Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels takes the stand

Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center of former US President Donald Trump's hush money trial, took the stand in New York on Tuesday.

Daniels, 45, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims to have had sex with Trump in July 2006, while he was married, and said the former US President paid her $130,000 in "hush money" to remain silent about the affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump, 77, is accused of manipulating financial records to conceal the payment, which he denies. Indeed he denies having had any sexual relationship with the adult film star.

In her testimony, Daniels described her first meeting with Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in July 2006 and a subsequent dinner.

Stormy Daniels recalls first meeting with Trump

Recounting her first meeting with Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Tahoe in 2006, Daniels described an initial "very brief encounter."

After that, she said she met him again in a hotel suite, where she said Trump remembered her "specifically" because "I was the smart one."

Later, she recalls, one of Trump's assistants, bodyguard Keith Schiller, told her that Trump wanted to meet her for dinner and took her phone number.

Daniels said that, after initially declining the invitation, she was eventually convinced to go for dinner by her publicist, who cited Trump's fame.

Daniels describes hotel dinner

Daniels said the dinner date took place in Trump's penthouse suite in the hotel. She said he had been wearing satin pajamas when he arrived, but she told him to change clothes, which he did, according to Daniel's account.

While at the dining table in the suite, she said Trump asked her "business-like" questions about her work in the adult film industry, as well as about her family and upbringing.

During their dinner, Daniels recalls that Trump suggested she appear on The Apprentice, his reality TV show.

According to Daniels, Trump said she reminded him of his daughter, Ivanka.

Daniels said that, during the dinner, she told Trump off for interrupting her. She then claimed Trump dared her to "spank" him and that she obliged, hitting him with a magazine. Trump, sitting at the defendant's table, appeared to deny this.

Daniels testifies that she had sex with Trump

After a brief morning break, during which Judge Juan Merchan warned prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, who was questioning Daniels, that "the degree of detail we are going into is unnecessary" and told her to "move it along," Daniels continued her testimony with a description of her alleged sexual activity with Trump.

Daniels said she didn't feel physically or verbally threatened by Trump but that she had perceived an "imbalance of power" given that Trump was "bigger and blocking the way."

"The next thing I know was: I was on the bed," Daniels recalled. However, Trump's legal team raised immediate objections to the vivid level of detail.

Trump, who reportedly appeared restless and fidgety at the defendant's table, has always denied any sexual encounter with Daniels.

Eventually, Hoffinger resorted to more basic "yes" or "no" questions.

After the "brief" encounter, Daniels said she was shaking and that she "just wanted to leave."

She claimed Trump said: "Oh it was great, let's get together again."

Trump trial now in third week

So far in the trial, which is now into its third week of witness testimonies, jurors have heard from a series of witnesses from Trump's entourage during his 2016 presidential campaign.

On Monday, Judge Merchan found Trump to be in contempt of court for a second time, fining him $1,000 for another violation of a gag order. Last week, he had been fined $9,000 for nine further violations after making a series of inflammatory out-of-court comments about witnesses and jurors.

Merchan warned the former president that any more violations could be punished with jail time "if necessary and appropriate."

mf/ab (Reuters, AP)