Trump attorney Susan Necheles took aim at Daniels’s credibility in a spirited, often-salacious back-and-forth, questioning Daniels’s racy profession, her other unusual money-making endeavors and her brash demeanor.
The two sparred over whether pornography is a venue for lying and the merits of being a paid medium, in some of the most colorful moments.
“You have a lot of experience of making phony stories about sex appear to be real,” Necheles said of Daniel’s pornography career.
“Wow,” Daniels replied. “That’s not how I would put it — the sex in the films is very much real just like what happened to me in [Trump’s hotel] room.”
Turning from porn to the paranormal, Necheles asked about Daniels’s psychic endeavors.
“You claimed to be able to speak with people’s dead relatives, right?” Necheles asked.
Daniels replied, “I make clear it’s all entertainment.”
Daniels was described as being less tense than her initial time on the stand on Tuesday. No cameras are allowed in the courtroom.
The week started with Judge Juan Merchan threatening to jail Trump over repeated violations of the trial gag order Monday. Trump has been found in violation 10 times during the trial, racking up a combined $10,000 in fines.
When Daniels’s turn came Tuesday, she described her alleged encounter in Trump’s hotel suite during a celebrity golfing tournament near Lake Tahoe in 2006. She was asked multiple times to slow down when she talked and refrain from unnecessary salacious details.
Trump was known at the time as a famous businessman and host of NBC’s “Apprentice” and “Celebrity Apprentice” reality television shows.
Trump is accused of falsifying business documents to cover a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels during the 2016 election campaign to prevent her from disclosing their alleged sexual encounter.
Former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen, who handled the transaction but has since become a vocal critic of Trump, is also expected to take the stand in the trial.
Trump denies having sex with Daniels or violating any laws.
