Trump lawyers try to attack motives, credibility of Stormy Daniels in hush money trial

Donald Trump's lawyer sought to show inconsistencies in porn starStormyDaniels's various tellings of a 2006 sexual encounter she has said she had with Trump, part of an effort on Thursday to undermine her credibility as a witness in the first criminal trial of a sitting or former U.S. president.

Herunflattering accountof a sexual encounter with Trump in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite while he was married to his wife Melania riveted jurors on Tuesday and reminded U.S. voters of some of the more lurid aspects of his 2017-2021 presidency as he campaigns towin back the White Housethis year.

Facing questioning on Thursday by defence lawyer Susan Necheles in a Manhattan courtroom,Danielsstuck to her account.

"You're trying to make me say that it changed, but it hasn't changed,"Danielstold Necheles.

Trump, 77, has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen's $130,000 payment toDaniels, 45, for her silence ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election about the alleged encounter. Trump has denied ever having sex withDaniels.

In nearly four hours of cross-examination on Tuesday and Thursday, Necheles askedDanielsabout her earlier testimony of the alleged encounter compared with versions in a book she wrote and interviews she gave over the years.

WATCH | Hear what Daniels had to say when the prosecution questioned her:

Stormy Daniels details alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump at hush money trial

5 months ago

Duration 0:01

Former porn star Stormy Daniels delivered explosive testimony in the hush money trial of former U.S. president Donald Trump, detailing the alleged 2006 sexual encounter that Trump has always denied.

She askedDanielswhy in a 2018 interview to Vogue magazine she did not mention that Trump's bodyguard had been outside the hotel room where the encounter happened.Danielson Tuesday had testified that her awareness of the bodyguard's presence contributed to a power imbalance with Trump that left her feeling uncomfortable.

"You made all this up, right?" Necheles askedDanielsat one point.

"No,"Danielssaid emphatically, sitting with her hands folded and legs crossed.

She said she did not provide all the details in each interview she gave and did not control which portions of her accounts that news outlets eventually published.

Daniels, wearing a black cardigan over a green dress, remained defiant in the face of the aggressive questioning and frequently snapped back at Necheles with witty retorts.

Trump looks on

Trump, wearing a suit and a light blue tie, switched between leaning forward and looking at a small computer monitor on the defence table displaying evidence, and looking directly atDanielswhile his lawyer questioned her story.

Trump, the Republican candidate challenging Democratic PresidentJoe Bidenin theNov. 5 U.S. election, has called the trial a politically motivated attempt to undermine his campaign.

Prosecutors have said Trump's efforts to obscure the paper trail corrupted the 2016 election in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by preventing voters from learning about a story that might have swayed their vote.

WATCH | About That explains what's at stake in this trial:

Trumps criminal trial: the stakes, opening arguments, key witnesses | About That

6 months ago

Duration 11:24

The criminal trial against former U.S. president Donald Trump on charges in connection with hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels is now underway. Andrew Chang explores the key witnesses in this historic case and why the defence argues their credibility is in question.

Daniels's story of the alleged encounter has been public since 2018, and it may not matter much to voters who have already heard other stories of Trump's alleged sexual misbehaviour. The case is focused on Trump's role in an alleged cover-up of Cohen's payment.

Just before ending her cross-examination, Necheles askedDanielsif she had knowledge of Trump's business records - part of an effort to paint her testimony as irrelevant to the charges at hand.

"I know nothing about his business records, no,"Danielssaid. "Why would I?"

Mistrial motion renewed

Before a lunch break on Thursday, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said the defence would renew its motion for a mistrial on the basis ofDaniels's testimony and challenge the judge's gag order on Trump as it relates to making public comments aboutDaniels.

Trump's lawyers unsuccessfully sought a mistrial on Tuesday saying thatDanielshad "inflamed" the jury with unnecessary details about the alleged encounter, such as stating that Trump did not use a condom.

Necheles sought to showDanielshad profited off of her story, showing jurorsDaniels's social media posts advertising merchandise on her online store around the time Trump had been charged last year.

Daniels said she needs money to foot her legal bills she owes Trump more than $500,000 from a failed defamation lawsuit that was initiated by her onetime lawyer Michael Avenatti,who is now imprisonedfor defrauding her and other clients.

"That is me doing my job,"Danielssaid.

Daniels's testimony on Tuesday clearly frustrated Trump, who at one point appeared to call it "bullshit," drawing a warning about witness intimidation from Justice Juan Merchan.

Merchan has fined Trump $10,000 fortalking about jurors and witnessesin the trial and warned that further violations of a gag order that is in place could land him in jail.

The case is widely seen as the least consequential of thefour criminal prosecutionsTrump faces. But the chances of the other three which stem from efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss toBidenand his handling of classified documents going to trial before the election are growing more distant.

He has pleaded not guilty in all the cases.