At Trump's trial, captivated jurors watch Stormy Daniels remain impassive during cross-examination storm – Le Monde
Saturday, May 11, 2024
2:24 am (Paris)
Stormy Daniels remains impassive during cross-examination storm at Trump trial
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Donald Trump’s lawyer attempted to challenge the credibility and reputation of the former X-rated actress whose sexual relationship with the former president is at the heart of the case.
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Two women, two different Trumps. The miracle of this doubling occurred on Thursday, May 9, in the criminal trial against the former president for falsifying documents – about which very little was said. The first, Stormy Daniels, admitted to hating him, but now owes him worldwide fame. The other, Madeleine Westerhout, was invited to work with him at the White House as his executive assistant.
The contrast between these witnesses – the former X-rated actress, all claws out, and the invaluable aide, handkerchief in hand to wipe away her tears – was spectacular and went far beyond appearances. Daniels stoically weathered a cross-examination storm that tried to call into question her credibility and the account of her affair with former president Donald Trump, which she had described on Tuesday. Westerhout, on the other hand, presented a man who was a considerate, scrupulous, a hard-working president and, above all, a model husband – someone the jury had never heard of, nor the American public.
Susan Necheles, Trump’s lawyer, had the morning’s task of damning Daniels. She began by questioning her reputation, repeating over and over again, in countless questions, these simple words: “to make money”. “I was asking to sell my story to publications to get the truth out,” Daniels countered, while pointing out that the revelation would have placed “a target on my back and my family’s.” Hence the signing of a confidentiality agreement in 2016, just before the presidential election, through Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer. Daniels maintains she took this nondisclosure agreement “to get my story protected by a paper trail so my family wouldn’t get hurt when the story came out.”
Necheles then portrayed the actress as someone who wanted to exploit this bonanza, this sexual relationship that the former president continues to deny. Necheles cited the $800,000 in revenue Daniels earned from her book, then her tour as a dancer, before turning to merchandising. Jurors discovered a $40 “Saint of Indictments” candle, T-shirts, a comic book celebrating her, all sold online. Did she get rich this way? “Not unlike Mr. Trump,” retorted Daniels.
There was something curious about this particular angle of attack against the former actress. Trump has written several books, cited at the hearing, on how to make a fortune. He has used his own brand in a thousand different ways to raise money again and again from his supporters, especially during his legal troubles. Recently, it’s been gold sneakers for $399 and even a bible, “God Bless the USA,” for $60. Not to mention caps, T-shirts, mugs, photos and more.
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