Stormy Daniels testifies against Trump for her alleged affair with the then-presidential candidate. She was never interested in blackmail.

Porn actress Stormy Daniels cross-examined by Donald Trump's defense from the perspective of a judicial illustrator Photo: Elizabeth Williams/ap

WASHINGTON D.C. taz | American porn actress Stormy Daniels had to answer questions in court on Tuesday about her alleged sexual relationship with former US President Donald Trump. The 45-year-old woman, whose official name is Stephanie Clifford, is one of the central figures in the secret money trial against the former president, who must answer to a total of 34 charges.

New York prosecutors accuse Trump of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to Daniels to maintain her silence in 2016. With the payment, Trump would have prevented Daniels from making public her alleged affair with the then-Republican presidential candidate during the American election campaign.

Daniels said during her testimony on the stand that she and Trump had sex in 2006 and that she tried to sell details of the affair during the 2016 campaign. However, until the release of Trump's infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which he claimed that, as a wealthy businessman, he could do almost anything with women, no one had shown any interest in his story.

“My motivation was not money, but to make my story public,” Daniels said in the courtroom.

Daniels gives details, Trump shakes his head

For several hours, the porn actress shared details of her alleged relationship with Trump. The two are said to have met during a charity golf tournament in 2006. Sex between the two is said to have allegedly taken place in a hotel suite.

“I had taken off my clothes and shoes. I think she still had her bra on. We were in missionary position,” Daniels said.

These and other details caused discomfort in the courtroom. One juror was visibly uncomfortable with the whole thing. According to American media reports, she looked away during Daniel's comments and put a hand to her forehead.

Trump also seemed upset. When Daniels said Trump told him that he and his wife Melania did not sleep in the same bed, he simply shook his head.

When she later went on record saying that during sex with Trump she hit him on the butt with a magazine, she seemed to be talking “nonsense,” that is, “complete nonsense.” To this day, Trump vehemently denies her alleged affair with Daniels.

Trump's lawyers called for an end to the process

Both Trump and Daniels tried to avoid any eye contact. Daniels explained that he ended up pocketing just under $96,000 of the total $130,000 in hush money. The rest went to his lawyer and agent, who arranged the deal with Trump's former confidant, Michael Cohen.

Trump's lawyers were red-faced after Daniel's statements and asked for an early end to the trial. They argued that Daniel's statements about her alleged sexual relationship and other meetings between her and Trump had nothing to do with the actual case and were extremely damaging to her client. Judge Juan Merchán rejected the request.

“I don't think we're at the point where a mistrial is warranted,” Merchan said. However, the judge agreed with Trump's defense that Daniels had revealed more than was necessary for this case. However, he placed some of the blame on the defense.

Daniels: Trump should be held accountable

In the afternoon it was Trump's turn to defend himself. They interrogated Daniels and tried to portray her as greedy and vengeful. Defense attorney Susan Necheles asked if Daniels hated Trump, to which she responded, “Yes.” When she was asked if she wanted Trump to go behind bars, Daniels said: “I want him to be held accountable.”

However, Daniels denied ever wanting to financially blackmail Trump.

After that somewhat salacious day in court, Trump told reporters it had been a “very eye-opening day”: “As you can see, the prosecution's case is falling apart.”

Only on Monday was Trump punished once again for violating the court's speech ban. He was again fined $1,000. After he was fined a total of $9,000 for the first nine violations, Judge Merchan even threatened him with prison after the tenth violation.

The case continues Thursday. Daniels will be on the witness stand again.

In another legal dispute against Trump, a Florida judge on Tuesday made a potentially groundbreaking decision for this year's presidential election. The trial in the case over Trump's handling of secret government documents, scheduled to begin May 20, has been postponed indefinitely. It is questionable whether the process will even begin before Election Day.