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, then remembered the hotel suite “which was three times the size of my apartment” .
She talks about a rather playful conversation, during which Donald Trump takes an interest in her. With my wife Melania “we don’t sleep in the same room”, he confided to her, according to his testimony. The billionaire would have dangled an appearance on his famous reality TV show, “The Apprentice”.
Unprotected sex
Then, answering questions from prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Stormy Daniels recounts this moment when, coming out of the bathroom, she, according to her account, found Donald Trump undressed on the bed.
“I felt the blood leave my hands, and my feet like when you get up too quickly,” she remembered. If she did not feel threatened, she assures that the businessman’s intention “was quite clear” and that the “balance of power was unbalanced”.
“I ended up having sex with him,” she adds, specifying, at the request of the prosecutor, that Donald Trump did not wear a condom. “I was ashamed of not having stopped it, of not saying no” and “I told very few people,” she added.
Judge Juan Merchan seemed annoyed by certain questions from the prosecutor, while Donald Trump’s defense pleaded for the sexual relationship not to be mentioned.
Stormy Daniels says she met Donald Trump a few times again, then had no more contact.
$130,000
According to his account, when the billionaire embarked on the race for the White House, his agent advised him to monetize his story. In the preceding months, an American tabloid, whose boss was close to Donald Trump, had already paid twice to buy exclusive rights to similar stories, which he had never published.
The $130,000 was paid to Stormy Daniels by the billionaire’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, via a shell company. He was reimbursed in 2017 by Donald Trump’s business group, the Trump Organization, for expenses counted as “legal fees” which are at the center of the lawsuits.
The Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election is appearing before a jury for 34 falsifications of accounting documents, which could earn him the first criminal conviction of a former president of the United States and, in theory, a prison sentence. Donald Trump’s lawyers deny any criminal wrongdoing. Even if convicted, Donald Trump could still run on November 5 against Joe Biden.
