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Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has resumed at Manhattan Criminal Court following Wednesday’s recess, beginning with the porn star Stormy Daniels returning to the witness stand to face more cross-examination from the defendant’s lawyers.
Ms Daniels sparred with defense attorney Susan Necheles over alleged inconsistencies in the various tellings of her sexual encounter with Mr Trump in 2006 but remained calm and firm in her testimony.
Earlier in cross-examination, she was confronted about whether she “hates” Mr Trump and wants to see him in jail – to which she replied she wants to see him held accountable for his actions.
On Tuesday the defence moved for a mistrial citing Ms Daniels’ “prejudicial” evidence, which was denied by Judge Juan Merchan.
Taking the stand later in the day was Madeleine Westerhout, Mr Trump’s “gatekeeper” and former director of Oval Office operations during the administration. She cried as she fondly recalled her time working for him.
Motions for a lifting of the gag order relating to Ms Daniels and another attempt at a mistrial were denied by Judge Merchan.
Alex Woodward is covering Mr Trump’s trial in Manhattan and will be providing regular updates on proceedings.
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Graig Graziosi has the story:
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Stormy Daniels’ tweets, Make America Horny Again, a failed mistrial bid: Takeaways from Trump trial day 14
Hyper-online red-pill Republicans are causing headaches for Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell may be retiring, but he’s hammering home the “candidate quality” argument one more time. Meanwhile, Republican candidates in races across the country are taking a turn for the weird, sharing AI-generated pictures and referring to the entire Democratic Party as “terrorist sympathizers”.
John Bowden has the story:
Ex-White House ‘gatekeeper’ cries on stand as she testifies about Trump firing her
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Feature: Roy Cohn — the ruthless McCarthy lieutenant-turned-Trump mentor
Sheila Flynn writes:
He was a lawyer with a two-syllable name, a colourfully complicated personal life and a Rasputin-like grip on United States politics – especially in New York.
The very mention of Roy Cohn during his four decades of headline ubiquity could spark anything from anger to hatred to fear; his shadowy legend persists nearly 40 years after the death of a man dubbed a “new strain of sonofabitch” – by his own autobiography co-author, no less.
Read on…
Roy Cohn, the ‘evil’ McCarthy lieutenant who got Trump elected
Decades before Trump erected his Tower, an insidiously well-connected New York power-player was cutting a ruthless path through US society, politics and courtroom battles. A new film debuting at Cannes charts Roy Cohn’s outsized influences on America and the 45th president, writes Sheila Flynn
Full story: Judge denies Trump’s attempt to lift gag order so he can ‘respond’ to Stormy Daniels testimony
Lawyers for the former president argued that since a key witness – adult film actress Stormy Daniels – has now left the stand, the order should be lifted so Mr Trump can “respond” to her testimony.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case, denied the motion on Thursday, saying he was concerned about “attacks” on Ms Daniels and other witnesses. He added: that he was also concerned with “protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole.”
Continue reading…
Source: independent.co.uk
