NEW YORK (AP) — Porn performer Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday in the hush money case against Donald Trump, who looked on as she detailed their alleged sexual encounter and the payment she got to keep it quiet.
Prosecutors allege Trump paid Daniels to keep quiet about the claims as he ran for president in 2016. Her testimony aired them very publicly as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee seeks to win the White House again.
Trump denies having sex with Daniels, and his lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial midway through her testimony.
It’s the biggest spectacle yet in the first criminal trial of a former American president, now in its third week of testimony in Manhattan.
Here are some takeaways from Daniels’ testimony:
The case centers on a $130,000 payment to Daniels from Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 campaign. Prosecutors say it was part of a scheme to illegally influence the campaign by burying negative stories about him.
