May 7 (UPI) — Stormy Daniels took the witness stand in Donald Trump‘s hush-money trial on Tuesday.
The prosecution called Daniels to testify about an hour into Tuesday’s proceedings, according to CNN, ABC News and The Hill. Trump is accused of arranging a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels, an adult film actress, to cover up an affair he had with her. The payment was meant to keep Daniels from making their alleged affair public while Trump campaigned for the presidency in 2016.
Daniels said she is testifying under a subpoena. She noted that she prefers “Stormy Daniels” to her real name, Stefanie Clifford.
Trump posted on Truth Social about the next witness but did not name them, according to ABC News. The post has since been deleted.
“I have just recently been told who the witness is today,” Trump wrote. “This is unprecedented, no time for lawyers to prepare.”
Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump last week for nine violations of the gag order against him. Trump is barred from making extrajudicial comments about individuals involved in his trial, including witnesses and jurors. On Monday, Trump was fined for a 10th violation.
Merchan warned that Trump could face jail time if he continues to violate the gag order.
The former president is also accused of leading a “catch and kill” campaign to buy the publishing rights to stories about his affairs with Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal during his presidential campaign.
Trump faces 34 counts related to falsifying business records to hide the hush-money payments. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
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