Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who received $130,000 in 2016 in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump, has been called to the stand to testify in the former president’s trial.
The 2016 payment to Daniels was made by Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney at the time, just days before the 2016 election. He subsequently received monthly payments of $35,000 for a year, which prosecutors have said were reimbursements for the “hush money” payment to Daniels.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from those reimbursements to Cohen. Trump’s defense attorneys have argued the money was to cover Cohen’s fees as the president’s personal lawyer. Trump has also denied having sex with Daniels.
Daniels’ turn on the stand comes one day after two Trump Organization bookkeepers testified about their roles in arranging the payments to Cohen.