Legal analysts including former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti are reporting from the Manhattan courtroom where former President Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business documents to cover up payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels testified this week that she had a sexual encounter with Trump. Trump and his defense attorneys have denied that the encounter took place. Mariotti contends that “that was not the best trial strategy for this case” as it increased the potential scope of Daniels’ testimony.
Trump is his lawyers’ worst enemy.
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.
Instead, they’re heeding his wish, going after her hard on cross-examination.
Jurors won’t like it.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) May 9, 2024
While the defense team cross-examined Daniels in court today, Mariotti wrote: “Trump is his lawyers’ worst enemy. 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. Instead, they’re heeding his wish, going after her hard on cross-examination. Jurors won’t like it.”
Usually, after a friendly direct-examination, a contentious cross is where witnesses lose their cool — but with Stormy Daniels, the opposite has been true.
Unflappable. https://t.co/eVCRYeCdEs
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 9, 2024
MSNBC legal analyst Adam Klasfeld added: “Usually, after a friendly direct-examination, a contentious cross is where witnesses lose their cool — but with Stormy Daniels, the opposite has been true.” He used the word “unflappable” to describe the key witness.
One particular response from Daniels’s testimony has been moving around the internet pretty fast. Asked by Trump attorney Susan Necheles about allegedly wanting to spread the story that she was intimate with Trump, Daniels denied it, saying “No, nobody would ever want to publicly say that.”
NECHELES: “Even though you had agreed that you would not discuss this supposed story and you had received a lot of money for that agreement, you then decided that you wanted to publicly say that you had sex with Donald Trump.”
DANIELS: “No, nobody would ever want to publicly say…
— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) May 9, 2024