Stormy Daniels returns to witness stand for more cross-examination in Trump trial

Adult film star Stormy Daniels returned to the witness stand in Donald Trump's criminal trial Thursday to face more cross-examination by defense attorneys about her now-sworn allegation that she had a sexual encounter with the former president.

“I think you’ll see some very interesting things today,” Trump told reporters on his way into Manhattan criminal court in New York City. Trump was joined by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., when he walked in, and Scott took a seat in the audience. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, another close Trump ally, was also in the courthouse.

Trump's attorney Susan Necheles began grilling Daniels immediately about the $130,000 nondisclosure agreement she signed with Trump's then-attorney Michael Cohen near the close of the 2016 election.

“You wanted money from President Trump, right?” Necheles asked. “No,” Daniels answered. “I never asked for money from President Trump,” she said. “I never asked for money from anyone in particular, I asked for money to tell my story,” and it was Cohen who approached her attorney with the NDA. She said she thought the agreement was “a perfect solution,” giving her a paper trail and peace of mind without having to tell her story publicly.

Daniels also acknowledged that she was irate when Cohen appeared to be stalling on paying the money, but he eventually paid. Necheles also asked about a statement she signed in 2018 denying she'd had an affair with Trump after The Wall Street Journal wrote about her NDA. Daniels said her lawyer had given her the statement and told her she had to sign it. She said she decided she wanted to tell her story later that year, after Cohen began talking about her publicly.

Necheles asked about her subsequent strip club tour, which was called “Make America Horny Again.” “I did not name that tour, and I fought it tooth and nail,” she said.

Daniels testified Tuesday about the alleged 2006 tryst, which Trump has denied. Her testimony seemed to get under Trump's skin, prompting the judge to warn Trump's attorney that he would not tolerate Trump’s cursing while Daniels was on the stand.

“I understand that your client is upset at this point, but he is cursing audibly, and he is shaking his head visually, and that’s contemptuous,” state Judge Juan Merchan told Todd Blanche in a sidebar, which took place out of earshot of most of the courtroom, according to a court transcript.

“It has the potential to intimidate the witness, and the jury can see that,” he said. “You need to speak to him. I won't tolerate that.”

In addition to the sexual encounter, which Daniels said happened after she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, she told jurors that Trump made a sexual advance in 2007, which she rejected. Four years later, she said, a mysterious man warned her to "leave Trump alone" after she gave an interview to a magazine about their first encounter. Daniels said the article never ran thanks to Trump's then-"fixer" and lawyer Cohen.

Cohen later paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her claim. Trump's reimbursement of that money to Cohen is at the heart of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's criminal case against Trump, who is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the repayment. He has pleaded not guilty.

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Necheles began her cross-examination of Daniels on Tuesday and asked her whether she hated Trump. "Yes," Daniels answered, acknowledging she has repeatedly mocked him on social media. She also said Trump made fun of her first.

Necheles later suggested that Daniels had made up the sexual encounter and the incident involving the threatening man to shake down Trump.

“You were looking to extort money from President Trump, right?” Necheles said.

“False,” Daniels replied.

Daniels is testifying as the prosecution's case nears its final set of witnesses. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass estimated this week that prosecutors would be done presenting their case by May 21.

Court is not in session on Wednesdays and there are no proceedings Friday of next week, so that would mean prosecutors have roughly six more days of witness testimony to present after Thursday.

While it's not clear who will testify after Daniels, Cohen is expected to take the stand at some point.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com