Jake Tapper explains how the jury reacted to Stormy Daniels' testimony
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What we covered here
The testimony of adult film actress Stormy Daniels, a central figure in the criminal case against Donald Trump, wrapped on Thursday after the former president’s lawyers continued their attack on her credibility.
At the end of the day, Judge Juan Merchan denied two defense motions, one for a mistrial based on the argument that Daniels’ changed her story about an alleged encounter in 2006 with Trump, and one seeking a modification on a gag order so the former president could talk publicly about Daniels.
The jury also heard from two other witnesses, including Madeleine Westerhout, Trump’s assistant when she was in the White House, who will be back on the stand when court is set to resume at 9:30 a.m. ET Friday.
Our live coverage has concluded but will resume Friday morning. Scroll through the posts below to read more about what happened Thursday.
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Here are some key takeaways from the 14th day of Trump's criminal hush money trial
From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell
Former President Donald Trump observes as Madeleine Westerhout, a former employee of Donald Trump in the White House, testifies in the Trump hush money criminal trial on May 9.
Jane Rosenberg
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers continued their attack on the credibility of Stormy Daniels for several hours Thursday, with defense attorney Susan Necheles accusing the adult film star of making up the story of having sex with Trump.
Today also saw testimony from a woman who was once among the closest people working with Trump in the White House, and failed efforts by the defense to get a mistrial and an exception to the defendant’s gag order.
Here are some key takeaways from Day 14 of the Trumphush money trial:
Contentious testimony: Daniels combatively and defiantly responded to questions from Necheles, insisting her story of a sexual encounter with Trump was true. Trump has denied the affair.
Trump’s attorney asked about minor inconsistencies in interviews Daniels has given about her interactions with Trump. Necheles also picked apart how Daniels has previously described the encounter.
Necheles also insinuated Daniels had employed her skills as a porn writer in making up the story. “You have a lot of experience of making phony stories about sex appear to be real,” the Trump attorney asked.
Lawyers spar over Daniels’ financial situation: Beyond the details of the alleged encounter itself, Trump’s attorneys and prosecutors had Daniels tell conflicting accounts of her financial situation.
Necheles continued to suggest that Daniels was making money off of saying she had sex with Trump, pointing to a tweet where she said she’d earned $1 million and otherswhere she directed her supporters to her online store after Trump was indicted.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, had Daniels recount how telling her story has also cost her, from having to move her daughter and hire security to the lawyers’ fees she was ordered to pay after she sued Trump and lost.
Former aide takes us inside the Trump White House: Former White House aide Madeleine Westerhout described the inner workings of Trump’s West Wing, where she worked for more than two years sitting just outside the Oval Office.
Westerhout described Trump’s work habits, from his affinity for sharpies and hard copies of documents, to his close control over his social media posts and his preference to talk to people in person or on the phone — not by email.
While she did not testify to direct knowledge of the checks Trump signed to his former fixer Michael Cohen, which are cited in the charges against Trump, her story added to the prosecution’s narrative about his involvement with the checks in 2017.
Two failed efforts by Trump’s team: Judge Juan Merchan denied the request from Trump’s lawyers to make an exception to the gag order allowing him to speak publicly about Daniels, saying he must protect the integrity of the proceedings, and he doesn’t trust Trump not to violate an order if he were to modify it.
The judge also denied Trump’s renewed motion for a mistrial over the salacious testimony Daniels gave, which his attorneys say unfairly prejudices the jury against Trump. Merchan said the specificity is important to helping the jury make a determination.
Here are the witnesses who have testified so far in the Trump hush money trial
From CNN staff
Defense attorney Susan Necheles cross-examines adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the trial on May 9.
Jane Rosenberg
Donald Trump’s longtime assistant, the former banker of Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen and adult film actress Stormy Daniels are among witnesses who have taken the stand so far in the hush money trial.
As of Thursday, here’s everybody we’ve heard from so far:
David Pecker — the former CEO of American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s parent company — was the first witness called to testify. After more than 10 hours of testimony across four days, he offered illuminating details into how the infamous tabloid operated and conducted so-called “catch and kill” operations.
Rhona Graff, Trump’s longtime assistant at the Trump Organization, was called to testify briefly on April 26.
Gary Farro, the former banker of Cohen, walked the jury through Cohen’s bank activity around the payment to Daniels.
Keith Davidson testifies during direct examination on May 2.
Jane Rosenberg
Keith Davidson, the former lawyer for model and actress Karen McDougal as well as for Daniels, was on the stand for nearly 6 hoursover two days.
Douglas Daus works for the Manhattan District Attorney’s High Technology Analysis Unit, and was assigned to analyze two iPhones that belonged to Cohen in the investigation related to Trump. They were obtained via a search warrant. Daus testified about the “unusual” amount of contacts and other things he found on Cohen’s phone.
Hope Hicks, Trump’s longtime former aide, testified for a little less than three hours about her role as Trump’s 2016 campaign press secretary, the aftermath of the “Access Hollywood” tape release and Cohen’s payment to Daniels.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo questions former longtime Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney on May 6.
Jane Rosenberg
Jeffrey McConney, a former Trump Organization controller, testified about how Cohen’s payments were listed in Trump’s financial documents.
Deborah Tarasoff, the accounts payable supervisor in the accounting department at the Trump Organization, explained how checks were cut to Cohen in 2017 and she testified that invoices over $10,000 had to be approved by Trump or one of his sons.
Sally Franklin, the senior vice president and executive managing editor for Penguin Random House publishing group, testified for 46 minutes. Prosecutors used her testimony to enter excerpts from Trump’s books into evidence.
Stormy Daniels, who’s at the center of the hush money case, was on the stand for 6 hours and 10 minutes over two days of testimony. Daniels walked the jury through details about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and the $130,000 hush money payment from Trump’s ex-attorney Michael Cohen shortly before the 2016 election. Trump attorney Susan Necheles hammered down on Daniels in cross-examination to establish some of the ways she gained publicity and money from her story going public.
Rebecca Manochio, a junior bookkeeper at the Trump Organization, testified for about 35 minutes. The prosecution used Manochio to submit invoices, documents and emails as evidence.
Tracey Menziez, the senior VP of production and creative operations for Harper Collins, testified in the Trump hush money criminal trial on May 9.
Jane Rosenberg
Tracey Menzies, the senior vice president of production and creative operations at Harper Collins, spoke about one of the books Donald Trump co-authored, “Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life,” by Trump and Bill Zanker and read excerpts from the book.
Madeleine Westerhout, a former personal assistant to Trump at the White House, detailed how the president preferred to work, his attention to detail and the reaction to the “Access Hollywood” tape.
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Stormy Daniels finished her testimony in Trump’s hush money trial. Here’s what to know
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Stormy Daniels is cross examined by the defense on Thursday, May 9.
Jane Rosenberg
Donald Trump’s lawyers finished their cross-examination of Stormy Daniels on Thursday and spent most of the time trying to undermine her credibility by pointing out inconsistencies in her story.
In her more than 6 hours of testimony over two days, Daniels described her first meeting with Trump, the details of their alleged sexual encounter in 2006 and how the hush money payment unfolded years later. The defense tried to establish some of the ways the porn star gained publicity and money from her story going public.
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles pointed out that in a January 2018 statement, Daniels denied a sexual encounter with Trump. Later that same month, Daniels put out a second statement denying the relationship. She said she was pushed to sign the statement by Michael Cohen via attorney Keith Davidson.
Necheles asked Daniels if she eventually wanted to publicly announce she had sex with Trump. “No. Nobody would ever want to publicly say that. I wanted to publicly defend myself,” Daniels testified.
Necheles sought to establish examples of how Daniels benefitted from the story. A “60 Minutes” interview and appearances on CNN and “The View” brought Daniels publicity, Necheles said. Daniels argued her then-lawyer Michael Avenatti arranged her appearances.
Necheles challenged Daniels on her story, saying it “has changed a lot over the years,” citing Daniels’ description of the floors in Trump’s hotel room. The Trump attorney also asked if Daniels fabricated the story about the encounter with Trump, which Daniels denied.
On redirect:
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger went through Daniels’ motivation for entering the non-disclosure agreement, including her fear for safety. While Daniels has made money with the Trump story, it has also cost her, Hoffinger said. Daniels said now she’s had to hire security and move her daughter to a safe place to live, in addition to the money she owes Trump in attorney’s fees.
Hoffinger asked, “Have you been telling lies about Mr. Trump or the truth about Mr. Trump?” Daniels responded, “The truth.”
Rebecca Manochio:
Manochio, who still works at the Trump Organization as a junior bookkeeper, said when Trump was in the White House, she would FedEx checks once a week, often 10 to 20 at a time. The checks were mailed back to the Trump Organization, signed by Trump, usually within a few days.
When she received the checks back from Washington, she would give them to Deb Tarasoff, who works in the accounting department and testified earlier in the trial.
Prosecutors used Manochio to submit documents into evidence that showed Trump’s personal checks were facilitated in Washington, DC, by Trump Organization bodyguard Keith Schiller and then by Trump personal aid John McEntee once Schiller left. This is important because the crux of this case comes down to how the former president’s team handled a hush money payment to Daniels.
On cross-examination, Manochio said she didn’t interact directly with Trump and she only sent him personal checks for his signature. She also testified that she also sent personal checks to Ivanka Trump.
Tracey Menzies
Menzies is the senior vice president of production and creative operations at Harper Collins. Testifying as a custodian of records for the publishing company, Menzies said.
Prosecutors read excerpts from the book “Think Big: Make it Happen in Business and Life” for the jury. Several of them were about Trump’s value of loyalty in his business. Other excerpts were about revenge.
Madeleine Westerhout
As the former director of Oval Office Operations, Westerhout was one of the chief gatekeepers to the president as his personal assistant.
When the 2016 “Access Hollywood” tape came out, Westerhout said she remembered it “rattling RNC leadership.” She testified that she recalled conversations about how to replace Trump on the presidential ticket, “if it came to that.” Later, she told the defense on cross-examination that Trump was not as concerned about the tape as those around him.
From Westerhout’s experience working with Trump, she said the former president was “attentive to things that were brought to his attention.” She also testified about Trump’s preferences — including that he did not use a computer or have an email address and preferred hard copies of documents.
She said she recalls that Trump was “very upset” by the Stormy Daniels story potentially coming out. Westerhout testified that Trump spoke to Cohen around that time.
Judge makes other rulings: Judge Juan Merchan denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial. He said he disagrees with the Trump team’s assertion that Daniels gave a new account in her testimony this week. He also denied a motion to modify the gag order to allow Trump to talk about Daniels.
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Trump attacks judge in hush money trial after leaving court
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Former President Donald Trump attacked the judge presiding over his hush money trial in New York after court adjourned on Thursday.
In the hallway, he called Judge Juan Merchan “totally corrupt” and “conflicted.”
“Take a look at his conflict, it’s a disgrace to the city of New York, to the state of New York and to the country,” Trump said.
It comes after Stormy Daniels finished her testimony. She was on the stand for more than 6 hours over two days, describing her first meeting with Trump and their sexual encounter in 2006.
Remember: The former president is not allowed to talk about Daniels because of a gag order that has been imposed. However, it does not prevent Trump from attacking Merchan or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
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Court is adjourned
After issuing his ruling, Judge Juan Merchan dismissed the court until tomorrow morning.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at 9:30,” he said.
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Judge Merchan denies defense motion for a mistrial
Judge Juan Merchan has denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
Merchan says he disagrees with the Trump team’s assertion that Stormy Daniels gave a new account in her testimony this week.
Before the ruling, Mechan says the jurors have to decide who they believe in the case of the encounter between Donald Trump and Daniels.
He notes that the people do not have to prove the encounter happened but because the defense has called her credibility into question, prosecutors have to make an effort to show her story is credible to prove their case.
“The more specificity Ms. Daniels can provide about the encounter, the more the jury can weigh whether the encounter did occur and if so whether they choose to credit Ms. Daniels’ story,” Merchan says.
There were “many times Ms. Necheles could have objected but didn’t,” the judge says.
“Why on earth she wouldn’t object to the mention of a condom, I don’t understand,” Merchan says of Trump attorney Susan Necheles.
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Trump leans back in his chair as judge knocks his legal team
Trump is leaning back and stretching as the judge knocks the defense for not objecting to more of Stormy Daniels’ testimony.
Merchan has mentioned several portions of the proceedings he thinks Trump’s lawyers could have objected to as he explains his ruling.
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Prosecutor says "very salacious details" were omitted that he's willing to file under seal if necessary
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says there were “very salacious details” that were purposely omitted from Stormy Daniels’ account, saying he’s willing to make a sealed filing with those details if necessary.
Steinglass says the prosecution specifically chose not to ask questions in a way that would elicit some of those details, so as not to embarrass Trump.
For example, Steinglass notes that the judge sustained an objection to a question to Daniels about whether she “felt anything different” at the time of the alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
The prosecutor says Daniels would have testified that she felt the skin of a 60-year-old man, and that that was different for her as a 27-year-old woman at the time. Steinglass says that would’ve been corroborative of her allegations.
“We feel that we have very faithfully adhered to your honor’s ruling,” the prosecutor says, in summary.
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Steinglass says the prosecution was never intending to call Karen McDougal as a witness
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass confirms Karen McDougal — the model and actress who has said she was also paid to keep quiet about an affair with Trump — will not be called to take the stand.
“She was on our witness list, but we have never indicated an actual intention to call her,” he says.
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Prosecutor argues details of encounter "were the motivation" for Trump to keep story quiet
Details about the alleged sexual encounter between Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump “were the motivation” for Trump to keep the story quiet in 2016, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass argues.
“The details are essential to give the jury the tools they need to analyze her credibility,” Steinglass says, arguing that Trump attorney Susan Necheles was “cherry-picking” the details she thought were inconsistent and ignoring where Daniels has been consistent.
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Daniels was only asked about 8 questions about the sexual encounter with Trump, prosecutor says
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says there were about eight questions about the actual sexual encounter between Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels.
He argues the prosecution did not go into detail about the sexual encounter.
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Prosecutor says Daniels' details of her experience with Trump make her story "more credible"
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says Stormy Daniels’ testimony detailing the conversation and experience with Donald Trump before and after the alleged sexual encounter is corroborative.
Trump is leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed.
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Trump attorney "left a very misleading impression" that Daniels' story had changed, prosecutor says
Addressing the defense’s allegations of inconsistencies in Stormy Daniels’ story, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is arguing that Trump lawyer Susan Necheles “certainly probed them in her very thorough though somewhat misleading questioning.”
“The fact of the matter is, Ms. Necheles left a very misleading impression” that Daniels’ story had become “radically different” from what she said in the “60 Minutes” interview with Anderson Cooper in 2018.
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Prosecutors says defense allegations are "flat out untrue"
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass responds to the defense team’s motion for a mistrial by saying most of the allegations from Trump’s lawyers are “flat out untrue.”
“Starting with the fact that it’s a new account — this is not a new account,” Steinglass says.
“The claim of ambush is just nonsense,” Steinglass adds. “The claim of changing her story is also extraordinarily untrue.”
“There may be details stated in one form but not in another form,” Steinglass says, but he says that’s not unexpected.
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Judge pushes back at defense arguments about anecdotes provided by Daniels in testimony
Judge Juan Merchan pushes back at the defense’s arguments about anecdotes provided by Stormy Daniels during her testimony.
He is saying he sustained objections to many of the accounts that Trump attorney Todd Blanche now cites in his mistrial motion.
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No need to hear details of alleged sexual encounter, Trump attorney argues
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is saying that Judge Juan Merchan said they did not need to know the details of the alleged sexual encounter between Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump, but “the people still asked.”
“The government wouldn’t stop,” Blanche says. “We didn’t know these questions were coming.”
“We were sitting here hearing that for the first time on the witness stand yesterday,” Blanche says.
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Blanche also argues that Daniels' remark about an "imbalance of power" wasn't relevant to the case
Reading another line of testimony, Todd Blanche notes that Stormy Daniels said “there was an imbalance of power for sure” when referring to her allegation of a sexual encounter with Donald Trump.
Blanche says the jury has heard about a power dynamic and “none of that information goes to the motive of anybody in this case, including President Trump.”
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Trump's defense is arguing that the prosecution has been asking prejudicial questions
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is continuing to suggest that prosecutors asked questions they shouldn’t have during Stormy Daniels’ testimony, such as what Daniels’ reaction was to seeing Trump when she left his bathroom before their alleged sexual encounter.
“It’s not relevant and it shouldn’t have been asked,” Blanche says.
“That is a description that is extremely prejudicial,” the Trump attorney argues, referring to questions intended to sway the jury’s emotions against a defendant.
The descriptions didn’t have anything to do with an arrangement involving Michael Cohen and the National Enquirer, which is the core issue at hand, Blanche argues.
Blanche argues that prosecutors “didn’t abide by the court’s rules” in their line of questioning.
He also points to the question about what their relative heights were.
“How is that relevant to that case? That is so prejudicial,” he argues.
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Trump team worked during day off on argument for new motion for mistrial
Donald Trump’s legal team worked during the off day yesterday on their argument for a new motion for a mistrial, which attorney Todd Blanche is making now, CNN’s Kaitlin Collins reports.
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Trump attorney cites spanking anecdote in arguing for a mistrial
Trump attorney Todd Blanche cites the spanking anecdote from Stormy Daniels in arguing for a mistrial.
“How that’s relevant to why we’re here especially when you weigh it with the prejudicial nature.”
He adds, again referring to the spanking anecdote:
“It almost defies belief that we’re here about a records case and the government is asking about an incident that happened in 2006,” Blanche says.
“This is not a case about sex” and not about whether the sexual encounter happened – something Blanche notes Trump continues to deny.
