Conservative lawyer George Conway suggested Thursday that former President Trump’s defense team’s cross-examination of adult film star Stormy Daniels in his hush money trial was a “complete disaster.”
“My conclusion was that the continued cross-examination of Stormy Daniels was a complete disaster and a huge failure for the defense,” Conway said on a CNN panel, adding, “It went on and on. “But they didn’t do anything,” he added. she has something on her ”
Conway is in the process of divorcing former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, and has been a harsh critic of the former president. Still, he praised Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheres, the only woman to represent him in the Manhattan hush-money case, as an “excellent” lawyer who knows how to cross-examine witnesses.
“What happened was that they were on vacation, and Necheres was a very good lawyer, as he was known for,” he said. “You can tell just by the way she carries herself that she knows how to cross-examine her witnesses and how to ask questions.”
But she added: “Her client is a narcissistic sociopath bent on proving the lie that he has nothing to do with Stormy Daniels.”
Conway said it didn’t matter to the defense whether an affair occurred, and characterized the current approach as “counterproductive.” He also suggested the interrogation was “just rubbish” and “embarrassing”.
“By keeping the cross simple and short, you can control the Witness. But the more time passes, the more the Witness can attack you,” he said. “And this woman is much smarter than Necheres’ client.”
Judge Juan Marchan, who is presiding over the trial, scrutinized the Trump team’s legal strategy, which did not raise further objections during Daniels’ testimony Thursday.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, described in graphic detail an alleged sexual encounter she had with the former president in 2006. Prosecutors even asked Daniels if he was wearing a condom during the former president’s alleged encounter, but Marchand acknowledged that went a little too far.
“I agree, it should not have been made public,” the judge said. “I wish those questions had never been asked, and I wish that such answers had not been given.”
“But I’ll never know why Ms. Necheres didn’t object,” Ms. Machan continued. “I don’t understand why on earth she doesn’t object to mentioning condoms.”
At the end of the proceedings, Mr. Trump’s lawyers again requested a miscarriage of justice, which Mr. Marchand denied.
The former president faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments he made to Daniels in 2016 to keep quiet about the affair. President Trump has repeatedly denied that he had an affair and maintains his innocence.
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