Adult film star Stormy Daniels was cross-examined at the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump in a Manhattan courtroom where he faces 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business documents to cover up payments made to Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election. Daniels testified that she had a sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
Trump critics including former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti say Trump and his legal team made a mistake by not admitting to the encounter. Mariotti wrote: “The smart strategy would have been to *stipulate* that the encounter with Daniels took place so there would be no reason for her to testify.”
Former Special Counsel Ryan Goodman notes that after Daniels’s testimony: “Under the radar: A very important piece of evidence prosecutors entered during re-direct with Stormy Daniels on Thursday. It contradicts a key promise President Trump’s attorney made to jurors in Opening Statements.”
Under the radar:
A very important piece of evidence prosecutors entered during re-direct with Stormy Daniels on Thursday.
It contradicts a key promise President Trump’s attorney made to jurors in Opening Statements.
My discussion with @ErinBurnett @Terridaustin @OutFrontCNN pic.twitter.com/tBFjg6UuIZ
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) May 10, 2024
On CNN Goodman points out that, in the past, there were “a number of civil cases going back and forth between Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump back in California. And in 2018, Donald Trump submits a court filing in which he admits to most of the facts in this case. And the facts that he admits to is ‘we paid Michael Cohen, we reimbursed Michael Cohen’ $130,000 for hush money to Stormy Daniels pursuant to the NDA” (non-disclosure agreement).
Goodman notes the contrast between that court filing and Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche’s opening statement in this trial, where Blanche told the jury, “you’re going to hear that there was no reimbursement.” Goodman added: “A subsequent court opinion in California considered that court filing “an admission by Donald Trump.”