Trump NY Trial: Stormy Daniels Testifies for Second Time

Trump NY Trial: Stormy Daniels Testifies for Second Time
Image copyright: Michael M. Santiago/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Facts

  • Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose alleged sexual encounter with former Pres. Donald Trump is at the center of Trump's New York criminal trial, Thursday was back on the stand for a second day.

  • Trump is facing 34 charges of falsifying business records to classify as legal expenses payments made to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen. Prosecutors claim the payments were to reimburse Cohen for paying Daniels $130K to keep quiet before the 2016 presidential election about her alleged 2006 tryst with Trump.


The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

This case is a farce and a politically-motivated abuse of the justice system to try to derail Trump's return to the White House. Daniels, who admits she has no knowledge about the bookkeeping at the center of this case, spent more than seven hours smearing Trump with little evidence that anything ever happened between them. In the end, Daniels' testimony backfired because she was a terrible witness.

Anti-Trump narrative

Daniels delivered pertinent testimony to counter Trump and his lawyers' denials. If Trump wants to dispute Daniels' story, he can take the stand. Despite the harsh, accusatory line of questioning, Daniels held her own and made a convincing case that Trump had something he wanted to keep quiet prior to the 2016 election.


Metaculus Prediction


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