Stormy Daniels testifies in court about sexual encounter with Trump in 2006

Donald Trump has denied having sex with Stormy Daniels. (File)

New York:

Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the center of Donald Trump’s hush money case, testified in a tense Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday about a 2006 sexual encounter that triggered the criminal trial against the former US president.

Trump, 77, is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment he made to Daniels to silence her on the eve of his election against Hillary Clinton in 2016 when the lurid story of marital infidelity would have doomed his campaign.

Daniels’ testimony represents a pivotal moment in the courtroom drama that is shaking up the scandal-plagued Republican’s bid to retake the White House in November.

“People call Stormy Daniels,” prosecutor Susan Hoffinger announced as Trump, dressed in a dark blue suit and gold tie, sat stone-faced next to his lawyers at the defense table.

Daniels, 45, wearing a black pantsuit and heavy eyeliner, began by answering questions from Hoffinger, who followed her through her difficult childhood in Louisiana, her time as a stripper and, ultimately, her participation in the adult film industry.

Daniels said she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, where she was employed as a greeter at the adult film company Wicked Entertainment.

Trump praised her as the “smart one” because she not only starred in X-rated films but also directed them, she said.

Daniels said she was 27 at the time and that Trump was “older, probably older than my dad.”

She said a member of Trump’s security detail told her the real estate tycoon wanted to have dinner with her.

She said she was hesitant at first, but agreed after discussing it with her publicist.

Daniels said that when she arrived at the penthouse where Trump was staying, he came out wearing “silk or satin pajamas, which I immediately made fun of.”

“I said, ‘Does Mr. Hefner know you stole his pajamas?'” she said, referring to the outfit favored by the late Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.

Trump put on a shirt and pants and they started talking about adult films.

“He was very interested in a lot of business things,” Daniels said.

Trump, who was then married to his now-wife Melania, once suggested that Daniels star on his hit reality TV show “The Apprentice,” she said.

“I said there was no way NBC was going to let me on TV,” she said.

“Scared me”

Daniels said she went to the bathroom once and when she came out, Trump was lying “on the bed between me and the door” in boxer shorts and a T-shirt.

“It scared me,” she said. “I didn’t expect anyone to be there, especially without a lot of clothes.”

“The intent was pretty clear,” she said, adding that she thought to herself, “Great, I got myself into this bad situation.”

“I was not threatened verbally or physically,” Daniels said, although there was a “power imbalance.”

She said they had sex on the bed “in the missionary position” and that Trump wasn’t wearing a condom.

“I was ashamed that I didn’t stop and didn’t say no,” Daniels said. “I’ve only told very few people.”

Trump has denied having sex with Daniels.

Prosecutors say Trump – desperate to destroy Daniels’ story before it could derail his chances in the close 2016 race – illegally paid Cohen compensation to cover up the hush money payment.

Cohen, who has become a vocal critic of his former boss, is also expected to testify as a prosecution witness in the trial.

muzzle

The courtroom confrontation comes exactly six months before Election Day, when Trump will seek to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden in a shocking return to power.

Trump is prevented from attacking Daniels after Merchan convicted him of contempt of court on Monday for repeatedly violating a partial gag order.

The gag order is intended to prevent Trump from using his large media presence to attack witnesses, jurors and court employees and thus influence the trial.

Merchan said Trump would face prison time for future violations, in addition to a series of fines already imposed.

The trial is the first criminal prosecution of a US president in history and one of four cases against the real estate tycoon.

In addition to the New York case, Trump was charged in Washington and Georgia with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden.

He is also accused of illegally storing top-secret White House documents at his Florida home and refusing to return them.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)