The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan on Thursday criticized the former president’s lawyers and rejected their second request for a miscarriage of justice this week.
Judge Juan Marchan ruled that adult film star Stormy Daniels allegedly had sexual contact with Trump in 2006, including that Daniels nearly blacked out and that Trump wore a condom. He blamed Trump’s lawyers for allowing him to share sordid details, including testimony that he had not done so.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have now twice used this testimony to seek a mistrial, arguing that it biased the jury and had no bearing on whether Mr. Trump committed the felony of falsifying business records. “This is a dog whistle on rape,” President Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche said Thursday.
But Marchand said Blanche and Trump’s lawyers asked that the sordid details of the case be made public. Machan said Blanche said in her opening statement that there was no sexual relationship, effectively asking the jury to believe either Trump or Daniels. Marchand said the details Daniels was able to provide spoke to his credibility.
“Your denial puts the jury in the position of having to choose who to believe: Donald Trump, who denies there was contact, or Stormy Daniels, who claims there was contact. ” Marchan said. “These details add a sense of credibility if the jury chooses to believe it.”
Marchan also criticized Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheres for not responding when Daniels asked if Trump used a condom.
“I don’t understand why on earth she doesn’t object to mentioning condoms,” he said.
Marchand refused to amend the gag order that would have barred Trump from attacking witnesses and jurors, including Daniels. Blanche said it was unfair that he was not given the opportunity to respond to the attacks on Trump. “As I’ve said repeatedly, he needs an opportunity to respond to the American people,” Blanche said.
But Marchan rejected the request, saying he was concerned about the message it would send to other witnesses even if he lifted the gag order against Daniels after he finished testifying.
“We’re going to see not just Michael Cohen, but other witnesses, do whatever our client intends to do,” he said. “The very nature of these attacks is why gag orders are in place in the first place. Here, the nature, the vitriol…the client’s track record speaks for itself.”
President Trump was furious after the day’s court session ended, telling reporters the judge was “corrupt.”
Marchand’s decision comes at the end of a day in which Trump’s lawyers spent hours trying to discredit Daniels and press for motives for agreeing to pay hush money as she continues to give critical testimony. It was handed down to
Ms. Necheres asked Ms. Daniels to explain why she did not come forward with her story in the final stages of the 2016 campaign and instead sought compensation. Necheres also suggested that Daniels may have wanted to hurt Trump because he opposes same-sex marriage and abortion.
In a rapid-fire series of questions, Necheres seemed to be trying to cultivate the idea that Daniels, who wore a green blouse and black sweater, was more interested in getting paid than telling the truth.
“You wanted money, right?” Necheres said.
Daniels insisted she wanted to hold a press conference in 2016, saying she “wanted to get the truth out,” adding that she wanted to keep the evidence on paper. “I never asked money from anyone in particular. I asked for money to tell my story.”
Necheres described how Daniels has profited from her story, including a book deal, a documentary and merchandise commemorating Trump’s indictment.
“For years, a large part of your livelihood has been making money off the story that you had sex with President Trump. [that] You helped him get prosecuted,” Necheres said.
Ms Daniels claimed she was not making a profit but was “doing the work” to cover the hefty legal costs.
Ms. Necheres sought to poke holes in Daniels’ story about the alleged encounter, highlighting instances in which she said Daniels’ memory had changed over the years.
Daniels testified Tuesday that she never had dinner with Trump in his Lake Tahoe hotel room, but said in a 2011 interview with In Touch magazine: she said“We ended up having dinner in our room. I can’t remember what we ordered.” Daniels also said that it was Trump’s bodyguard Keith Schiller who invited her to dinner with Trump. However, in a 2011 interview, he suggested it was Trump himself. Daniels has previously given slightly different accounts of how President Trump greeted her when she entered his hotel suite.
President Trump’s hush money criminal trial: What you need to know
Mr. Daniels spoke quickly and appeared unfazed by Mr. Necheres’ questions and did not acknowledge any discrepancies. “They’re trying to tell us she’s changed, but she hasn’t changed,” she says.
Mr. Necheres also suggested that Mr. Daniels could concoct a good story about having sex with Mr. Trump because of his experience in the adult entertainment industry. “You have extensive experience in making false stories about sex seem real,” the lawyer said.
“If that story was a lie, I would have written it better,” Daniels shot back. Mr. Necheres also forced Ms. Daniels to admit that she had no direct knowledge of Mr. Trump’s involvement in the $130,000 hush-money payment, even though Mr. Trump’s lawyers later told her in court proceedings against her. He admitted that she knew about it when he admitted it.
In one memorable exchange, Ms. Necheres attempted to cast doubt on Ms. Daniels’ testimony earlier in the week. At the time, Daniels said she was frightened and surprised to emerge from the bathroom of President Trump’s suite and find Daniels lying on the bed in a T-shirt and underwear. Mr. Necheres said that because Mr. Daniels has appeared in hundreds of pornographic films, “according to you, was it that upsetting to see a man sitting on a bed wearing a T-shirt and boxer shorts?” Told.
Daniels said she was surprised to see a much older man she didn’t know well in such a revealing state.
During redirect questioning, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger bluntly asked Daniels whether he was telling the truth or a lie about Trump. “The truth.” Hoffinger, who sought to undermine her testimony that the story gave Daniels an advantage, questioned whether the entire episode was a net positive or negative for her life. asked Daniels.
“It’s negative,” Daniels said.
President Trump arrived in court Thursday as part of a parade of supporters who came to court to support the former president, with Florida Sen. Rick Scott as his entourage. Scott left the courtroom shortly before 11 a.m. but did not return.
Trump was indicted 34 felonies for falsifying business records The issue is one that Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid in 2016 to prevent Daniels from speaking publicly about the alleged affair.
The hush money case was the first of these. 4 criminal cases A jury trial against Mr. Trump is scheduled, but the other three cases have suffered significant delays and probably won’t be able to get started before the November presidential election.
