Judge denies motion to modify gag order
Judge Juan Merchan denies the defense’s request to modify a court-imposed gag order to allow Donald Trump to respond to testimony by Stormy Daniels.
Merchan says:
My concern is not just with protecting Ms Daniels or a witness who has already testified. My concern is with protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole.
Merchan continues:
Other people will see you doing it … Other witnesses, including not only Michael Cohen, other witnesses will see your client doing whatever it is he intends to do.
The reason why the gag order is in place to begin with “is precisely because of the nature of these attacks”, the judge says.
The nature, the vitriol … your client’s track record speaks for itself here. I can’t take your word for it that he says I’m just going to speak the facts.
Key events
Closing summary
The court has now adjourned for the day, and is scheduled to resume at 9.30am ET tomorrow. Here’s a recap of the day’s events:
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Donald Trump arrived in court on Thursday morning with the Florida senator Rick Scott among his entourage, part of a parade of supporters who have come to court to back the former president.
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Stormy Daniels testified for a second day as the former president’s lawyers sought to undermine her in an attempt to persuade jurors that the case’s key prosecution witness cannot be believed.
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Trump attorney Susan Necheles pressed on Daniels’ motivations for agreeing to a hush-money payment, asking her why she didn’t just go public with her story in the waning days of the 2016 campaign and instead sought to get paid for her story.
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Necheles seemed to be trying to seed the idea that Daniels was more interested in getting a payout than telling the truth. “You wanted money, right?” Necheles said. Daniels said “I wanted the truth to come out.”
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Necheles tried to poke holes in Daniels’s story about her encounter with Trump, highlighting instances in which she said Daniels’s recollection had changed over the years. Daniels refused to concede any inconsistencies: “You’re trying to make it say that it changed but it hasn’t changed.”
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Necheles also suggested that Daniels could make up a good story about having sex with Trump because of her experience in the adult entertainment industry. “If that story was untrue I would have written it to be a lot better,” Daniels fired back.
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During redirect examination, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Daniels bluntly if she was telling the truth or lies about Trump. “The truth.” Hoffinger also asked Daniels whether the whole episode had been a net positive or net negative on her life. “Negative,” Daniels said.
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Trump Organization bookkeeper Rebecca Manochio testified about sending unsigned checks for Trump to sign at the White House for his personal expenses. She told the jury that Trump and then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg would speak at least once a day before Trump embarked on his run for president.
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Donald Trump’s former personal assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, was also called as a witness. Westerhout, who was Trump’s personal secretary to Trump from 2017 to 2019 and the former director of Oval Office operations for the Trump White House from February to August 2019, is expected to return to the stand on Friday.
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Westerhout worked for the Republican National Committee before going to the White House. She testified that the RNC was rattled by the “Access Hollywood” tape release and that there were “conversations” about replacing Trump as a presidential candidate.
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The jury was shown a list of key contacts that Trump’s assistant at his company, Rhona Graff, put together for Westerhout, containing names including Michael Cohen, Allen Weisselberg, David Pecker, members of the Trump family, Fox News hosts and football legends.
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Westerhout broke into tears as he described he being from the White House after she spoke at an off the record dinner with journalists.
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Judge Juan Merchan denied the defense’s request to modify the gag order so that Trump be allowed to respond publicly to Daniels’ testimony. Merchan, in denying the request, said his concern “is with protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole.”
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Merchan also denied the defense’s renewed mistrial motion. Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued that one of Daniels’ answers on the stand was “a dog whistle for rape” Merchan said Trump’s lawyers had ample opportunities to object to questions that elicited what they say were damaging details about the alleged sexual encounter.
Judge Juan Merchan just gave a lengthy ruling where he explained why he was denying a mistrial for the second time this week.
Even though lurid details did come in, Trump’s lawyers had essentially opened themselves up to them by denying in their opening statements that Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels ever had sex. Merchan said:
These details add a sense of credibility if the jury chooses to believe them.
Merchan also castigated Trump attorney Susan Necheles, saying “for the life of me” he couldn’t figure out why she didn’t object to questions about whether Trump used a condom.
The testimony came after Merchan had sustained similar objections in Daniels’ testimony. He also noted that Necheles had pressed Daniels on details about the incident after Trump’s team said they were prejudicial, hammering them into the heads of the jury.
Judge denies motion for mistrial
Judge Juan Merchan says he can’t figure out “for the life of me” why Trump attorney Susan Necheles didn’t object to the prosecution’s question about whether Donald Trump used a condom – something Trump’s lawyers are now saying was prejudicial so there should have been a mistrial.
The judge denies the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says that during direct, Judge Juan Merchan sustained an objection to a question when Stormy Daniels was asked if she felt anything unusual during sex.
At one point Ms Daniels was asked ‘Did you feel anything unusual.’ The answer was going to be ‘I felt like what it felt like to feel the skin of a 60-year-old man. I was 27 and that was different than anything that I had ever felt before.’
He says he has other details and he’s willing to make a sealed record.
Steinglass is fuming, and says he wants to correct Trump attorney Todd Blanche that they didn’t “change their mind” on calling Karen McDougal – she was always on the witness list and they just decided not to call her.
Donald Trump is passing more notes to his attorney Todd Blanche as he listens to prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, who is heatedly defending Stormy Daniels’ testimony.
Steinglass says:
Those details of what happened in that room. That was Mr Trump’s motive to silence this woman in 2016 less than a month before the election.
Trump attorney slams Stormy Daniels’ testimony as ‘a dog whistle for rape’
Trump attorney Todd Blanche concludes his request for a mistrial, saying that Stormy Daniels’ testimony was a “dog whistle for rape”.
Trump attorney renews request for a mistrial
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is arguing for a mistrial. The defense requested a mistrial earlier this week that was denied by Judge Juan Merchan.
Blanche is arguing that the prosecution led Stormy Daniels to disclose lurid and irrelevant details about her alleged affair with Donald Trump. It wasn’t that she was “out of control”.
Blanche is discussing details prosecutors sought about what Daniels says she saw in the bathroom in Trump’s suite and how she reacted when she allegedly saw Trump on the bed.
Judge denies motion to modify gag order
Judge Juan Merchan denies the defense’s request to modify a court-imposed gag order to allow Donald Trump to respond to testimony by Stormy Daniels.
Merchan says:
My concern is not just with protecting Ms Daniels or a witness who has already testified. My concern is with protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole.
Merchan continues:
Other people will see you doing it … Other witnesses, including not only Michael Cohen, other witnesses will see your client doing whatever it is he intends to do.
The reason why the gag order is in place to begin with “is precisely because of the nature of these attacks”, the judge says.
The nature, the vitriol … your client’s track record speaks for itself here. I can’t take your word for it that he says I’m just going to speak the facts.
Trump attorney asks for gag order to be lifted to respond to Stormy Daniels’ testimony
Trump attorney Todd Blanche says Donald Trump will be “asked repeatedly over the next week or two about these new accusations of consent and of what happened that night”.
He says:
There’s voters out there and there’s questioners who will ask him questions about it and he can’t say anything.
Speaking for the prosecution, Chris Conroy says, “It seems as though the other side almost lives in an alternate reality.”
Conroy says:
This is where facts are brought out. If somebody wants to respond to something that’s said in this room, it can happen in this room.
Trump is passing notes to Todd Blanche as Conroy argues against lifting of gag order.
Conroy continues to argue that “the fact that witnesses are brave enough to come here under subpoena, tell the truth under oath, shouldn’t expose them” to Trump’s barrage of attacks.
Karen McDougal will not be testifying in trial, says defense
Trump attorney Todd Blanche says the prosecution has informed him that they no longer intend to call Karen McDougal as a witness.
Blanche asks the judge that Donald Trump be allowed to respond to Stormy Daniels’ testimony earlier today and on Tuesday.
Blanche says:
We ask that President Trump be allowed to respond publicly to what happened in court the last day and a half. The press reporting over the last 24 hours about the current version of the story that we believe is completely false … is completely different in kind than the denials and stories that have come forth since as far back as 2011 and 2014.
Blanche adds:
As we’ve said repeatedly, he needs an opportunity to respond to the American people. The reasons for the gag order as they relate to Ms Daniels are over. She’s no longer a witness.
The jury is being dismissed for the day.
The court is taking a short break, after which the defense is expected to present more motions including for a mistrial.
Donald Trump has left the courtroom.
Madeleine Westerhout is describing the relationship between Donald Trump and Melania Trump.
Sometimes Trump would be on the phone in the Oval Office and tell Melania to come to a window in the residence to wave. Other times he would tell her he was about to board Marine One and called just to check in.
Trump attorney Susan Necheles is clarifying that when Westerhout interacted with Trump Organization officials it was to deal with personal matters for Trump, but not business affairs.