At Trump trial

Daniels: “If the story was made up, it would be better”

This is how the court sketch artist captured the questioning of Stormy Daniels in court.

(Bild: AP)

In the hush money trial against former US President Donald Trump, former porn actress Stormy Daniels has denied that she spoke about her alleged sex affair with the former real estate mogul out of greed. "I wanted the truth to come out," Daniels said in court on Thursday. She had not made up the story, she explained, because otherwise she would have been "much better".

On the second day on the stand, Daniels was cross-examined by Trump's lawyers. She had wanted to monetize her story with her book published in 2018, Trump's defence claimed. She had received 800,000 dollars (around 742,000 euros in today's value) for this. The 45-year-old, however, replied that she had only wanted to document her story "so that my family would not be harmed".

Trump lawyer: "Experience in invented stories"
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles suggested that the former porn actress had "a lot of experience in making made-up stories about sex seem real". Daniels countered that if her story about Trump had been untrue, "I would have done a much better job".

Trump is facing criminal charges in various cases.

(Bild: AP/DailyMail.com/Curtis Means)

Trump denies sex with Daniels
The trial against the 77-year-old is the first criminal trial in history against an ex-US president. It concerns the alleged payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election - this payment is said to have been covered up by falsifying business documents. Trump has pleaded not guilty and also denies having sex with the former porn star.

On Thursday, Trump called the trial a "Frankenstein case" and once again complained about the speaking ban imposed on him. Trump is banned from making any statements with a potential impact on the proceedings about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff and prosecutors. The ex-president said his side had appealed against the ban, but did not give any details.

Sex affair account lasted five hours
Daniels had already described her alleged sex affair with the former real estate mogul for five hours on Tuesday. The accused Trump followed the testimony with a petrified face, but apparently also cursed in between - for which he received a warning from the judge.

The former porn actress Stormy Daniels

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Markus Schreiber)

In the New York courtroom, 45-year-old Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, gave a detailed account of her encounter with Trump during a golf tournament at Lake Tahoe in the west of the USA in 2006. According to Clifford's account, the former US president had invited her to his hotel suite. In court, she described Trump's "silk or satin pyjamas", the boxer shorts and that they had briefly had sex in the "missionary position" and without a condom. She also spanked the real estate entrepreneur with a magazine with a photo of him on the cover.

Daniels was "ashamed" of having sex with Trump
Trump did not "threaten her verbally or physically" at the time, the witness continued about their meeting at Lake Tahoe. However, there was a "power imbalance" between her and the 32-year-old real estate mogul. She was "ashamed" not to have stopped Trump and "not to have said no".

Promised appearance on television show
Trump, who was already married to his current wife Melania at the time and had recently had his son Barron with her, had talked to her about the porn industry, among other things, and was "very interested in business matters". He also suggested that she appear on his TV show "The Apprentice". According to Clifford, there were further meetings with Trump after that. She broke off contact when she realized that nothing would come of her appearance on his TV show.

During Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, she then wanted to go public with her Trump story. However, she then signed a confidentiality agreement negotiated with the then Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and received 130,000 dollars, Clifford reported. During her testimony, Clifford had looked Trump directly in the face several times, but he had not returned the look.

In addition to the hush money case, Trump, who wants to run again in the presidential election in November, is also criminally charged in three other cases. In these three cases, it is uncertain when the trials could begin.