Judge denies motion to modify gag order Judge Juan Merchan denies the defense’s request to modify a court-imposed gag order to allow Donald Trump to respond to testimony by Stormy Daniels. Merchan says: My concern is not just with protecting Ms Daniels or a witness who has already testified. My concern is with protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole. Merchan continues: Other people will see you doing it … Other witnesses, including not only Michael Cohen, other witnesses will see your client doing whatever it is he intends to do. The reason why the gag order is in place to begin with “is precisely because of the nature of these attacks”, the judge says. The nature, the vitriol … your client’s track record speaks for itself here. I can’t take your word for it that he says I’m just going to speak the facts. Judge Juan Merchan just gave a lengthy ruling where he explained why he was denying a mistrial for the second time this week. Even though lurid details did come in, Trump’s lawyers had essentially opened themselves up to them by denying in their opening statements that Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels ever had sex. Merchan said: These details add a sense of credibility if the jury chooses to believe them. Merchan also castigated Trump attorney Susan Necheles, saying “for the life of me” he couldn’t figure out why she didn’t object to questions about whether Trump used a condom. The testimony came after Merchan had sustained similar objections in Daniels’ testimony. He also noted that Necheles had pressed Daniels on details about the incident after Trump’s team said they were prejudicial, hammering them into the heads of the jury. Judge denies motion for mistrial Judge Juan Merchan says he can’t figure out “for the life of me” why Trump attorney Susan Necheles didn’t object to the prosecution’s question about whether Donald Trump used a condom – something Trump’s lawyers are now saying was prejudicial so there should have been a mistrial. The judge denies the defense’s motion for a mistrial. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says that during direct, Judge Juan Merchan sustained an objection to a question when Stormy Daniels was asked if she felt anything unusual during sex. At one point Ms Daniels was asked ‘Did you feel anything unusual.’ The answer was going to be ‘I felt like what it felt like to feel the skin of a 60-year-old man. I was 27 and that was different than anything that I had ever felt before.’ He says he has other details and he’s willing to make a sealed record. Steinglass is fuming, and says he wants to correct Trump attorney Todd Blanche that they didn’t “change their mind” on calling Karen McDougal – she was always on the witness list and they just decided not to call her. Donald Trump is passing more notes to his attorney Todd Blanche as he listens to prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, who is heatedly defending Stormy Daniels’ testimony. Steinglass says: Those details of what happened in that room. That was Mr Trump’s motive to silence this woman in 2016 less than a month before the election. Trump attorney slams Stormy Daniels" testimony as "a dog whistle for rape" Trump attorney Todd Blanche concludes his request for a mistrial, saying that Stormy Daniels’ testimony was a “dog whistle for rape”. Trump attorney renews request for a mistrial Trump attorney Todd Blanche is arguing for a mistrial. The defense requested a mistrial earlier this week that was denied by Judge Juan Merchan. Blanche is arguing that the prosecution led Stormy Daniels to disclose lurid and irrelevant details about her alleged affair with Donald Trump. It wasn’t that she was “out of control”. Blanche is discussing details prosecutors sought about what Daniels says she saw in the bathroom in Trump’s suite and how she reacted when she allegedly saw Trump on the bed. Judge denies motion to modify gag order Judge Juan Merchan denies the defense’s request to modify a court-imposed gag order to allow Donald Trump to respond to testimony by Stormy Daniels. Merchan says: My concern is not just with protecting Ms Daniels or a witness who has already testified. My concern is with protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole. Merchan continues: Other people will see you doing it … Other witnesses, including not only Michael Cohen, other witnesses will see your client doing whatever it is he intends to do. The reason why the gag order is in place to begin with “is precisely because of the nature of these attacks”, the judge says. The nature, the vitriol … your client’s track record speaks for itself here. I can’t take your word for it that he says I’m just going to speak the facts. Trump attorney asks for gag order to be lifted to respond to Stormy Daniels" testimony Trump attorney Todd Blanche says Donald Trump will be “asked repeatedly over the next week or two about these new accusations of consent and of what happened that night”. He says: There’s voters out there and there’s questioners who will ask him questions about it and he can’t say anything. Speaking for the prosecution, Chris Conroy says, “It seems as though the other side almost lives in an alternate reality.” Conroy says: This is where facts are brought out. If somebody wants to respond to something that’s said in this room, it can happen in this room. Trump is passing notes to Todd Blanche as Conroy argues against lifting of gag order. Conroy continues to argue that “the fact that witnesses are brave enough to come here under subpoena, tell the truth under oath, shouldn’t expose them” to Trump’s barrage of attacks. Karen McDougal will not be testifying in trial, says defense Trump attorney Todd Blanche says the prosecution has informed him that they no longer intend to call Karen McDougal as a witness. Blanche asks the judge that Donald Trump be allowed to respond to Stormy Daniels’ testimony earlier today and on Tuesday. Blanche says: We ask that President Trump be allowed to respond publicly to what happened in court the last day and a half. The press reporting over the last 24 hours about the current version of the story that we believe is completely false … is completely different in kind than the denials and stories that have come forth since as far back as 2011 and 2014. Blanche adds: As we’ve said repeatedly, he needs an opportunity to respond to the American people. The reasons for the gag order as they relate to Ms Daniels are over. She’s no longer a witness. The jury is being dismissed for the day. The court is taking a short break, after which the defense is expected to present more motions including for a mistrial. Donald Trump has left the courtroom. Madeleine Westerhout is describing the relationship between Donald Trump and Melania Trump. Sometimes Trump would be on the phone in the Oval Office and tell Melania to come to a window in the residence to wave. Other times he would tell her he was about to board Marine One and called just to check in. Trump attorney Susan Necheles is clarifying that when Westerhout interacted with Trump Organization officials it was to deal with personal matters for Trump, but not business affairs. Madeleine Westerhout says Donald Trump’s relationship with his wife, Melania, didn’t change after the Stormy Daniels story. Direct examination is over and Trump attorney Susan Necheles is just beginning cross-examination. Former Trump assistant breaks down describing being fired Madeleine Westerhout just broke down in tears when she described being fired from the White House. She was fired after she spoke at an off the record dinner with journalists. She says she has learned a lot since then and looks at Donald Trump who is looking back at her. Prosecutor Rebecca Mangold is asking Madeleine Westerhout about an email in which she and Rhona Graff, Donald Trump’s longtime assistant, were discussing which frame to buy for a picture of Donald Trump’s mother. Mangold asked if it was typical that Trump would want to approve an expense like the frame. Westerhout sidesteps the question and says there was no other instances like this. She says they may have made an executive decision without his approval. “Sorry sir,” she says quickly. Madeleine Westerhout says Donald Trump sometimes had questions about the checks he would receive to sign. When he had a question, Westerhout said, he would call Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, or someone else in the Trump Organization. This is an important point because it establishes that Trump and Weisselberg were speaking about expenses when he was in the White House. Also on the “close contacts list” from 2017 are a cast of people from the world of celebrity media and entertainment: MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, WME talent agency chief Ari Emanuel, New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, and Fox News hosts Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Jeanine Pirro and Bret Baier. We’re reviewing a list of key contacts that Rhona Graff, Donald Trump’s longtime assistant, put together for Madeline Westerhout when she started at the White House. Michael Cohen, Allen Weisselberg and David Pecker are all on it, as are members of Trump’s family. Weisselberg’s presence on the list is significant – remember that a previous witness said Weisselberg and Trump didn’t speak at all once Trump was elected. But this was a list of people Trump might want to speak to frequently. Westerhout testifies that Trump typically read things before signing them Prosecutors are asking Madeleine Westerhout to describe a long list of Donald Trump’s habits, from the grammar he liked to use in his tweets to his preferred pen. They are establishing how intimately familiar she was with how Trump worked and his processes. Westerhout is asked if Trump typically reads things before signing them. Westerhout replies: “Yes”. She says it is her understanding that Trump liked to see the tweets that went out. On Trump’s grammar, she says: It’s my understanding that he liked to use the Oxford comma. Madeleine Westerhout is describing Donald Trump’s communication habits: He liked speaking to people in person or on the phone. She says she remembers times where she knew Trump was taking calls as early as six in the morning, adding: I recall times where he would be on the phone late into the night, after I went to bed, so I always felt guilty about that. “Did Mr Trump use a computer?” the prosecution asked. Westerhout replied: Not to my knowledge. Did Mr Trump use an email account? Westerhout responded: Not to my knowledge. Madeleine Westerhout is establishing how close she was to Donald Trump. In the beginning of his presidency, she, White House director of strategic communications Hope Hicks, Trump body man John McEntee and director of Oval Office operations Keith Schiller sat right outside the Oval Office. Westerhout had the closest desk to the actual Oval Office. Madeleine Westerhout says her nickname was “the Greeter girl” after Donald Trump was elected because she became known for scheduling high-level meetings.