Key takeaways from Stormy Daniels' testimony in Trump hush money trial

NEW YORK -- Donald Trump paid porn histrion Stormy Daniels for her soundlessness earlier the 2016 election. Now he's forced to face her grounds astir their alleged intersexual brushwood successful the midst of different statesmanlike campaign.

Daniels took the witnesser basal Tuesday successful his hush wealth transgression trial, putting the presumptive Republican statesmanlike nominee face-to-face with the pistillate whose communicative helium tried to hide years ago. Trump denies having enactment with her.

It's the biggest spectacle yet successful the archetypal transgression proceedings of a erstwhile American president, present successful its 3rd week of grounds successful Manhattan.

Here are immoderate takeaways from Daniels' grounds truthful far:

Daniels is astatine the halfway of the lawsuit due to the fact that she was paid $130,000 successful the last weeks of Trump’s 2016 statesmanlike run to support quiescent astir what she says was an awkward and unexpected intersexual brushwood with Trump a decennary before. He says the brushwood ne'er happened.

Prosecutors accidental Trump paid Daniels arsenic portion of a strategy to illegally power the 2016 run by burying antagonistic stories astir him. His lawyers person sought to amusement that Trump was trying to support his estimation and household — not his run — by shielding them from embarrassing stories astir his idiosyncratic life.

Daniels, whose existent sanction is Stephanie Clifford, said she grew up mediocre successful Louisiana and primitively wanted to go a veterinarian. She danced ballet increasing up and got into exotic dancing erstwhile she was successful precocious school, she testified.

Daniels told jurors that she began appearing successful big films astatine property 23 and soon began moving down the camera arsenic well, yet directing much than 150 films and winning a roster of porn manufacture awards.

Daniels testified astir archetypal gathering Trump successful 2006 astatine a personage play outing successful Lake Tahoe. The big movie workplace she worked for astatine the clip sponsored 1 of the holes connected the play course.

Daniels testified that she saw Trump again aft the play circular successful what was known arsenic the “gift room,” an country wherever the personage golfers collected acquisition bags and swag. There, she said, helium remembered her arsenic “the astute one,” and asked her if she wanted to spell to dinner. Trump’s bodyguard took her number, she told jurors.

Daniels said she accepted Trump’s invitation due to the fact that she wanted to get retired of a planned meal with her big movie institution colleagues, immoderate of whom she “didn’t privation to beryllium astir — catfights,” she said with a chuckle.

She said her then-publicist suggested successful a telephone telephone that Trump’s invitation was a bully excuse to duck the enactment meal and would “make a large story” and possibly assistance her career.

“What could perchance spell wrong?” she recalled the publicist saying.

Trump didn't amusement melodramatic changes successful his behaviour arsenic Daniels took the stand, but determination were signs of what appeared to beryllium discomfort from the erstwhile president and existent statesmanlike campaigner proceeding grounds astir his alleged extramarital intersexual encounter.

The erstwhile president started the time by posting a comment—and aboriginal deleting it--on his societal media web complaining that he’d “just precocious been told who the witnesser is today” and falsely said his lawyers had nary clip to prepare. He's nether a gag bid that prevents him from commenting publically connected witnesses, jurors and immoderate others connected to the case.

When Daniels entered the courtroom, Trump stared up and turned his caput somewhat successful her direction, past looked astatine her arsenic she walked to the witnesser stand. He whispered often to his lawyer arsenic she began to testify. Trump aboriginal wore what seemed to beryllium a pained look arsenic she recounted details astir the meal she says they shared, muttering astatine times to lawyers connected either broadside of him.

Before Daniels took the stand, Trump’s lawyers tried to halt her from testifying astir the details of her alleged intersexual brushwood with Trump, saying it was irrelevant successful “a lawsuit astir books and records.”

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger countered that the details wee important to buttress Daniels’ credibility, which the defence has questioned. The authoritative assured Judge Juan Merchan that the statement of the alleged intersexual enactment would beryllium “really basic,” and would not “involve immoderate details of genitalia.”

At 1 point, Merchan admonished the authoritative astir the “degree of detail” she was eliciting from Daniels, saying determination was nary request to get into the plan of the level successful the edifice country oregon the assorted subjects covered successful her speech with Trump.

“The grade of item that we’re going into present is conscionable unnecessary,” Merchan said.

Trump's lad Eric, who was with his begetter successful tribunal connected Tuesday, slammed the proceeding successful a station connected X, accusing prosecutors of being “giddy by this salacious show.”

“Sitting beforehand enactment attempting to fig retired however immoderate of this garbage from 20 years agone relates to ‘legal’ bills submitted by a agelong clip idiosyncratic lawyer being booked arsenic a ‘legal’ expense,'" helium wrote.

Daniels took the basal a time aft grounds that was much mechanical but conscionable arsenic cardinal to prosecutors’ case: a recitation from erstwhile Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney of however the institution reimbursed payments that were allegedly meant to suppress embarrassing stories from surfacing during Trump’s 2016 statesmanlike campaign. They were logged arsenic ineligible expenses successful a mode that Manhattan prosecutors accidental broke the law.

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Whitehurst reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, Jake Offenhartz and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this story.