Stormy Daniels says she is 'absolutely ready' to testify at Trump's hush money trial
Stormy Daniels is "absolutely ready" to testify at former President Donald Trump's New York hush money trial, the adult film actress -- whose hush money payment sits at the center of Trump's criminal case -- told ABC's "The View" on Thursday.
"I'm absolutely ready. I've been ready. I'm hoping with all of my heart that they call me because ... I don't need someone to speak for me," Daniels said. "I relish the day that I get to face him and speak my truth."
Daniels made the appearance on "The View" to promote a new documentary about her life before and after her now-infamous interaction with Trump.
Defense lawyers have attempted to prevent Daniels from serving as a witness at trial by arguing her testimony would be salacious and prejudicial to the jury. The judge overseeing the case, Juan Merchan, denied Trump's efforts this week in a ruling that cleared the way for testimony from Daniels, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, and two others who received hush-money payments ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment Cohen made to Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election.
Jury selection for the trial is currently scheduled to get underway in mid-April in New York City. The former president has denied all wrongdoing.
"Locating and purchasing the information from Daniels not only completes the narrative of events that precipitated the falsification of business records but is also probative of the Defendant's intent," Judge Merchan wrote.
Trump and his lawyers have criticized Cohen's reliability as a witness and have argued that Daniels might try to "monetize her status as a witness" by creating publicity to promote her recent documentary.
In her appearance Thursday, Daniels defended her recollection of her encounter with Trump.
"What do you call it when you come out of a bathroom as a lady, and you're not expecting someone to be there, and in front of you is a man in his underwear between you and the door. And you go to go around, and he stands there. What is that called?" Daniels said, partially recounting her 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.
While Daniels said she now remembers more information about the discussion she had with Trump that day, she said the main details of the story are unchanged.
"Why is it the same story? Because I'm telling the truth, and I haven't changed my story," Daniels said. "Those details are burned into my soul forever."
After her interaction with Trump became public, Daniels said her life fundamentally changed. She received more opportunities to perform across the county and author a book, but she also began receiving threats and feared for the safety of her daughter and loved ones.
While those threats began to slow in the years following Trump's presidency, she told "The View" that Trump's New York indictment reignited those issues.
"Suddenly the indictment happens ... it was like 2018 all over again, except now they're more vicious because they've been encouraged," Daniels said. "They're more like suicide bombers this time around, where they honestly truly believe that they are being patriotic and that I am like the devil," she said.
Though she says she is eager to testify at trial, Daniels said that she looks forward to the day when the attention fades and she can return to a life that doesn't impact her loved ones.
"I want to not be a danger to everybody that I care about and everybody that I love," Daniels said. "I want to be able to live a life where my friends aren't collateral damage, and I don't know if that is ever going to happen."
