(RepublicanReport.org) – On April 15, former President Donald Trump became the first ex-president to face criminal charges in court. The defendant was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to pay Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about their alleged affair during his 2016 election campaign. Recently, Ms. Daniels took the stand for the prosecution.
On May 9, the witness took the stand for a second time, giving a detailed account of her alleged one-night stand with the defendant. While most of those scandalous details will be left out of the jury’s deliberation and not affect the decision-making process, legal experts say Daniels’ most damning testimony was during cross-examination.
Conservative attorney and former Trump ally George Conway called the former president’s defense team cross-examination performance “embarrassing” and a “complete disaster.”
Conway said the lawyers kept trying to go after her on the stand but “didn’t have anything on her,” and the questioning went on for too long. He said a good defense team typically narrows its cross to a “few short lines of stuff that’s good,” and Trump’s team “didn’t do that.”
The commentator said the defense team’s biggest problem is their client — defendant Trump. He said the ex-president is focused on proving that he didn’t have an affair with Daniels — an effort Conway called “counterproductive.”
Although Trump’s lawyers tried to discredit her, Daniels seemed poised and quick on the stand, not taking the bait. Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman said Ms. Daniels was the one who “seemed more in control of the dynamic” than Trump’s attorney — a negative shift in power for the defense.
The defense called for two mistrials surrounding Daniels’ testimony, but Judge Juan Merchan denied both. While the judge admitted there were some questions that shouldn’t have been asked and answered, he ultimately said it was up to the defense to object—they didn’t. Merchan said he couldn’t understand why Trump’s attorneys didn’t try to block some of the prosecutors’ questions when it was their responsibility to do so.
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