In a dramatic courtroom exchange, former President Donald Trump’s legal team faced a swift rebuke as one of his attorneys launched into a brash line of questioning directed at adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Susan Necheles, representing Trump, struck a confrontational tone as she confronted Daniels, bluntly asking, “You recall you did an interview and said the claims you had sex with President Trump was bull—-?”
As noted by Adam Klasfeld on X, the query prompted immediate objection from prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, with Justice Juan Merchan swiftly sustaining the objection. Undeterred, Necheles persisted, prompting another sharp rebuke from the bench.
Cross-ex resumes:
Trump's attorney Susan Necheles asks Daniels whether she recalled stating that her accusations against Trump were "bullshit."
Objection.
Sustained.
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 9, 2024
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This tense confrontation unfolded just two days after Daniels made her initial appearance in the Manhattan courtroom, where Trump faces charges of falsifying business records to conceal hush money paid to Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump, visibly agitated, entered the courtroom and engaged in animated gestures directed at Necheles, who had previously cross-examined Daniels.
The prosecution secured an early victory as they successfully blocked attempts by Trump’s legal team to introduce Daniels’ 2003 arrest record as evidence. Merchan dismissed the relevance of the arrest, stating, “Anyone can be arrested…That doesn’t prove anything.”
During her testimony on Tuesday, Daniels provided graphic details of a purported sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, an allegation vehemently denied by the former president. Trump’s legal team, however, faced criticism from Merchan for their lack of objections as Daniels recounted what New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman described as a “humiliating” experience for Trump.
Merchan intervened at one point, instructing Trump’s attorneys to rein in their client’s audible outbursts in the courtroom.
Efforts by Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche to declare a mistrial on the grounds of prejudicial testimony were swiftly dismissed by Merchan.
Daniels also revealed during her testimony that Trump referred to her as “honeybunch,” a detail corroborated by Trump’s niece Mary, who described it as a common term of endearment within the Trump family.
The courtroom spectacle drew early-morning spectators, with eager onlookers lining up outside the courthouse hours before proceedings began, eager to witness Daniels’ testimony against the former president.
