Stormy Daniels Testifies in Trump Hush Money Trial

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Facts

• Adult film actress Stormy Daniels testified for almost five hours Tuesday in former Pres. Donald Trump's New York trial for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to Daniels — the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president.¹
• At issue is a 2016 pre-Election Day $130K payment made by Michael Cohen — who was Trump's lawyer — to Daniels and Trump's classification of his reimbursement payment to Cohen as a legal expense.¹
• Daniels described the details of her meeting and becoming involved with Trump in 2006, sometimes in details so salacious that the judge upheld objections from the defense.²
• Judge Juan Merchan also warned Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, that the court wouldn't tolerate Trump 'cursing audibly' during the testimony because 'it has the potential to intimidate' witnesses in front of the jury.³
• After the trial's scheduled day off, Daniels is expected to resume testifying Thursday.⁴

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²Associated Press, ³NBC and ⁴Politico.

Narratives

• Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Daniels turned the tables on Trump with her detailed and explicit testimony. The defense's strategy of questioning Daniels' credibility and accusing her of lying is far-fetched considering they're defending a client with a propensity for being loose with the truth. This is the type of spectacle the US can expect for years to come if it reelects Trump.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by FOX News. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's political persecution of Trump has hit a new low with Daniels' obscene testimony. Aside from Daniels' lack of credibility, her testimony was irrelevant to the matter at hand, which is whether Trump falsified documents. She was brought in just to slander the presumptive Republican nominee for political reasons.

Predictions