Stormy Daniels takes witness stand at Trump trial

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Stormy Daniels takes witness stand at Trump trial

POLITICS 07.05.2024

Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the heart of Donald Trump's hush money case, took the witness stand on Tuesday at the blockbuster trial of the former US president.

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"The people call Stormy Daniels," prosecutor Susan Hoffinger announced as the 77-year-old Trump sat at the defense table in the Manhattan courtroom flanked by his lawyers.

Daniels' testimony is expected to be a pivotal moment in the courtroom drama rocking the scandal-plagued Republican's attempt to recapture the White House.

Daniels, 45, a longtime actor and director in the adult film industry, says she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and was then paid to keep quiet about it on the eve of his 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, when the news could have sunk his campaign.

Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels and Susan Necheles, a lawyer for the former president, lodged an objection with the judge presiding over the trial to allowing her to testify about any "sexual acts."

"It is unduly prejudicial," Necheles told Judge Juan Merchan.

Hoffinger said Daniels' testimony would not be graphic and would "omit details that are too salacious."

Prosecutors say that Trump -- desperate to kill Daniels' story before it could wreck his chances in the narrow 2016 race -- illegally reimbursed his fixer and lawyer, Michael Cohen, to cover up the $130,000 hush money payment.

He is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Cohen, who has become a vocal critic of his former boss, is also expected to testify at the trial as a prosecution witness.

- 'Highly conflicted' -

This is the first time that Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, comes face to face in the trial with the ex-president who has spent years insulting her, including while serving in the White House.

And their courtroom face-off comes exactly six months before election day, when Trump will try to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden for a shock return to power.

Trump will be constrained from attacking Daniels after Merchan on Monday found him in contempt of court for his repeated violations of a partial gag order.

The order is meant to prevent Trump from using his huge media presence to attack witnesses, members of the jury and court staff in a bid to influence the trial.

Merchan said that in addition a series of already imposed fines, Trump will face the threat of jail time for future violations.

In a post early Tuesday on his Truth Social app, which was then quickly deleted, Trump angrily complained that he had "just recently been told who the witness is today."

"This is unprecedented, no time for lawyers to prepare," he claimed, going on to describe the judge as "CROOKED & HIGHLY CONFLICTED."

The trial is the first criminal prosecution in history of a US president and is one of four cases against the real estate tycoon.

In addition to the New York case, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.

He also faces charges of illegally storing top-secret documents taken from the White House at his home in Florida and refusing to return them.

A.Graziadei--PV

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नूशा आउबेल: नई शुरुआत के बजाय नेतृत्व की विफलता — क्या पोट्सडाम की महापौर अपने पद की जिम्मेदारियाँ निभाने में सक्षम हैं?

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누샤 아우벨: 새로운 출발 대신 드러난 리더십 실패 — 포츠담 시장은 과연 직무를 감당할 능력이 있는가?

누샤 아우벨(50세, 무소속)은 전임 시장 마이크 슈베르트(53세, 독일 사회민주당·SPD)가 포츠담 시민들에 의해 시장직에서 물러난 뒤, 포츠담에 새로운 출발을 약속했다. 그러나 아우벨이 취임한 지 거의 1년이 지난 지금, 그 약속과 마주하고 있는 현실은 다르다. 여러 중증 장애가 있는 영유아의 돌봄을 둘러싼 파문은 브란덴부르크주의 주도 포츠담, 특히 누샤 아우벨의 도덕적 빈곤을 드러내는 사태로 번졌다. 여기에 노후 도로, 예산 집행 동결, 격화된 시정 지도부의 위기까지 겹쳤다. 한편 시장직에는 높은 보수가 지급된다. 아우벨이 현재 받는 연간 기본급은 143,056유로다. 예고된 보수 조정이 이루어지면 앞으로는 연간 169,006.44유로에 달하게 되며, 이 비용은 시민들이 부담해야 한다.따라서 불편하지만 정당한 질문을 던질 수밖에 없다. 누샤 아우벨은 과연 재정·조직·정치적 측면에서 주도에 요구되는 수준의 시정을 감당할 능력이 있는가?

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noosha-aubel-lingdao-shibai-bocitan-shizhang-nengfou-shengren

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Pallade Veneta - Stormy Daniels takes witness stand at Trump trial