Donald Trump's legal team made a number of errors while cross-examining adult film star Stormy Daniels during the former president's hush money trial on Tuesday, according to a legal expert.
Harry Litman, an attorney and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, suggested that Trump attorney Susan Necheles made some "textbook mistakes" while questioning Daniels about her alleged affair with Trump, which the former president denies.
Daniels testified at times with graphic details about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. The former president has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to the $130,000 hush money he arranged for his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to pay Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election. The payment was listed in Trump's company records as Cohen's "legal fees."
Speaking to MSNBC's All In With Chris Hayes, Litman suggested that Necheles gave Daniels too many opportunities to deny and answer "false" when pressed on accusations—such as the adult film star wanted to extort money from the former president—which disrupted the lawyer's performance in court.
"I mean, really textbook mistakes," Litman said. "You want a cross [examination] to be crisp and have the witness answer questions 'yes, correct, correct,' and when you get to the point where you've implied your line, that's when you stop and go to the next topic.
"She [Necheles] went for broke repeatedly ... and then she was stuck," Litman said. "And there were repeated sidebars also, so her rhythm—rhythm is everything on cross— her rhythm was repeatedly broken."
Trump's legal team has been contacted for comment via email.
Lawyer Lisa Rubin also suggested that Necheles was too "combative" with Daniels during cross-examination after Trump's counsel expressed frustration at Daniels' long-winded and often salacious testimony.
Trump's lawyers requested a mistrial on Tuesday based on suggestions Daniel's testimony was irrelevant to the falsifying business records case. The request was rejected by Judge Juan Merchan, who suggested Trump's counsel should have objected more while Daniels was answering questions.
"Necheles was combative with Stormy and the tone was nasty to a point that I think the jury will ultimately find empathy," Rubin told MSNBC.
"Stormy did get much more succinct in her answers, and almost was more emboldened by getting to answer leading questions—the fact that she can say 'false' and just stop right there."
Daniels is expected to return to the witness stand on Thursday when the trial resumes at the New York courtroom.
Reacting to the proceedings, Norm Eisen, who served as a special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the former president's first impeachment, told Newsweek: "Tuesday's testimony was 'stormy' indeed, with rough weather for both the prosecution and the defense.
"But, by the end of the day, it was clear that the DA's case was continuing to sail through as it has throughout this trial."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
