Trump Loses Bid For Mistrial Before Cross-Examination Of Stormy Daniels Begins

Stormy Daniels, the porn star who was paid $130,000 as part of a hush money deal weeks before the 2016 election, is on the stand in Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial.

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What to know

• We first got news that Stormy Daniels might be today’s primary witness on Tuesday morning. Clark Brewster, an attorney for Stormy Daniels, told the Associated Press that his client was “likely” to be called as a witness.
• Trump posted, then apparently deleted, a Truth Social missive complaining that he had “just recently been told who the witness is today.” He complained that his lawyers did not have time to prepare.
• On Monday, prosecutors called Trump Organization employees who explained the nuts and bolts of how the payments were approved and processed within the company.
• That followed two weeks of testimony from figures including tabloid executive David Pecker and a former attorney for Daniels explaining how the hush money payments were arranged.
• In cross examination, Trump’s attorneys insinuated that Daniels and her former lawyer, Keith Davidson, had tried to extort their client, a theme that may come up again when Daniels takes the stand.

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