Madeleine Westerhout, Trump’s former executive assistant, leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on May 9, 2024 in New York City.
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A former top White House aide with intimate knowledge of Donald Trump’s operations in the Oval Office will continue to testify Friday in the former president’s criminal hush-money trial.
Madeleine Westerhout appeared in court for the first time on Thursday, detailing Trump’s work habits and confirming a list of high-profile contacts compiled for Trump in 2017. ” producer Lorne Michaels, quarterback Tom Brady and tennis great Serena Williams.
The list also includes former tabloid publisher David Pecker and Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen. The two men are at the center of Manhattan prosecutors’ case in which Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments as part of a scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election.
On May 9, 2024, former US President Trump was tried in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on suspicion of covering up hush money related to extramarital affairs. After the trial, he spoke to the media.
Angela Weiss | via Reuters
Westerhout painted a flattering portrait of Trump, praising his work ethic and his relationship with his wife, Melania Trump.Westerhout cried as he described his ordeal. fired In 2019, after criticizing Trump’s family during a dinner with reporters.
Her portrayal of Trump as a devoted husband contrasted with the testimony of porn star Stormy Daniels. Shortly before Westerhout took the stand, Daniels testified that she had a sexual relationship with Trump, who was married at the time, in 2006 and was later paid $130,000 for her silence before the 2016 election.
In more than seven hours of testimony, Daniels described a one-night stand with Trump in vivid detail. She also clashed with Trump’s lawyers, who cross-examined her as she later tried to sell her story.
There are lighter moments too.
At one point, Trump’s lawyer told Daniels, “You have a lot of experience in creating false stories about sex,” alluding to Daniels’ work in adult films and later writing scripts for pornographic films.
“Wow. That’s not what I said,” Daniels countered. “The sex in the movie is very real. It’s like what happened to me in that room with Trump.”
Trump’s lawyers requested a mistrial for the second time in two days after the jury was absent that day. And, for the second time in two days, the request was denied.
Judge Juan Merchant also denied Trump’s request to modify the gag order to allow the former president to publicly attack Daniels after she completed her testimony. Trump is currently prohibited from making statements about any witnesses in the trial.
“My concern is protecting the integrity of the entire proceeding, not just protecting individual witnesses before they testify,” said Merchin, who has held Trump in contempt of court 10 times for violating the gag order.
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