Hamas and Putin and Iran are gleefully giggling at how the Jewish response has gone so far. It is obvious to anyone like Hamas, or Iran or Putin that all they need now is about 100 more October 7th attacks and Israel will be gone.
However, I think 100 October 7ths will bring the nuking of Tehran by Israel.
Netanyahu has played right into Hamas' well engineered plans to drive Israel into the sea over the next 10 years or more.
Takeaways from Stormy Daniels’ testimony at the Trump hush money trial
Trump's former attorney has a warning for him about testifying
00:45
Ex-Trump aide on how Melania could react to the hush money trial
02:32
Ex-Nixon White House counsel on what Trump would likely have to address if he takes the stand
01:55
Kaitlan Collins describes Trump's reaction to Daniels' testimony
01:51
Why a defense attorney thinks Judge Merchan didn't jail Trump over gag order
01:20
'Duh': CNN reporter reacts to David Pecker court admission
01:56
Trump lawyer makes admission under questioning from Justice Amy Coney Barrett
02:06
Reporter details moment that got a laugh from Trump in court
01:37
Justice Jackson warns of Oval Office 'crime center' at immunity hearing
02:32
Watch: Mitch McConnell blasts Tucker Carlson over Ukraine bill
00:36
'Full 9-alarm fire': Honig reacts to transcript of testimony from Trump hush money trial
02:23
George Conway on what struck him about Trump's gag order hearing
06:49
How Michael Cohen and Trump went from friends to foes
02:29
Sketch artist details how Trump's attention changed after hearing Karen McDougal's name
01:22
Haberman on why David Pecker testifying is 'fundamentally different'
01:20
Why Trump is upset about what's happening outside the NY courthouse
01:10
Trump's former attorney has a warning for him about testifying
00:45
Ex-Trump aide on how Melania could react to the hush money trial
02:32
Ex-Nixon White House counsel on what Trump would likely have to address if he takes the stand
01:55
Kaitlan Collins describes Trump's reaction to Daniels' testimony
01:51
Why a defense attorney thinks Judge Merchan didn't jail Trump over gag order
01:20
'Duh': CNN reporter reacts to David Pecker court admission
01:56
CNN
—
Adult film star Stormy Daniels dished out salacious details of her alleged sexual encounter with former President Donald Trump
in 2006 from the witness stand on Tuesday, describing how they met at a
celebrity golf tournament and what she says happened when she went to
Trump’s Lake Tahoe hotel room.
In a mostly casual and conversational tone, Daniels
recounted details from the floors and furniture in Trump’s hotel room to
the contents of his toiletry kit in the bathroom. At one point in
court, Daniels threw back her arm and lifted her leg in the witness box
to re-create the moment she says Trump posed on his hotel bed for her,
stripped down to his undergarments.
But some of the details Daniels described were so explicit that Judge Juan Merchan
cut her off at several points. And Trump’s lawyers argued that Daniels
had unfairly prejudiced the jury, asking Merchan to declare a
mistrial. The judge denied the request but added that some of the
details from Daniels were “better left unsaid.”
Crucially, however, Daniels also testified about the
interest that Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen seemed to have
had in buying her story after the “Access Hollywood” tape came out just
before the 2016 election.
The adult film star will be back on the witness stand when
the trial resumes Thursday. Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles will resume
her cross-examination of Daniels following nearly 90 minutes of tense
questioning Tuesday afternoon.
Stormy Daniels describes sexual encounter in detail
On Tuesday morning, Daniels walked the jury through the
details of her 2006 encounter with Trump in his hotel room, where the
adult film star says she slept with Trump. (Trump has denied the
affair.)
Daniels described what was in Trump’s hotel room, including
the black-and-white tile floor and the big mahogany table in the center
of the foyer. She described the dinner conversation – she was impressed
Trump asked about the business of the adult film industry, not just the
sex.
She also told jurors about when she “spanked” Trump “right on the butt” with a copy of one of his magazines.
Daniels then said that after she went to the bathroom, she
emerged to find Trump on the hotel bed in his boxers and a T-shirt. “At
first I was just startled, like a jump scare. I wasn’t expecting someone
to be there, especially minus a lot of clothing,” she testified.
She said that Trump “stood up between me and the door. Not
in a threatening manner. He didn’t come at me, he didn’t rush at me.
Nothing like that.” Daniels said she blacked out while they had sex: “I
had my clothes and my shoes off. I removed my bra. We were in missionary
position.”
Kaitlan Collins describes Trump's reaction to Daniels' testimony
At this point, the judge cut off Daniels from getting into
any further detail. It was one of several objections he sustained either
on his own or at Trump’s attorneys’ request.
Daniels went on to testify that she was “shaking” while she
got dressed and made sure to have future meetings with Trump in public.
Daniels said that while she told lots of people she met Trump and went
to his hotel room, she confided in very few people about the sexual
encounter, in part because she was “ashamed.”
Overall, the testimony was so lengthy and detailed that
Merchan cautioned Daniels on multiple occasions to slow down and listen
to the questions and answer them briefly. A prosecutor also gave Daniels
instructions specifically to stay focused while answering questions.
Hush money came after ‘Access Hollywood’ tape controversy
Daniels would go on to describe how she stayed touch with
Trump, even coming to briefly see him at Trump Tower to talk about the
“Celebrity Apprentice” reality show.
Daniels said that in 2015, after Trump began running for
president, her then-publicist Gina Rodriguez tried to sell her story.
But Rodriguez didn’t find much interest until after the “Access
Hollywood” tape of Trump was released in October 2016 – eventually
leading to the discussions with AMI and then Michael Cohen, who paid
Daniels $130,000 not to go public with her case.
Daniels confirmed that the contract agreement between Peggy
Peterson and David Dennison used pseudonyms for her and Trump, and that
she signed the agreement.
Under that agreement, Daniels said she did not comment on
news stories about the AMI deals or any affairs, saying she felt bound
by the nondisclosure agreement she signed with Cohen.
She also explained how she was not truthful when she denied
that she had an affair with Trump in statements released in 2018 after
the hush money payment became public. She says she signed a statement
before going on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in a way she’s never signed her name
before as a “tip off” to the late-night talk show host.
“Is this statement false?” prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked on Tuesday.
“Yes,” Daniels said.
Judge denies Trump’s mistrial motion
Trump’s lawyers argued the judge should declare a mistrial after the morning of salacious testimony from Daniels.
Trump still vehemently denies the allegations, his attorney
Todd Blanche said, arguing there was no way to “un-ring that bell” for
jurors who have now heard unfairly prejudicial testimony. Blanche argued
that the testimony had nothing to do with the district attorney’s case
about falsifying business records.
“This is the kind of testimony that makes it impossible to
come back from, not even talking about the fact that we’re talking about
somebody (who) is going to go out and campaign this afternoon,” Blanche
said, adding that media outlets were already reporting at lunch about
Daniels’ narrative of events.
“How can we come back from this in a way that’s fair to President Trump?” Blanche challenged.
Reporter details moment that got a laugh from Trump in court
Hoffinger said the testimony was “highly probative of the
defendant’s intent” and Trump’s “motive for paying this off.”
Merchan ultimately denied the mistrial motion but said he felt Daniels was a difficult witness to control.
“I do think there are something things that would have been
better left unsaid. Having said that, I don’t believe we’re at a point
where a mistrial is warranted,” he said.
Merchan also said he showed his alignment with the defense
in sustaining most of their objections during the testimony – and that
he was surprised there weren’t more objections.
“The defense has to take some responsibility for that,” Merchan said.
Trump signaled his lawyers’ strategy during the lunch break,
posting on Truth Social: “THE PROSECUTION, WHICH HAS NO CASE, HAS GONE
TOO FAR. MISTRIAL!”
Defense accuses Daniels of lying for profit
Trump attorney Necheles didn’t take long to challenge
Daniels’ story in cross-examination, accusing the adult film actress of
hating Trump.
“Am I correct that you hate President Trump?” Necheles asked
“Yes,” Daniels said.
“You want him to go to jail?” Necheles continued.
“I want him to be held accountable,” Daniels responded.
Daniels’ body language was tense and her tone notably
shifted as Necheles attempted to dismantle her credibility. Daniels gave
short, terse answers to many of her questions, defiantly responding
“false” and “no” while disputing Necheles’ assertions that she had made
up details in her story or that she was trying to extort Trump.
Necheles, for instance, pressed Daniels about disobeying a
court order to pay Trump’s lawyer’s fees for filing a frivolous lawsuit,
and about whether she was making money from telling her story.
“You’ve been making money by claiming to have had sex with President Trump for more than a decade,” asked Necheles.
“I’ve been making money by telling my story about what happened to me,” Daniels said.
“That story has made you a lot of money, right?” Necheles asked.
“It’s also cost me a lot of money,” Daniels responded.
Daniels was combative with Necheles at multiple points, as
Trump’s attorney argued that she had made up a story about being
threatened by a man in Las Vegas in 2011 and that she was changing her
story depending on who was paying her.
Near the end of questioning Tuesday, Necheles equated the
$130,000 payment before the 2016 election to extortion – a similar line
of questioning Trump’s lawyers used with Daniels’ attorney, Keith
Davidson.
“You are looking to extort money from President Trump,” Necheles asked.
“False,” Daniels said, raising her voice.
“That’s what you did, right?” Necheles followed up.