New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan blamed Donald Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles in court Thursday for not sufficiently objecting in real time to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels’s detailed testimony this week
The judge acknowledged that he wished New York prosecutors hadn’t asked Daniels certain questions.
Daniels’s allegation Tuesday that Trump did not use a condom when they had sex. Trump and his team have previously denied he had sex with Daniels.
During her testimony Tuesday, Daniels described her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump in a way that could be viewed as unwanted, though she did not say she was assaulted.
Trump appeared angry in the courtroom, as Merchan denied his legal team’s efforts to partially lift a gag order that prevents him from attacking Daniels and to toss the case entirely
“We are so innocent,” he said. More than hour after leaving the courtroom, Trump posted on social media that Merchan “IS PRESIDING OVER THE DEATH OF THE NEW YORK CITY AND STATE SYSTEM OF JUSTICE.”
Trump is charged with falsifying his business records to cover up a payment made by his former attorney Michael Cohen to Daniels to remain silent about the alleged sexual encounter ahead of the 2016 presidential election