Stormy Daniels Wants to Testify Against Trump in Trial—'Look Forward to It'

Stormy Daniels said she would "absolutely" testify against Donald Trump in his hush money trial if asked to do so.

Daniels made the remark in an interview with Piers Morgan, a preview of which was shared by the British journalist ahead of its broadcast in full on Thursday night.

On Tuesday, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's probe. The probe focused on a $130,000 payment that Trump arranged for his former attorney, Michael Cohen to pay Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair she had with the president. Trump also denies having an affair with Daniels in 2006.

When asked about potential testifying in a trial against Trump, Daniels said: "Anytime you're up in the public eye, it's scary. I used to get scared giving an oral book report in school. I mean, it's daunting, but I look forward to it. Because I have nothing to hide. I'm the only one that has been telling the truth. And they can't shame me even more."

When asked by Morgan again whether she would testify in the historic trial if asked to do so, Daniels replied: "Oh, absolutely."

Daniels' lawyer previously confirmed that the adult film star had spoken to the district attorney's office to answer questions and agreed to make herself available as a witness if necessary.

Daniels did not testify in front of the grand jury that voted to indict Trump in March.

During her interview with Morgan, Daniels said there is a risk that the prosecution would paint her as being "untrustworthy or not reliable" if she does not testify seeing as she is such a key figure in the case.

"Having them call me in and put me on a stand legitimizes my story and who I am, Daniels said. "And if they don't, it almost feels like they're hiding me and people automatically assume—I would—that, 'Oh, she must not be a good witness who's not credible.'"

Any hush money trial involving the former president is almost certain not to take place until next year at least.

During Tuesday's proceedings, Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan set a date of December 4 for the former president to next appear in court.

Prosecutors had also asked the judge to set a trial for January 2024, a date which legal experts suggest is unlikely.

"It's the defendant's right to a speedy trial—and we know Trump will want to push this out for a couple of reasons," Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers told Newsweek.

"One is that he feels it will help in the 2024 race, and if he wins, it's obviously well-established that no sitting president can be prosecuted," Rahmani said. "So for strategic reasons, I think they'll try to push this out. It could be a years-long process.

"Our criminal justice system is slow, and there is only so much you can do to move things along. I'm not confident we'll be seeing a trial by January 2024."

Update 04/06/23, 7:27 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment by Neama Rahmani.