(NewsSpace.com) – Former President Donald Trump is in the midst of a trial in Manhattan. He stands accused of falsifying business reports to hide hush-money payments paid to a former adult star to keep her from coming forward about their alleged affair during his 2016 campaign. Recently, Stephanie “Stormy Daniels” Clifford took the stand. Her testimony prompted Trump’s defense team to file two motions, both of which were denied.
After Clifford took the stand and endured a combative exchange with Trump’s defense team on Thursday, May 9, his attorneys moved to declare a mistrial, saying her comments were prejudicial. Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, disagreed. He lambasted the defense team for first inviting her testimony in opening statements when they alleged the sexual encounter never happened. In asking the jury to choose between believing the former president or Clifford, her testimony and “details add a sense of credibility if the jury chooses to believe them.”
The details provided by Clifford were, at times, explicit. She also detailed nearly blacking out and the fact that Trump didn’t wear protection. Merchan called out Susan Necheles, one of the former president’s attorneys, for not objecting to this question.
The defense lawyers tried to paint Daniels as someone looking to cash in a payday, even asking her directly if she made the entire story up and asking why she didn’t go public with her story prior.
In addition to moving for a mistrial, Trump’s legal team also asked the judge to lift the gag order so that he could respond to her statements. He categorically refused. Doing so, he said, would result in Trump perpetuating attacks and it would send the wrong message to the other witnesses in the case. He told the lawyers that “the gag order is in place… because of the nature of [Trump’s] attacks. The nature, the vitriol… [Trump’s] track record speaks for itself.”
Trump attacked the judge after the rulings, calling him “corrupt.”
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