Though former President Donald Trump’s defense raised predictable objections focusing, apparently, on the possibility of testimony related to sexual activity, Judge Juan Merchan in the New York City criminal case against the ex-White House occupant is allowing Stormy Daniels to speak — with some limitations — to details of an alleged sexual encounter between her and Trump.
The allegations grew into some of the key circumstances behind this case, which accuses Trump of the falsification of business records of repayments to Michael Cohen, a former ally of his who eventually provided Daniels with hush money related to that story as the 2016 election approached.
“Manhattan DA’s office wins right to have Stormy Daniels testify about her sexual encounter with Trump and “how she felt about it,” so long as details are minimal,” said MSNBC’s Lisa Rubin early this Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.
Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman provided a recap of his own of the prosecution’s arguments for what they wanted from Daniels’ testimony in the first place. “DA: general details of what occurred including the sex are important for us to establish her credibility. how she ended up having sex w/ him, including the conversation in his hotel room. and how she felt about it. re the sex, just basic fact of it,” Litman added online.
“I’m satisfied about the representations that Ms. Hoffinger has made,” Merchan reportedly concluded, referring to a member of the prosecution.
Authorities are making courtroom transcripts of the Trump trial proceedings publicly available, but in the moment, reports are more reliant on individuals such as these. There are no live feeds — though Trump, who is compelled to attend the proceedings, has still found the opportunity (when entering and exiting the courtroom) to complain on camera in front of gathered media. Those rants already came up in disputes over Trump’s compliance with a gag order from the judge after Trump denigrated Michael Cohen, who’s expected to testify.
