Donald Trump's attorney Susan Necheles accidentally played the wrong audio recording while conducting cross-examination of Stormy Daniels on Thursday.
Daniels, the adult film actor at the heart of the former president's hush-money criminal trial, completed her testimony on Thursday after roughly two-and-a-half hours today and several hours on Tuesday.
Newsweek's Katherine Fung reported from inside the courtroom that Necheles played the "wrong tape" of an exchange between Daniels' former lawyer, Keith Davidson, and Michael Cohen.
It prompted Judge Juan Merchan to warn Necheles, "Can you look at the transcript before you play the tape?"
Reporter Adam Klasfeld posted from the courtroom that the tape involved Davidson conversing with Cohen via phone and asking about the purported $130,000 payment, asking if there was "ever any indication that the money was coming from him [Trump]."
Davidson told Cohen he was also asked whether the ex-president's former "fixer" had conversations with Trump about the alleged payment, to which Davidson said "no."
"And why would an attorney have ever asked opposing counsel what kind of conversations they had with their client?" Davidson said in the recording. "Like, that's between them to the extent that it happened or didn't happen. I have no idea."
Prosecutors objected to the tape being played, and it was sustained by Merchan. Both sides then approached the bench.
Necheles apologized to Merchan and said she "pulled up the wrong one [tape]," reported Klasfeld.
Necheles plays the wrong tape between Keith Davidson and Michael Cohen, which prompts the judge to warn her, "Can you look at the transcript before you play the tape?"
— Katherine Fung (@katherinekfung) May 9, 2024
She proceeded to play another tape for the jury, in which Cohen is again heard conversing via phone with Davidson about Daniels' alleged anger over not receiving money quickly enough with the 2016 presidential election fast approaching.
On the recording, Davidson says to Cohen: "You better settle this god**** story. [Trump's] going to lose the election. If he loses this election, we lose all f****** leverage. Settle this f****** case."
Daniels refuted Necheles' allegation that she was trying to pressure Davidson in the phone call, saying on the stand that she "never yelled" at her former lawyer.
Before the cross-examination concluded, Necheles asked Daniels multiple questions about her career and the adult videos she has appeared in and directed.
Trump's attorney suggested that Daniels is well-versed in making "phony stories about sex" appear "real."
"Wow," Daniels said. "That's not how I would put it. The sex in those films is very real—just like what happened in that room."
Asked if Daniels fabricated her story about Trump, the actor responded that she would have written a "better" story.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
