Trump lawyers try to paint Stormy Daniels as being driven by greed - but it may not even matter

By Lukas I. Alpert

The question of what motivated the adult-film star to divulge her story of a liaison with Trump may not be a crucial to his hush-money criminal trial

Donald Trump's defense team has tried to hammer at the credibility of star witness Stormy Daniels - but her motivation for telling her story of having an affair with the former president may not ultimately be key to his hush-money criminal case.

The felony charges against Trump focus exclusively on an alleged effort to cover up the $130,000 that was given to Daniels to keep her quiet, a payment that the defense has not questioned.

Daniels' story became a central component of prosecutors' case because hers was the only one of several "catch-and-kill" payments made by Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen, who was later reimbursed by Trump himself.

The criminal case, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, specifically focuses on a series of checks written by Trump to Cohen and the allegedly falsified ledger entries that were made to appear to be for legal fees.

While Trump's attorneys have accused Daniels of being driven by greed and having tried to extort Trump and capitalize on his fame, the case rests more importantly on whether the payments to her were made - and not on the veracity of her salacious story.

In her testimony on Thursday, Daniels forcefully denied being motivated by greed in divulging details of a liaison she said happened in 2006 at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for allegedly trying to hide the money trail leading to payments to buy the silence of Daniels and others alleging affairs.

The other payments had been made by the National Enquirer to buy the rights to the stories of former Playboy Bunny Karen McDougal and a Trump building doorman, but which the tabloid never ran.

Cohen had earlier pleaded guilty in a separate federal case to campaign-finance violations and tax charges for his role in the alleged coverup. Cohen is expected to testify later in Trump's trial in Manhattan Supreme Court.

"You are continuing, to this day, to make money off a story that you promised would put President Trump in jail?" attorney Susan Necheles asked Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

"No," Daniels replied.

In questioning that has often grown heated, Necheles pointed to several instances where Daniels made money from her story, starting with the money she was allegedly paid by Cohen after she had approached the National Enquirer to sell her story.

The payoff came just weeks ahead of the 2016 presidential election as Trump was dealing with the negative fallout from the release of an audio tape of him making sexually charged statements off camera to the host of the TV show "Access Hollywood."

The payment to Daniels later came to light in stories by the Wall Street Journal that uncovered a series of payments made to bury stories alleging affairs by Trump, involving the Enquirer and a tabloid practice known as a "catch and kill."

Necheles also noted that Daniels later made hundreds of thousands of dollars from her 2018 book "Full Disclosure," plus more from strip-tease tours and Trump-themed merchandise.

Daniels said she only agreed to accepting the payment from Cohen in order to protect herself and her family. Daniels has said she was once threatened by a man in a parking lot when she first tried to come forward with her story in 2011.

On Thursday, she said that despite the money she made subsequent to the story coming out, her experience was ultimately more negative, given the abuse she has faced, than if she had stayed silent.

Necheles also questioned whether Daniels' experience as an adult-film star gave her "a lot of experience in making phony stories about sex appear real."

"The sex in those films is real, just like the sex in that room," Daniels replied. "The character themes might be different, but the sex is very real. That's why it's pornography, not a B movie."

In testimony earlier in the week, Necheles had questioned Daniels about hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees she was ordered to pay Trump after an earlier defamation suit she had filed against him had been dismissed.

The Associated Press contributed.

-Lukas I. Alpert

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05-09-24 1447ET

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