Stormy Daniels ends hush money testimony, says telling truth about Donald Trump has been 'net negative'
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Stormy Daniels, the key witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial concluded her testimony on Thursday, May 9, after being on the stand for over two days, totaling 6 hours and 10 minutes.
Daniels maintained that she has been truthful about her interactions with Trump, despite the negative repercussions.
Stormy Daniels about giving 'too many details' sometimes
Earlier, Trump's attorney Susan Necheles insisted on asking Daniels repeatedly if her story had changed which Daniels denied, citing her previous interviews and testimonies.
Necheles further said it was not believable that Stormy Daniels was caught off guard when she came out of the bathroom and saw Trump in a T-shirt and boxer shorts as she had acted in over 150 adult movies.
Daniels testified it was jarring to see an older man as she when she wasn’t expecting it. “At first I was just startled, like a jump scare,” she told jurors on Tuesday.
Necheles again cited a 2011 InTouch interview in which Daniels described having sex with Donald Trump, highlighting the inconsistencies between her testimony and the interview.
Daniels said she doesn't control what parts of her quotes magazines ultimately include in an article based on her interviews. "Sometimes I give too many details," she testified.
Stormy Daniels testifies having 'no personal knowledge' about Donald Trump's involvement in transactions
Necheles asked Daniels to confirm that she never spoke to Donald Trump about the $130,000 hush money payment.
"You have no personal knowledge about his involvement in that transaction or what he did or didn’t do, do you?" Necheles asked.
"Not directly, no," Daniels replied, CNN reported. She also testified that she never asked for "money from President Trump."
“I never asked for money from anyone in particular, I asked for money to tell my story," Daniels told the court during cross-examination.
Daniels argued that her motivation for entering the non-disclosure agreement was her fear of her safety.
She recalled a threat she received and being told about being safer hiding in plain sight. "Something won’t happen to you if everyone is looking at you," Daniels said, noting it was one of the reasons she signed the NDA.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Daniels if she was happy to take the money to which Daniels replied, "We’re all happy to take money. It’s just a bonus."
Stormy Daniels doesn't know about Donald Trump's charges
When Necheles asked Daniels if she knew what Donald Trump is charged with, she said, "I don’t really understand. ... I'm just here to answer the question asked to me."
"There’s a lot of indictments," she said. Daniels also said she knows nothing about Trump's business records, "no, why would I?" Daniels responded.
Necheles asked her about various mean tweets she's been the target of, including ones referring to her as an "aging harlot" and a “disgusting degenerate p********e.” She replied, “When somebody attacks me I’m going to defend myself.”
Necheles asked her whether on Twitter, strangers “post nasty things, right?” "You engage in these kinds of back-and-forths with these strangers all the time?"
"Sure," Daniels answered. "I was defending myself." "I never attack anybody first. Same with Mr Trump. I didn’t say anything negative about him until he said it about me," she continued.
Daniels said she is "telling the truth" about Trump. Towards the end of her testimony, Prosecutor Hoffinger asked her, "On balance has it been net positive or net negative?" Daniels replied, "Negative."
