Stormy Daniels revealed damning evidence in her testimony yesterday in Donald Trump’s ongoing hush money trial, but one expert what she said may play in the former president’s favour.
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig believes the cross-examination went “quite poorly” for the adult actress, and her responses were “disastrous”.
Donald Trump is currently facing trial for falsifying documents in order to cover up a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, killing the story of their alleged affair ahead of the 2016 presidential elections.
Daniels gave vivid details of what she claims was an “awkward” sexual encounter with the former president on Monday.
Honig said: “It’s hard for me to believe that a juror heard that and thought, this is entirely made up. There may well be some embellishments […] but I think it’s quite clear they had sex in 2006 in that hotel room.”
However, Honig has explained that the prosecution’s questions for Daniels seriously undermined her credibility.
He said: “The cross-exam, boy. Her responses were disastrous.”
During the cross-examination, Trump attorney Susan Necheles asked Daniels a very specific question, which Honig believes will severely impact the weight of her testimony.
“Am I correct that you hate President Trump?” Necheles asked, to which Daniels simply replied: “Yes”.
Honig explained: “When the witness hates the person whose liberty is at stake, that’s a big damn deal. And she’s putting out tweets, fantasizing about him being in jail. That really undermines the credibility.”
During her testimony, Daniels provided such intimate details that Trump’s lawyers called for a mistrial.
Judge Merchan said “there were some things that would have been better left unsaid” and warned prosecutors not to pry for more salacious information.
The previously-undisclosed details included her claims that she did not use a condom when having sex with Trump and that she spanked the former president with a magazine, as well as the fact that Trump and his wife Melania allegedly sleep in different bedrooms.
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