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The criminal trial of former President Donald Trump resumed on Friday in New York City, featuring testimony from his former White House executive assistant. This witness was far more cooperative than Thursday's star witness, adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
Madeleine Westerhout took the stand in Manhattan criminal court on Thursday afternoon, following Daniels' contentious morning cross-examination by Trump's attorney Susan Necheles regarding her claim of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 for her silence during the 2016 presidential election, which Trump later reimbursed him for in payments prosecutors allege were disguised with falsified business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty and refuted Daniels' accusation.
During Daniels' testimony, she became emotional when questioned about derogatory social media posts, including one calling her an "aging harlot." In contrast, Necheles' cross-examination of Westerhout was notably more gentle. Westerhout expressed her excitement about working for Trump and broke down when discussing her departure from the White House in August 2019, describing Trump as an "amazing" boss with a close and loving relationship with his wife, Melania Trump.
This portrayal sharply contrasts with Daniels' testimony, where she claimed Trump had told her not to worry about Melania while making advances towards her in his hotel room after meeting at a celebrity golf tournament in 2006. Westerhout testified that one of her roles was to facilitate communication between Trump and the Trump Organization on various matters, such as his travel schedule, mail, or phone calls.
She mentioned requesting a list of Trump's contacts from Rhona Graff, Trump's assistant at the company, in 2017, which included information for Cohen and David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher. Pecker testified that he collaborated with Trump and Cohen to suppress scandalous stories about Trump during his 2016 campaign.
Westerhout also testified that Trump paid close attention when she presented him with personal checks to sign, occasionally consulting his company's CFO, Allen Weisselberg, for clarification — details that prosecutors may use to argue Trump's awareness of his payments to Cohen.
Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, motioned for a mistrial at the end of Thursday's session, arguing that Daniels' testimony, particularly her claim about Trump not using a condom during their encounter, was unfair and prejudicial. He referred to the condom allegation as "a dog whistle for rape."
Although Judge Juan Merchan agreed that the condom question was inappropriate, he noted the lack of objection during the questioning. He denied Blanche's mistrial request and also refused to relax the gag order prohibiting Trump from attacking witnesses, despite requests to allow him to respond to Daniels' testimony.
Responding to this on X, Daniels wrote, "Real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court. Oh...wait. Nevermind," which could potentially cause issues for her. Earlier in the trial, Merchan had warned Daniels and Cohen about attacking Trump publicly, suggesting they could be excluded from the gag order if such behavior continued.
In addition to Westerhout, an employee from the Manhattan district attorney's office is expected to testify Friday about some of Trump's social media posts. Prosecutors aim to conclude their case by May 21, making it likely that Cohen will testify next week.