Stormy Daniels ‘Self-Immolated’ Under Trump Lawyer Questions—Legal Analyst

“A staggering example of self-immolation” is what Gregg Jarrett called Stormy Daniels’ second day of testimony in the hush-money case against former President Donald Trump.

“At one point, she reinforced Trump’s main defense,” Jarrett, a Fox News legal analyst and commentator, wrote in an opinion article about Stormy Daniels’ second day of testimony in a criminal trial against former President Donald Trump.

Daniels, an adult film actress and witness called by the prosecution, was cross-examined by Trump’s legal team on May 9 for her second day of testimony. Tuesday’s testimony primarily focused on the details of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in a Lake Tahoe hotel room in 2006, while Thursday’s over two-hour cross-examination delved into the details of the $130,000 payment and Daniels’s career. Daniels refuted allegations of dishonesty regarding her sexual encounter with Trump.

He writes that Daniels’ acknowledgment of “the agreement she signed was a legal matter being handled in a legal contract” supported Trump’s defense argument that “the accord negotiated with Daniels was properly labeled as ‘legal expenses,’ because that is what they were.”

Newsweek reached out to Attorney Susan Necheles and Gregg Jarrett for comment.

The case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges Trump covered up his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. The former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, denied sexual relations with Daniels, and has repeatedly stated that both the criminal and civil lawsuits he faces are politically motivated. Trump is the first former president to be on trial in a criminal lawsuit, and he currently faces a total of four criminal cases.

Trump’s legal team has requested a mistrial twice, and Judge Juan Merchan has denied both requests. Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom after court, Trump said that the judge “is a disgrace.”

Taking an opposing stance to Jarrett, other legal experts have criticized Trump’s lawyers’ line of questioning and approach to questioning Daniels.

Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti wrote in an X post, “…going after her hard on cross-examination. Jurors won’t like it.” Another lawyer and frequent Trump critic, George Conway, told CNN the cross-examination was a “complete disaster and a fiasco for the defense.”

Norm Eisen, who served as a special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the former president’s first impeachment, previously told Newsweek, “After one of defense lawyer Susan Necheles’ attempts to discredit her, Daniels used it as an opportunity to highlight the power imbalance between her and Trump.”

The case wrapped up its fourth week on Friday afternoon. Court will resume on Monday when Michael Cohen, the former Trump attorney at the center of the trial, is expected to testify. There will be no trial on Friday as the Judge agreed to allow Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation.