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May 9, 2024 156 tweets 23 min read Read on X
Good morning from 100 Centre Street, where Stormy Daniels is set to resume her testimony in Trump's trial on 34 felony counts.

@TylerMcBrien got the golden ticket for the overflow room. I got the green ticket for courtroom 1530.

Follow along!

🧵⬇️👇


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@TylerMcBrien On Monday, the atmosphere around court had begun to feel routine—boring, even.

But the anticipation around Daniels' testimony has created a new sense of excitement.

It's like a stampede today, one reporter quipped as we raced to the elevators on our way up to courtroom 1530.
@TylerMcBrien And Daniels' testimony has drawn some new faces to courtroom 1530.

Arthur Aidala, the defense attorney who represents Harvey Weinstein, is seated on the back row of the courtroom next to Andrew Giuliani. The two have been chatting for the past half hour.
@TylerMcBrien Trump enters the courtroom. Before arriving, he lingered for a moment in the doorway, talking to his lawyers, Emile Bove and Todd Blanche. He had a piece of paper in his hand, which he waved around as he spoke.
@TylerMcBrien As Trump walks down the aisle of the courtroom, a man seated near the aisle stands up. He appears to be trying to greet Trump or say something to him.

“SIT DOWN,” an officer screams.
@TylerMcBrien Among the Trump allies joining him in court today: Boris Epshteyn and Alina Habba.
@TylerMcBrien And now after some housekeeping matters, Stormy Daniels is called to resume her testimony.

She wearing her hair down today, in loose curls. Glasses perched atop her head. Green blouse, black cardigan.
@TylerMcBrien Susan Necheles resumes her cross examination on behalf of Trump.

In 2016, you were trying to sell your story? Yes.
@TylerMcBrien Rick Scott, the US Senator and former governor of Florida, is also here, by the way.

@TylerMcBrien You wanted money from Trump? No.

You weren't asking for money in 2016? I never asked for money from Trump. I never asked for money from anyone in particular. I asked for money to tell my story.
@TylerMcBrien I asked for money from publications to get the truth out, Daniels testifies.

But you entered a non-disclosure agreement? And that was your choice? I accepted an offer. It wasn't necessarily my choice...I wanted to do a press conference. But we were running out of time.
@TylerMcBrien You could've gone out at any time and done a press conference? I chose to be safe. I chose to accept the offer.

During that time, were you talking to a Slate reporter? And you told him about your affair with Trump? Yes. He was my back up if the NDA didn't work out.
@TylerMcBrien Did you tell the Slate reporter that if you weren't paid for your silence then you wanted to be paid for your story?

She shows Daniels a document to refresh her recollection.

I don't remember saying that exactly, no. . .
@TylerMcBrien And the Slate reporter said his publication doesn't pay for stories but that you should come forward anyway? Yes. Then Daniels explains that the NDA ended up being the better alternative to "protect my family."
@TylerMcBrien You were furious when Cohen wasn't paying you the money? Yes.

And you screamed at your attorney about it and called him a pussy?

Daniels: Can you show me where I said that?

Necheles plays a recording.
@TylerMcBrien It's a conversation between Daniels' attorney, Keith Davidson, and Cohen.

The recording starts with Davidson saying to Cohen: They said, 'was there ever any indication that the money was coming from him?' I said no. . .

This elicits an objection. Sidebar.
@TylerMcBrien Necheles had the wrong recording.

She plays another recording. It's Davidson and Cohen again. On the audio, Davidson says he wouldn't be surprised if Gina Rodriguez's boyfriend went to the press saying that Daniels had been screaming at Davidson to make a deal before election.
@TylerMcBrien Daniels says she never yelled at Davidson on the phone and says that the recording is about what story Rodriguez's boyfriend might tell the media.
@TylerMcBrien Necheles shows the NDA agreement which names "Peggy Peterson" and "David Dennison," AKA Daniels and Trump.

Necheles walks through language in the agreement, asking Daniels questions about it.

I'm not an attorney, but I signed this on my attorney's advice, Daniels says.
@TylerMcBrien You understood this was a legal document? Yes.

Then Necheles pulls up the Jan. 2018 Wall Street Journal article about the Daniels payment. She also displays the statement Daniels signed in response to the story.
@TylerMcBrien Necheles walks Daniels through questions that focus on the defense narrative that Daniels has profited off of telling stories about Trump. You got an $800,000 book deal, right? Wasn’t sex with Trump the centerpiece?
@TylerMcBrien Daniels says she “contracted” for 800K, yes, but that it was for her life story. Sex w/ Trump wasn’t the centerpiece.
@TylerMcBrien Necheles asks Daniels about the documentary she starred in about her life. Daniels says that she did received some money from the filmmakers for footage she had. But she wasn't paid for an interview.
@TylerMcBrien As Necheles continues pressing Daniels on the money she received from the documentary filmmakers, the witness grows increasingly frustrated.

"You're trying to trick me into saying something that's not entirely true," she snaps at Necheles.
@TylerMcBrien When Trump was indicted in this case, you celebrated by repeatedly tweeting about it and sharing links to your merchandise store?

Daniels: When he was indicted, people asked how they could support me, so I shared a link to my store, yes.
@TylerMcBrien We see a series of tweets from Daniels related to Trump's indictment. In one, Daniels shares the link to her store and mentions that she "doesn't want to spill her champagne."
@TylerMcBrien In another tweet, she linked to her online store, writing "in celebration of new indictments, all orders in the next 45 hours" will receive a free gift.

One of the items she sold was a "Stormy Saint of indictments candle."
@TylerMcBrien So a large part of your livelihood for a bunch of years now has been making money off the story that you had sex with Trump and that you helped get him indicted? No
@TylerMcBrien Do you plan to continue make money from selling your story? I plan to continue doing my job and paying my legal bills
You made a show and a podcast claiming that you can speak with dead people? Yes.

And you claimed that spirits attacked your boyfriend and held him underwater? Yes. There was unexplained activity around the house. We had people come to examine the electromagnetic activity, etc . . . But a lot of it was debunked and explained by possums under the house.
@TylerMcBrien You read oracle cards for clients? Yeah. She reads tarot cards. You tell people you can speak with their dead relatives? And they pay you money for it? Yes. It's one way she makes money.
@TylerMcBrien With this line of questioning, Necheles is clearly trying to portray Daniels as a serial fabulist who has made her living off of phoney stories about, among other things, paranormal activity and sex with former Presidents.
@TylerMcBrien Your story about President Trump has changed a lot over the years, right? No.

You met him at a golf tournament at Lake Tahoe? Yes.
@TylerMcBrien And there were lots of other celebrities there? Necheles rattles off a list of names (Charles Barkley, Ben Roethlisberger, etc.), some of whom Daniels recalls being at the golf tournament.
@TylerMcBrien You testified that you saw Trump in the gift room and his bodyguard, Keith Schiller, asked you to go to dinner? Right.

Your testimony is that you said "fuck no"? Correct.

But you still gave him your number? Yes.

And that's a different story than what you said in 2011? No.
@TylerMcBrien Didn't you tell InTouch magazine in 2011 that Trump himself asked you to dinner? I don't remember saying that, Daniels replies. It was Keith.
Necheles displays the article from InTouch, reading a quote from Daniels: "He came to talk to me and asked for my number and I gave it to him."

I didn't specify who, Daniels explains.

Well, you didn't mention the bodyguard in that paragraph? They asked me not to mention other people.
@TylerMcBrien You also testified that you said "fuck no" when asked to dinner?

But you told InTouch in 2011 that you said "of course"? Yes, those were the words of my publicist. This is an entertainment magazine, it's short and frivolous. It's repeating the story in an entertaining way.
@TylerMcBrien You said you never got any dinner at the hotel room? Yes. And you wrote in your book that you were hungry? You at least needed a bag of pretzels? Yes.

(As a reporter who did not eat breakfast, and with the 1 pm lunch hour a long 2 hours away, I, too, need a bag of pretzels.)
@TylerMcBrien It was a big deal that you didn't get dinner? "I went to dinner, and didn't get dinner."

You told Jimmy Kimmel you are very food motivated? Yes.

Relatable!
But according to Necheles, Daniels told InTouch in 2011 that she had dinner at the hotel. "I had dinner with him but I can't remember what we had."

You said that? Yeah. It says I don't remember ordering anything. It was dinnertime in the room. I had "dinner" in his room but we never got food and I never ate anything.
@TylerMcBrien Having dinner where I'm from doesn't necessarily mean you put any food in your mouth, Daniels continues. You go to someone's house at dinnertime, that's dinner.
@TylerMcBrien Now Necheles turns to Daniels' account of her sexual encounter w/ Trump.

You act in porn? Yes. With naked men & women? Yes. But you said the sight of a man in his boxers when you exited a bathroom almost caused you to faint? Yes, when you're not expecting a man 2x your age...
@TylerMcBrien You never told In Touch magazine anything about Trump standing up [blocking the doorway]? It's an abbreviated version of the story, Daniels says. It doesn't say anything about him standing up or not standing up.
@TylerMcBrien You weren't drinking that night? No, just water. I was not given any drugs and didn't take any. I don't believe there was even any alcohol in the room.
You were interviewed by Vogue in 2018? Yes.
And you were asked if Trump did anything that made you feel like you had to have sex with him? Yes.
But on Tuesday you said he stood over you and you felt a power imbalance? I have maintained he did not put his hands on me, he did not give me drugs or alcohol... I was not physically threatened or drugged or drunk.
@TylerMcBrien We're taking our morning break now.

Snack time.
@TylerMcBrien We're back.

I couldn't find any pretzels during the break, but a granola bar did the trick.

"Food motivated," indeed.
@TylerMcBrien Necheles resumes her cross examination of Daniels.

She asks Daniels about her "Make America Horny Again" tour. You were advertising for this tour and making money off of it? Yes.
@TylerMcBrien Then we're back to the golf tournament. You saw when he was there that people recognised who he was? Yes but people were recognising me that day too
@TylerMcBrien You said Keith Schiller was there when you went to Trump's hotel room? Yes, but I never saw him inside the hotel room
@TylerMcBrien You said one reason why you felt uncomfortable was because Schiller was outside the room? Absolutely bc I would have had to pass by him to leave..he's a very large man

But you emphatically told Vogue in 2018 that you never felt any physical danger? You recall saying that? Yes
Am I correct that you never discussed your NDA with President Trump? Correct
And money came from Michael Cohen? I know that the only was wired to me from Keith Davidson.
You understand Trump is charged w/ crime about how the payment from Cohen was labeled? I'm not an attorney, just here to answer questions I'm asked
@TylerMcBrien So even though you celebrated the indictment you don't know what he's charged with in this case?

"There's a lot of indictments," Daniels deadpans.
@TylerMcBrien And you don't know anything about Trump's business records? No, I don't know anything about that.

No further questions from Necheles.
@TylerMcBrien Hoffinger is up for re-direct on behalf of the prosecution.

You entered into NDA on advice of an attorney? Yes.
And you said one reason is that you wanted all this to be documented so you would be safe? Yes.
And you were also happy to take the money? Daniels agrees.
@TylerMcBrien You were shown texts between your manager, Gina Rodriguez, and someone named Dylan, who you said you didn't know? Yes.

Hoffinger displays the texts between Rodriguez and "Dylan." [It's Dylan Howard of the National Enquirer.]
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@TylerMcBrien Hoffinger turns to the 2011 InTouch interview. She reads a statement in the article that says "this interview has been lightly edited." Do you recall this? Yes.

Did Ms. Necheles ask you any questions about that statement saying the article has been edited? No.
@TylerMcBrien Necheles asked you about whether you knew anything about Trump's business records. You said you didn’t know anything directly? Yes. You recall a lawsuit your lawyers filed to get out of the NDA? Yes.
@TylerMcBrien You recall Trump’s attorney in court papers confirmed that Cohen had been reimbursed for the money he paid you in 2016? Yes. That was confirmed in the court papers, correct? Correct.
@TylerMcBrien Have you been telling lies about Trump or the truth about Trump? The truth.
Hoffinger wraps up her re-direct, and Necheles jumps up for re-cross.

She shows Daniels Trump's infamous "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"

You testified that you thought this was about you, Necheles reminds Daniels. But did you know that at the time there was a Republic PAC that had been attacking President Trump?

Necheles is trying to say that the post could have been about that and not about Daniels.
@TylerMcBrien Daniels steps down now, after a day and a half of testimony.

The People call their next witness: Rebecca Manochio, who worked as an executive assistant for Allen Weisselberg at the Trump Organization.
@TylerMcBrien Rebecca Mangold conducts the direct examination for the prosecution.

She starts w/ introductory questions. Manochio says she works at the Trump Organization and she's testifying today under subpoena.
@TylerMcBrien Manochio's is a junior bookkeeper at the Trump Org now but she was an executive assistant for Weisselberg for eight years. She sat outside Weisselberg's office. She says that Weisselberg interacted w/ Trump "everyday" when Trump was in office.
@TylerMcBrien Were Trump's personal expenses processed by the Trump Org? Yes. How did he pay those expenses? By check. Can you recognize his signature? Yes. Did Trump get a new job in 2017? Yes.

What job did he get? The President of the United States. The job was based in Washington, DC.
@TylerMcBrien When Trump moved to WH, how did Trump get checks he needed to sign? I FedExed them. How often? Once a week.

Deb Tarasoff, from accounts payable, gave Manochio checks to sign, she says. She never looked inside the envelopes she sent.
@TylerMcBrien Usually sent 10-20 at a time, but she does recall sending a single check. The checks she sent were unsigned. When she received them back, Trump's signature was on them. She usually got them back in a few days.
@TylerMcBrien Were you ever informed that certain checks were not sent back? Yes, Manochio replies. Deb would let me know if something missing and I would reach out to check on them. I would then call Madeline, who worked for Trump at the White House.
@TylerMcBrien Manochio explains that she would then call Madeline [Westerhout], who worked for Trump at the White House.

Westerhout sometimes told Manochio that Trump had questions about a check and that’s why he didn’t send it back. Manochio would wait for further instructions.
@TylerMcBrien Mangold walks through the process of eliciting testimony from Manochio in order to admit certain documents into evidence as Trump Organization business records. When she's done, she offers several exhibits into evidence.
@TylerMcBrien No objections. The exhibits are admitted into evidence.

Mangold displays the first exhibit. It's a Fedex invoice for the Trump Organization dated May 29, 2017.

The sender is Manochio. The recipient is Keith Schiller, Trump's bodyguard. It lists his home address.
@TylerMcBrien The Fedex was for the unsigned checks she sent to Trump, and the address for the recipient is Keith Schiller's home address.

Manochio doesn't know why she was to send the checks to Schiller's personal address.
@TylerMcBrien The check was sent overnight, but that's how she did it with all the checks she sent to Trump.
@TylerMcBrien We move on to another FedEx invoice, this time from June.

She repeats the previous line of questioning.

Lather, rinse, repeat, as @TylerMcBrien would say.
@TylerMcBrien There came a time when the recipient address where Manochio sent the checks changed. John McEntee, rather than Schiller became the point of contact.
@TylerMcBrien The prosecution displays an email from John McEntee to Rhona Graff from Sept. 2017.

Subject: Checks to Sign.

The email reads: Can you put me in contact w/ Rebecca who works for Weisselberg? With Keith leaving I will need "the Boss's" checks sent to me.
@TylerMcBrien Manochio connected with McEntee.

"I will give you the best address to use," he told her.

Mangold displays the next FedEx invoice, from November 2017. She sent them to a personal address associated w/ McEntee.
@TylerMcBrien Mangold walks through more invoices, then wraps it up. No further questions. We'll resume with cross examination after lunch.

Before the jurors file out, Merchan addresses scheduling: We're on time or ahead of schedule, he tells the jurors.
Once jurors are gone, Blanche rises to say that the defense wants to raise three new issues related to witness testimony. One is a renewed motion for mistrial regarding Daniels' testimony. They also want to preclude McDougal's testimony and have a matter related to the gag order concerning "the witness who just testified."
@TylerMcBrien And with that, we're on lunch break.

Back at 2:15 p.m.
@TylerMcBrien We're back from lunch.

I didn't have internet during Manochio's cross, but catch up with @TylerMcBrien's thread.

Tracy Menzies, a custodian of records for the book publisher HarperCollins, is now on the witness stand.

@TylerMcBrien Menzies is here so that the prosecution can elicit testimony about a book that Trump (with Bill Zanker) wrote called "Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and In Life."

The prosecution asks her questions about passages in the book in which Trump talks about loyalty.
@TylerMcBrien "This woman was very disloyal, and now I go out of my way to make her life miserable," one excerpt reads.

Another: "When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades."
@TylerMcBrien After a brief and relatively uneventful cross by Blanche, the People call its next witness: Madeline Westerhout, Trump's former executive assistant at the White House.
@TylerMcBrien Westerhout says she works at a geopolitical consulting firm. She's chief of staff for the chairman. She's here under subpoena.

Are you nervous to testify today? "I am now, yes."
@TylerMcBrien Before her time at the White House, Westerhout worked for the finance director at the Republican National Committee. From 2013-2017, she worked directly for RNC leadership.
@TylerMcBrien At some point in November of 2016, she became aware of the Access Hollywood tape. RNC leadership became aware of it, she says. They were "rattled." There were conversations about how it would be possible to replace him as a candidate if it came to that.
@TylerMcBrien Before 2016, Westerhout never worked for Trump campaign. After election, she spent time in NY living out of Trump tower. She helped the president-elect schedule interviews for high-level cabinet or WH roles.
@TylerMcBrien She was based in DC still but spent most working days in New York. Due to her scheduling role, media nicknamed her the "greeter girl."
@TylerMcBrien Westerhout knows Rhona Graff, Trump's long-time assistant at the Trump Org. Did you work w/ Graff during transition after Trump election? Yes, she helped RNC team schedule interviews. She really had a handle on his schedule.
@TylerMcBrien Do you know Cohen? Yes, he was the president's former lawyer. He was around in Trump tower between election and inauguration. At some point, Westerhout offered job in the White House.
@TylerMcBrien "My boss came to me and said 'do you have any interest in sitting outside the Oval Office?'" Westerhout said yes.

Westerhout attended the inauguration. After that, she went to the White House and was taken to her desk. She started work that day.
@TylerMcBrien The prosecution pulls up an exhibit. It's a map of the first floor of the West Wing. Mangold offers it into evidence, and it's accepted.
@TylerMcBrien Mangold publishes the exhibit for the jury, and she asks Westerhout to identify where her desk was relative to the Oval Office. During the first few months of Trump's term, no one else sat closer to Trump than she did.
@TylerMcBrien There was another room where Trump's aides sat. At the time, it was Keith Schiller and Jon McEntee.

Do you know Dan Scavino? Yes, he was one of Trump's trusted advisers. He did communications and helped Trump get tweets out.
@TylerMcBrien The focus of Westerhout's job was the President. Your only job? I tried to have that be my only focus, yes. Westerhout did not have job training. First few months, she tried to observe people who had worked closely w/ Trump -- Hicks, Scavino, McEntee -- to learn his preferences.
@TylerMcBrien She worked in the WH for 2.5 years. She had the same job but at some point her title changed to special assistant to the president.

She switched desks at some point. Her new desk was further away but it had a line of sight to Trump's desk in the Oval.
@TylerMcBrien Turning to Trump's work habits, Westerhout says Trump prefers to talk on the phone or in person. He took "a lot" of calls. There were times he took calls at 6 am. There were times when he took calls late at night.
@TylerMcBrien Can anyone call the President of the United States? If someone had Westerhout's direct line, they could call her. But there were operators that took call and determined if that was someone who needed to be patched through. Also calls through the situation room on a secure line.
@TylerMcBrien Did Trump have email account? Not to my knowledge.
He liked hard copy documents. He liked to read. His role required a lot of reading.

Trump moved his working space into dining room off the side of the oval. He wanted to keep the Resolute Desk "pristine," she explains.
@TylerMcBrien Was there an organization system in the dining room? It's my understanding that he knew where everything was but he did have a lot of papers.

Did he pay attention to details? In my experience, yes.
@TylerMcBrien Trump preferred to sign checks by hand? Yes. He liked to use sharpies or felt-tip pens. Westerhout can recognize his signature. He typically read things before signing them.
@TylerMcBrien Trump used social media, mainly Twitter, in 2017. He posted tweets himself using that handle.

Did anyone else have access to that account? Dan Scavino. But other than that, Westerhout doesn't have knowledge of anyone else having access.
@TylerMcBrien Did anything get posted without Trump's approval?

"I did not see the President or Dan post every single tweet...But it's my understanding and recollection that the President did like to see the tweets that went out."
@TylerMcBrien Trump would occasionally dictate a tweet to Westerhout, who would then type it up and print it out for him. He would sometimes edit the hardcopy version and ask her to make changes.

There were certain words he liked to capitalize, like "Country."
@TylerMcBrien Trump liked the oxford comma, Westerhout says.
@TylerMcBrien During 2017, Westerhout coordinated with Rhona Graff on his contacts, his travel schedule, the first family's travel, personal mail for Trump, etc.

For the first few months, Graff and Westerhout spoke almost daily.
@TylerMcBrien Mangold displays an email dated Jan. 20, 2017.

Westerhout sent Graff an email which read: Could you have the girls put together a list for me of people that Trump frequently spoke to?

Graff replied, "I'm working on it. Hope to have it to you in a little while."
@TylerMcBrien Next, Mangold displays another email exchange between Westerhout and Graff.

From: Graff
Date: 1/24/2017
Subject: FW: Contacts
"How's this for a start?"

The email contains an excel document titled "DJT Limited Contacts WH."
@TylerMcBrien The excel spreadsheet is admitted into evidence.

Westerhout confirms that one of the contacts is Allen Weisselberg. Another is Michael Cohen.
@TylerMcBrien Now we see an email from Westerhout to Cohen.

From: Westerhout
To: Cohen
Date: Feb. 5, 2017
Subject: Wednesday meeting

"Michael, we're confirmed for 4:30 pm on Wednesday."

This visit did ultimately occur, Westerhout says.
@TylerMcBrien Do you remember David Pecker's name coming up in 2017? My memory has recently been refreshed, yes. I recall an exchange of a text I sent to Hope Hicks in which I asked if she called Pecker. I don't remember if I spoke to Pecker, Westerhout says.
@TylerMcBrien We see a Jan. 27, 2017 email from Westerhout to Graff.

"Can you please send this to Alan Weiselberg from the president? He sent to his family and wanted Alan to see it as well. First time boarding Air Force One!"

The attachment is a New York Times article.
@TylerMcBrien Now we're on the subject of the checks. The checks were initially sent to Keith Schiller then to Westerhout to deliver to Trump.

She sometimes saw Trump sign the checks in his office. She does not recall a specific time when a check wasn't sent back.
@TylerMcBrien I think I remember times when he had a question about a check and would call Weiselberg or someone else at the Trump Organization for clarification, Westerhout testifies.
@TylerMcBrien We see an April 6, 2017 email from Graff to Westerhout. Here is the FedEx label you requested, Graff wrote. Hope it works [winky face].

The FedEx label is addressed to Rebecca Manochio, while the return recipient is Keith Schiller.
@TylerMcBrien Another email from Westerhout to Graff, this time on July 18, 2017. Can someone send me a FedEx label to send back the checks the president just signed? Westerhout wrote in the email.
@TylerMcBrien Email from Feb. 2, 2017.

Subject: Winged Foot Golf Club

Rhona, can you help me with this? Let me know if I should call them directly, Westerhout wrote to Graff.
@TylerMcBrien Now we see an invoice from Winged Foot Golf Club.

Graff wrote: Dear Mr. President, if winged foot will allow me to suspend you membership for 4-8 years do you want me to look into it or do you want me to continue paying annual dues?

Trump wrote in black marker: PAY
@TylerMcBrien Mangold shows an email exchange between Graff and Westerhout about a letter Trump wanted framed. They discuss whether to purchase a "pricey" frame from Tiffany's, the luxury jeweller.

"We may have made the decision without his approval."

"Sorry, sir," Westerhout adds.
@TylerMcBrien Mangold turns to the subject of Melania Trump. "I remember thinking their relationship was really special...they laughed a lot."

She would sometimes text Westerhout and say "It's past dinnertime, when is my husband coming home?"
@TylerMcBrien Now Westerhout discusses why she left the White House. She says she went to what she thought was an off-the-record dinner and said some things she shouldn't have said. It cost her her job.
@TylerMcBrien Westerhout says she has "grown a lot" since that "youthful indiscretion." She breaks down in tears.

Mangold, pressing on, asks Westerhout about the book she wrote about her time in the White House, called "Off the Record."
@TylerMcBrien She wanted to write it because she thought Trump had been treated "unfairly," she says. She wanted the American people to know what he's really like. Westerhout cries as she says this.
@TylerMcBrien Necheles is up for cross examination.

You made a mistake, right? Yes.
You thought Trump was a good President? Yes.
@TylerMcBrien You testified that the Access Hollywood tape rattled the RNC leadership? That's my recollection.
Everyone was freaking out, but not Trump, right? Right.
He just kept working and running to win the Presidency? Yes.
You recall him apologizing for "locker room" talk? Yes.
@TylerMcBrien This was a hectic time? Yes.
You were not involved in his business? No.
You were just involved in the political side? Yes.
And you knew he had to put business aside to become President? Yes.
And he only had months to do that? About 2.5 months.
@TylerMcBrien After transition, you moved to the White House? Yes.
First time working closely w/ Trump? Yes.
What was that like? Amazing. He never once made me feel like I didn't deserve that job or that I didn't deserve to be there. "He was a really good boss."
@TylerMcBrien You were asked about the way Trump interacted with his family. He had close relationship w/ children? Yes.
He cared a great deal about them? Yes.
And his wife? Yes.
@TylerMcBrien Westerhout says there were times during the day when Trump would speak on the phone to Melania. He would call her from the Oval and tell her to come over to the window from their home in the Resident. They would wave at each other.
@TylerMcBrien Trump was signing tremendous amount of documents during that time? Yes.
And you coordinated with Rhona Graff at the Trump Org? Yes.
But it didn't have to do with Trump Org business? Right.
Had to do w/ his personal stuff? Yes.
@TylerMcBrien Merchan, ever punctual, interrupts to say that it's time to break for the day.

He gives the usual instructions to the jurors.

"I'll see you tomorrow at 9:30," he tells the jurors before they rise to file out of the room.
@TylerMcBrien The jurors are done, but the parties are not.

Merchan says we'll take a 10 minute break. When we return, I assume Blanche will raise the issues he alluded to at lunch regarding (1) Renewed mistrial motion, (2) blocking McDougal's testimony, and (3) a gag order matter.
@TylerMcBrien Blanche: The People have informed the defense that it no longer intends to call Karen McDougal to testify.
@TylerMcBrien Now Blanche asks Merchan to modify the gag order so that it does not apply to Stormy Daniels now that her testimony is complete. Daniels appeared on a political TV show last night, he says, and Trump should be allowed to respond to the America people.
@TylerMcBrien Conroy, for the prosecution, pushes back on Blanche's request. This is a legal proceeding and if someone wants to respond to something said in this room, then it should happen in this room, not out there.
@TylerMcBrien Merchan seems to agree with Conroy. He says that he's not just concerned w/ protecting witnesses like Daniels. He's concerned w/ protecting this proceeding. He can't take Blanche's word for it that Trump won't attack Daniels: "Your client's track record speaks for itself."
@TylerMcBrien Merchan denies the motion to modify the gag order.
@TylerMcBrien Now Blanche moves to the motion for mistrial based on Daniels' testimony. Daniels' testimony this week is different from what she said about her encounter with Trump at the time of the NDA, Blanche argues. And the prosecution elicited too much detail from her.
@TylerMcBrien Blanche mentions, for example, the prosecution asking about Daniels supposedly spanking Trump with a magazine. And he says they elicited too much detail about the hotel suite -- what the inside of the bathroom in Trump's suite looked like, for example.
@TylerMcBrien And the story Daniels told on the stand is not the story that Rodriguez, Howard, and Cohen were told back when the NDA was formed. So it's not relevant, Blanche insists.
@TylerMcBrien He continues to listing testimony that he finds objectionable: Daniels saying she felt like she was in a funhouse, and that she "blacked out" during sexual encounter w/ Trump.
@TylerMcBrien She talked about power imbalance, Blanche says, but none of that goes to motive or intent because that's not what she was saying at the time of the NDA.
@TylerMcBrien After many of these anecdotes, Merchan interjects, there was an objection and it was sustained.

That doesn't excuse the conduct, Blanche says. He thinks it's still "so prejudicial" against Trump.
@TylerMcBrien The question about Trump not wearing a condom was a "dog whistle" for rape, Blanche complains.

Conroy stands to respond for the prosecution. "Ok, that was a lot," he says. But I'll try to respond to it.
@TylerMcBrien The claim of changing the story is extraoridnarily untrue. There may be details stated in one form but not in another. Or details omitted from one interview for one form like an entertainment magazine that weren't omitted from more detailed interview as a part of investigation.
@TylerMcBrien So the idea that Daniels' story is radically differents is not true.

What's more, Conroy continues, the details regarding the hotel room and events both before and after the sexual act were necessary to corroborate her story. The defense has sought to attack her credibility.
@TylerMcBrien Correction: It's Steinglass, not Conroy, arguing for the prosecution rn. They look nothing alike and have different voices. Many ppl are saying my brain is functioning very well as the clock ticks toward 5 pm. Some are even saying this is the best my brain has ever functioned.]
@TylerMcBrien Anyway --

Steinglass continues his monologue arguing against Blanche's motion for a mistrial. "We have very faithfully adhered to your honours rulings, and even took additional details out" of the questions the prosecution intended to ask Daniels.
@TylerMcBrien Merchan announces his ruling. Following the motion for mistrial on Tuesday, he says, he went back to chambers and looked at the transcripts and pre-trial motions to make sure everyone had followed his guidelines and that no one had violated his rules.
@TylerMcBrien And he notes that in opening statements, Blanche claimed that Daniels' sexual encounter with Trump never occurred. The state doesn't have to prove it occurred, Merchan says, but they have the right to rehabilitate her and corroborate her story.
@TylerMcBrien There were times when Necheles could have objected during Daniels' testimony, Merchan continues, but she didn't. And there were times when the court sua sponte objected. For some unexplained reason, there was no objection to certain testimony used for motion for mistrial.
@TylerMcBrien I agree the detail about the condom should not have come out, Justice Merchan says. But "for the life of me" I don't know why Ms. Necheles didn't object.

Yikes.
@TylerMcBrien What's more, the witness immediately said that there was no coercive force and that she didn't feel threatened. And Necheles elicited that same testimony over and over again on cross, he observes.
"Your motion for a mistrial is denied," Justice Merchan announces.

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More from @AnnaBower

Jan 3
BREAKING: Justice Merchan orders Donald Trump be sentenced on Jan. 10 before his inauguration as President.

nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFs/pre…
“ORDERED, that defendant appear for sentencing following conviction on January 10, 2025…”

Trump can appear virtually or in person, per order. Image
Justice Merchan says he is *not* inclined to sentence Trump to serve jail time, noting the prosecution’s concession that incarceration is no longer a “practicable” recommendation given Trump’s election as President. Image
Read 5 tweets
Nov 18, 2024
NEW: The Georgia Court of Appeals has canceled the Dec. 5 oral argument it previously scheduled to hear Trump’s appeal seeking to disqualify Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis.

Argument is canceled “until further order of this court.” Image
The court previously granted a request for oral argument—and as recently as last month extended the time allotted to the parties for argument.

Unclear what precipitated the hearing’s cancellation. But the court *can* issue a ruling based on the briefs without oral argument.
I’m not sure what to make of this, but one possibility (of many): In June, Willis filed a motion to dismiss the appeal as improvidently granted. Possible the court cancelled argument bc it intends to grant that motion and dismiss the appeal without reaching the merits. But 🤷🏻‍♀️
Read 4 tweets
Nov 5, 2024
NEW: A Trump-appointed judge has rejected the RNC’s claim that some GA counties violated the law by accepting in-person delivery of absentee ballots over the weekend. The claim "does not withstand even the most basic level of statutory review and reading comprehension," he said.
The ruling followed an hours-long hearing before Judge Stan Baker, a federal court judge appointed by Trump.

The RNC & GA GOP already lost a similar suit filed in state court last week.

Both suits were filed by Alex Kaufman, who was involved in Trump's 2020 post-election efforts. Kaufman sat in on the infamous call in which Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes. The Fulton Co. special grand jury recommended that DA Fani Willis seek indictments against Kaufman, but he was not charged.
Read 8 tweets
Oct 31, 2024
NEW: At a church in rural Georgia, attendees were informed that they are battling a “spiritual war” against election fraud.

Then they were told how to fight back: show up en masse to pressure local officials to withhold certification of the election.

lawfaremedia.org/article/david-…
To demonstrate how it would work, a former law professor simulated a local elections meeting.

Attendees role-played large-scale civil disobedience, crowding around a volunteer to physically block law enforcement from removing her from the faux meeting. lawfaremedia.org/article/david-…
This scene unfolded during an “election integrity” training I attended last month at Grace Covenant church in Hogansville, Georgia. But thousands of people across the country have attended similar trainings hosted by the former professor, David Clements.
lawfaremedia.org/article/david-…
Read 16 tweets
Oct 6, 2024
Folks, Georgia law does not allow rogue local officials to exclude entire polling precincts from being counted. There’s longstanding case law on that issue. If officials refuse to count a precinct, a mandamus action will surely follow and they will be compelled to certify.
As I’ve written for @lawfare, the Georgia Supreme Court confronted this issue more than a century ago after local officials tried to exclude an entire precinct in an effort to help their candidate win. The court forced them to count *all* precincts.

lawfaremedia.org/article/will-g…Image
Image
@lawfare I’ve also written that local officials can cause chaos simply by *trying* to use the State Election Board rules as pretext to disrupt certification. But we need to be clear about the actual legal effect of the rules and the likely outcome in court.

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
Read 6 tweets
Oct 1, 2024
Coming up at 9 am ET: Judge Robert McBurney is set to hold a hearing on the legality of several controversial rules adopted by Georgia’s State Election Board.

I previewed some of the legal issues at play last week. Catch up and follow along at 9👇⬇️ 🧵

lawfaremedia.org/article/will-g…
The bench trial will be live-streamed, but there's no live-stream feed yet. I'll post when it's up. 2/
There are several suits challenging rules recently adopted by the State Election Board. The suit was brought by, among others, the Georgia Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee. It seeks clarification of the rules concerning election certification. 3/
Read 42 tweets

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