Trump attorney, Stormy Daniels have heated exchange over $130,000 payment she took
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels and an attorney for former President Donald Trump had a heated court exchange Thursday over why Daniels took $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
“Why didn’t you do that?” Trump attorney Susan Necheles asked Daniels, referring to why she didn't hold a press conference to tell reporters the details about the encounter.
“Because we were running out of time,” Daniels answered, according to The Associated Press.
Necheles asked whether she was referring to time to use the claim to make money to which Daniels responded with "to get the story out."
Daniels was paid the money by former Trump "fixer" and attorney Michael Cohen to keep her from going through with a story she gave to the media about the alleged sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
The case against Trump centers on whether he falsifying business records to cover up the "hush money" paid to Daniels for the purpose of helping get elected president in 2016.
He has pleaded not guilty to the 34 charges and denies the alleged encounter.
Trump's legal team has accused Daniels of lying and making the encounter up.
“You have a lot of experience in making phony stories about sex appear real?” Necheles at one point asked Daniels in the New York City courtroom, referring to her career as a porn actress.
“The sex in those films is real, just like the sex in that room,” said Daniels, referring to the hotel room in which the sexual encounter allegedly occurred. “The character themes might be different, but the sex is very real. That’s why it’s pornography, not a B movie.”