Here are the highlights from Tuesday in court:
Two witnesses on the stand: Adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Sally Franklin, the senior vice president and executive managing editor for Penguin Random House publishing group.
Sally Franklin: The publishing executive was first on the stand and she testified for 46 minutes as a records custodian, pursuant to a subpoena.
- Prosecutors used her testimony to enter excerpts from Trump’s books into evidence.
- Franklin was asked about the role of a ghostwriter in writing the book, and she testified that she didn’t know how much the ghostwriter contributed, but she was aware that the ghostwriter helped.
Stormy Daniels: Before the jury was called in on Tuesday, the defense renewed its objection to her testimony. Judge Juan Merchan said he agreed with Trump’s attorneys that she has credibility issues, but that’s why the prosecutors need to be given a chance to establish her credibility. He ruled it’s fine to elicit that Trump and Daniels had sex. “That’s fine. But we don’t need to know the details,” he said.
- Daniels said she was subpoenaed.
- First meeting: She described her first meeting with Trump at a Lake Tahoe celebrity golf tournament. In a hotel room with Trump, she said she had a “very brief” conversation about his wife, Melania. Daniels said Trump mentioned there may be a spot for her on “Celebrity Apprentice.” She then went on to describe the details of their sexual encounter in 2006. Afterwards, she said she “left as fast as I could” and said she told “very few people that we had actually had sex because I felt ashamed that I didn’t stop it.”
- No confidentiality concerns: Daniels said Trump did not express concern about his wife, Melania, nor did he ask Daniels to keep the encounter confidential.
- Continued interactions: Daniels testified she met Trump at a night club the next day and that she began to speak with him often, at times once a week. She said Trump started calling her “honey bunch,” which she described as “weird.” (Trump has denied the affair.) She also detailed meeting Karen McDougal and seeing Trump a few times in 2007.
- “Access Hollywood” tape: After it came out in 2016, Daniels said she was motivated to get her story out, and later learned from her publicist that Trump and Michael Cohen were interested in buying her story. This marked a shift in her motivations. Daniels wanted to get her story out in 2015, but in 2016, she decided the deal from Trump and Cohen was best, she testified.
- A $130,000 agreement: Daniels says Trump and Cohen offered her $130,000 for her story, adding the agreement was a nondisclosure agreement, which benefited Trump. Daniels said she wanted it done quickly. She said, if it wasn’t done before the election, “I wouldn’t be safe or that he wouldn’t pay and there would be a trail to keep me safe.” She outlined how the original hush money deal fell apart because the funds weren’t paid on time and that the deal was revived with a new NDA.
- Cross-examination: Under questioning from Trump attorney Susan Necheles, Daniels said that she hated the former president and wanted him to be held accountable. She confirmed she still owed Trump $560,000 in legal fees after she lost the defamation suit against him. Daniels also testified that while she’s made money telling her story, it’s also cost her a lot of money.
What’s next: The defense indicated it will continue cross-examining Daniels on Thursday. Court was dark on Wednesday. Prosecution has also said it will do a round of re-direct.
