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According to reports, we might hear from one of the prosecution’s star witnesses today: Stormy Daniels.
Daniels alleges that she and Trump had sex at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in 2006 shortly after Trump’s wife Melania gave birth to their son – a claim Trump denies.
Prosecutors say Trump directed his former lawyer Michael Cohen to pay her $130,000 in exchange for her silence.
Though the scandal will make for a fascinating day in court, experts say Daniels’ role as a witness is more limited, as she was never directly in touch with Trump about the hush-money payment.
Still, lawyers say, Daniels will play a crucial part in narrating the context that led up to the hush-money and its reimbursement – the heart of the District Attorney’s case
“She’s the piece of the puzzle that you need in terms of understanding why there would have been a payoff,” former Brooklyn prosecutor Julie Rendelman tells me.
Experts say Daniels will also help corroborate testimony from Cohen, whose credibility will likely be in question because of his criminal convictions and his animosity toward Trump.
Daniels “completes the narrative,” former Manhattan prosecutor Diana Florence tells me.
