Legal experts on Tuesday criticized former porn actress Stormy Daniels’ salacious testimony as “prejudicial,” as former President Trump’s legal team sought a mistrial that ultimately failed in an action-packed court day.
“I used to try cases for a living. I still have a pretty good idea of what evidence is relevant, what is prejudicial, and what is completely overblown and inadmissible. What the judge is allowing today in Trump’s trial in New York “It will be remembered as a dark stain on our judicial system, reminiscent of corrupt dictatorships. Shame on the prosecution for undermining our judicial system,” said David Friedman, a lawyer and former US ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration. published in X.
The comment came before Trump’s legal team requested a mistrial as Daniels went into detail about her alleged sexual encounter with the real estate mogul in 2006.
“THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE, WHICH HAS NO CASE, HAS GONE TOO FAR. GAME VOID!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday.
LIVE UPDATES: NY V. TRUMP TRIAL RESUMES WITH WITNESS TESTIMONY AFTER JUDGE MERCHAN THREATENS TRUMP WITH JAIL TIME
Stormy Daniels is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger during former President Trump’s criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 at Manhattan State Court in New York City on May 7, 2024. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)
“This witch hunt is a FALSE ANCIENT HISTORY that was fully judged by voters in the 2016 presidential election. It only has to do with election interference and trying to help corrupt Joe Biden get elected because he can’t do it alone. is a vicious attack by Soros-backed DA Alvin Bragg, in strict coordination with the Department of Justice and the White House, against Biden’s political opponent, I. IT IS ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND STRICTLY A THIRD COUNTRY. WORLD!
The motion to annul the trial was ultimately denied by presiding judge Juan Merchán.
NY V. TRUMP: JUDGE DENIES MISTRIAL MOTION AMID DANIELS’ STORMY TESTIMONY
Former President Trump attends his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024, in New York City. (McNamee/Pool wins via REUTERS)
Daniels detailed in court that she met Trump in 2006 in Lake Tahoe during a celebrity golf tournament. She alleged that the couple had sex in Trump’s hotel room during the event, which Trump has repeatedly denied in public comments. Daniels’ testimony also included a description in court of how she got into the pornography business after working as an exotic dancer when she was a teenager.
The case revolves around the alleged falsification of business records. Prosecutors allege Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to allegedly silence her claims about the alleged extramarital sexual encounter. Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently recorded the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime. which is a serious crime.
STORMY DANIELS TAKES STAND AT TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL
Legal experts expressed on social media that Daniels’ testimony was irrelevant to the case and should not have been admitted into the record.
Stormy Daniels is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger before Judge Juan Merchan during former President Trump’s criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records to hide money paid to hush porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, May 7, 2024. . (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)
“Stormy Daniels’ lewd testimony is not only prejudicial, but irrelevant, so by no means under the rule of evidence should it have been admitted.” Attorney David Limbaugh posted on X..
“Stormy Daniels testified against Trump this morning, going into lewd details about the alleged sexual encounter. This is irrelevant. It has no bearing on the issue at trial, which is whether Trump hid the payment from her to influence the 2016 election.,” civil rights in Indianapolis the lawyer wrote in a post. “In a fair trial, the judge would exclude that line of questioning.”
“In a flagrant violation of New York’s rules of evidence and judicial ethics guidelines, the judge is allowing Stormy Daniels to ‘go crazy’ with her highly prejudicial testimony, trampling over the objections of Trump’s lawyers and allowing Daniels vividly discuss every last salacious detail about the alleged interaction he had with Trump,” Pablo Ingrassia, Lawyer and communications director of the National Union of Constitutional Law, published.
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“Prosecutors are asking how tall she is in relation to Trump and whether there was a power dynamic between them. Now they are asking about their alleged sexual relationship, the position they were in, whether they were drunk, ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘how they closed relationship ‘out of character,'” Ingrassia added, calling the questioning and testimony “totally out of character.”
The former president’s son, Eric Trump, also weighed in on the testimony, calling it “garbage.” Eric Trump again attended court with the 45th president on Tuesday, where he heard testimony from witnesses.
“Perspective: Sitting front row trying to figure out how all this 20 year old crap relates to ‘legal’ bills filed by a long time personal attorney being recorded as a ‘legal’ expense, but I digress,” Eric posted Trump on his X account on Tuesday.
“To be clear, they don’t give a shit about the merits of this case: the 15 Manhattan prosecutors are sitting at their desks and behind them on the court benches, giddy from this salacious spectacle. This is the intent, not the substance, not the fact that this entire case is a massive extortion game,” he continued.
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Judge Juan Merchán poses for a photograph in his office on March 14, 2024 in New York. (AP Photos)
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley said Daniels is “a completely unnecessary witness” and that her testimony serves as a “form of punishment” against Trump.
“And the problem with what the judge has done here is that this is a completely unnecessary witness. It is indisputable that there is an NDA… What happened in their relationship, if there was one, is irrelevant to how those payments were denoted “. by the Trump campaign, so the court had the opportunity to repeatedly say, ‘We’re not going to take this courtroom through the details of this relationship,’ Turley said on Fox News.
“This is a form of punishment. They are trying to use a witness for punitive purposes and, in my opinion, for political purposes, and this is what happens. And it happened because the judge lost control of his courtroom.”
After a break Tuesday morning, Judge Merchan said prosecutors were going into too much detail when questioning Daniels.
“The level of detail we are looking at is unnecessary,” the judge told Manhattan prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, asking her to move forward with the testimony.
ERIC TRUMP CLOSES STORMY’S TESTIMONY FROM THE COURT’S FRONT ROW SEAT: ‘TRASH’
The defense team had repeatedly objected to prosecutors’ questions, which included intimate details of the alleged sexual encounter. Trump’s team argued that there was no need to provide details and added that there was also an issue with her credibility, noting that Daniels had signed a statement in 2018 saying the sexual act did not occur.
Daniels confirmed in testimony that he had signed the 2018 statement but did not do so “willingly,” claiming it was not factual and was under a confidentiality agreement.
Piers Morgan’s planned interview with Stormy Daniels is back on after the adult film star postponed it last week due to some security concerns. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)
As Trump’s team sought a mistrial, attorney Todd Blanche argued in court that the district attorney’s office, led by Democrat Alvin Bragg, was working to inflame the jury with testimony unrelated to the case.
TRUMP SAYS JAIL TIME TO DEFEND FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS A ‘SACRIFICE’ HE’S WILLING TO MAKE
Merchan said Tuesday that a mistrial is not warranted but believes some of Daniels’ testimony should have been “left unsaid,” though he noted he was surprised the defense team didn’t object more frequently during testimony.
“I agree that it would have been better if some of these things had not been said,” Merchan said.
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“I will also note that I was surprised that there weren’t more objections” from Trump’s legal team, Merchan added, saying the defense team needed to take some responsibility.
