Stormy Daniels says her 'story's the same' as Donald Trump's attorney questions its consistency
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: In the ongoing hush money trial involving former president Donald Trump, defense attorney Susan Necheles resumed her cross-examination of Stormy Daniels trying to find inconsistencies in her story.
Daniels returned to the stand on Thursday, May 9 after more than three and a half hours of testimony on Tuesday. Necheles challenged Daniels’ story about her encounter with Trump, which Daniels insists has not changed over the years.
Stormy Daniels retaliates as Donald Trump's attorney accuses her of changing story
Necheles sparred with Daniels over the veracity of her story involving Trump. “If that story was untrue, I would have written it to be a lot better,” Daniels retorted.
Necheles also questioned Daniels about her account of how she met Trump, suggesting that her story “has changed a lot over the years, right?” to which Daniels firmly responded, “No.”
The former adult actress testified on Tuesday that she first met Trump on a golf course and that his bodyguard, Keith Schiller, took her number and asked her to have dinner with Trump.
Necheles challenged this account, asking Daniels to confirm whether she told InTouch Magazine in 2011 that Trump personally asked her for dinner.
Daniels said on the stand that she doesn’t remember saying that, reported CNN. She stated, “I didn’t specify. I left out the names of all the other people not to get them involved.”
Stormy Daniels clarifies why she didn't specify Donald Trump's bodyguard in 2011 interview
Daniels also recalled that the first time she met Trump was on the golf course and that he kept looking at her and asked for her number. She added, “It was always” Trump.
She also commented on the nature of the interview with InTouch Magazine, stating, “This is an entertainment magazine, it is very short and frivolous. It's an abbreviated, entertaining version of the events.”
She further added, “It was minus some details” and a short interview.
Susan Necheles presses Stormy Daniels about having dinner with Donald Trump
Trump's defense lawyer tried to highlight inconsistencies in Daniels’ story, pointing out her 2018 interview with Anderson Cooper where she said she had dinner with Trump in the room.
Necheles also pointed to an interview with Jimmy Kimmel where she said she was "very food-motivated."
Necheles asked whether Daniels made "a big deal" about not having dinner with Trump to which she replied, "I went to dinner and didn't get dinner."
Daniels testified that “we had dinner time in the room,” but they did not eat any food.
Necheles again asked her during her cross-examination, “So you’re saying, when you said, ‘We had dinner,’ you didn’t mean that, right?”
Daniels responded, “Yes, like I said it was dinner time in the room.” Daniels said that when she goes to someone’s house “for dinner,” it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat.
"I never said we ate," she implied. "My story's the same," Daniels defended herself.
Stormy Daniels insists her story has not changed
Necheles then questioned whether Daniels walked to the hotel or took a car.
“Your story has completely changed hasn’t it?” Necheles again asked. Daniels replied, “No not at all. You’re trying to make it say that it changed but it hasn’t changed.”
She testified she took a car from a tattoo shop to Trump’s hotel and said “I don’t know how a car was called.”
