Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers undercut Stormy Daniels and her motivations Tuesday after prosecutors spent hours eliciting salacious testimony from the porn star, a central witness in the New York hush-money trial against the former president.
Mr. Trump’s attorneys started their cross-examination by confirming that Ms. Daniels hates Mr. Trump.
“You want him to go to jail?” Trump attorney Susan Necheles asked.
“If he’s convicted,” Ms. Daniels said.
Ms. Daniels spent much of Tuesday detailing an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump in 2006. Prosecutors say the encounter sparked an effort to pay $130,000 in hush money a decade later when Mr. Trump ran for president.
Prosecutors allege Mr. Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, criminally concealed the payment to Ms. Daniels through checks and business entries that show intent to commit election and tax offenses.
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Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and says the case is designed to thwart his presidential bid. He also denies the sexual encounter occurred.
The defense also established that Ms. Daniels is reluctant to pay Mr. Trump the $560,000 in legal fees she owes after losing a defamation suit to him.
“You despise him, and you call him names,” Ms. Necheles said.
Ms. Daniels said that was because Mr. Trump had called her names in his own social media posts.
Suggesting that Ms. Daniels has a financial motive to testify against Mr. Trump, Ms. Necheles grilled her about not completely filling out or signing a financial disclosure form related to her legal fee debt to him.
“Isn’t it true,” Ms. Necheles asked, “that you’re hoping that if President Trump gets convicted, you won’t have to pay him?”
“I hope that I don’t have to pay him no matter what happens,” Ms. Daniels retorted.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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