55/ Sorry, now catching up to McB. A lot.

Q: Did Trump's relationship with Melania change when the Stormy Daniels story came out?

A: Not to my knowledge, no.

Westerhout begins to break down and cry as she recounts the circumstances of her departure from the White House.

She learned a lot from her "indiscretions," she says.

56/ McB:

She had said some things she wasn't supposed to during what she believed to be an off-the-record dinner with a reporter, she says.

She wipes her tears. She seems genuinely regretful about the whole episode.

She wrote a book about it, she says, her voice shakey and faultering, and we see the cover now displayed:
Off the Record: My Dream Job at the White House, How I Lost It, and What I Learned

57/ McB:

She thought it was important to share with the American people that the man that I got to know. I don't think he was treated fairly, and I wanted to tell that story she says, through more tears.

Since publication, Westerhout says she spoke to Trump at a fundraiser in Orange County, but says that she did not discuss this case.

No further questions from Mangold.

58/ McB:

Before she walks up to the lectern, Necheles asks whether Westerhout would like a break.

No, Merchan says, but we're going to stop at 4 o'clock.

Q: You were very young, and you made a mistake?
A: Yes.
Q: You thought he was great to work for, and a great president?
A: Yes, she says, more tears.

🤦🏻‍♀️

59/ McB:

Back to the 2016 nomination, the transition, and the Access Hollywood tape.
Q: You testifed that it rattled the RNC leadership, and there were a couple days of consternation, but that happened all the time?
A: Yes.
Q: When Trump was running, there was always some event when—Necheles claps her hands and wipes them clean—there was total consternation.

She is familiar, friendly with Westerhout. Much friendlier than she was with Daniels, (of course).

60/ McB:

Necheles reminds Westerhout of Trump's apology for "locker talk," and that he said he would see everyone at debates and Westerhout laughs, as if she remembers it fondly.👈🏼

The Access Hollywood tape "blew over in a couple days," and after that Trump won the election right?
A: Yes.

61/ McB:

The clock is ticking, we have 9 minutes left according to Merchan, and Merchan is always on time, if not early.

Necheles talks fast, getting more questions in. It was a busy time? Yes. You were called "the greeter girl," correct? Yes. Wasn't it a little belittling? Yeah.

I tried not to let it get to me, but people said I was unqualified, Westerhout says about the "greeter girl" nickname.

62/ McB:

Trump was also transitioning his companies into a trust, Necheles asks, but Westerhout says, not to her knowledge. She wasn't involved in the business side.

Westerhout says Trump only had two and a half months to transition from running the Trump Organization to becoming president. Necheles keeps portraying it as a hectic, busy time, with lots of distractions.

63/ McB:

🤦🏻‍♀️It was amazing working with Trump, she says, smiling. I think—I—I hadn't spent any time with him, I don't know if anyone should feel like they deserve they should be in the West Wing, but Trump always made me feel like I belonged, especially in a place with a lot of older men.🤢

64/ McB:

We now get a portrait of Trump, the family man.

He had a close relationship with his children, and a lovely relationship with his wife? Yes, definitely, Westerhout says.

Westerhout paints a touching scene: Trump would be on the phone w/ his wife, & would tell her to come to the window in the residence, where she could look across and see Trump in the Oval Office. He would also call his wife to tell her he's boarding AF1, though he didn't have to

65/ Just... wow.

McB:

Right on schedule, Merchan stops it there.

We end with an image of Trump the family man from Westerhout's testimony, which couldn't be further from this morning's depiction of Trump the philanderer and bully of Daniels' testimony.

66/ Bower:

The jurors are done, but the parties are not.

Merchan says we'll take a 10 minute break. When we return, I assume Blanche will raise the issues he alluded to at lunch regarding (1) Renewed mistrial motion, (2) blocking McDougal's testimony, and (3) a gag order matter.

67/ I wanna throw up.

Klasfeld:

As Trump leaves, a spectator tells Trump: "God is with you. Stay strong."

The man is escorted out — no outbursts, any outbursts, whatever the content, are allowed in court.

68/ Part of 🧵 by Lisa Rubin:

After she broke down crying remembering her “youthful indiscretio" Necheles gently reminded her, as x-exam opened, that she was very young, that she made a mistake, and that Trump had forgiven her

I’m not saying the grace Necheles showed Westerhout, who was 28 when she left WH, was undeserved. But boy does it stand in marked contrast to her treatment of then-27-yr-old whose sexual encounter w Trump so distressed her that her hands shook as she put her shoes back on

69/ NEWS...

Via McB:

Merchan says we'll take 10, then pick it back up with Mr. Blanche.

As Trump walks out, a member of the public says something to Trump. "Guys, we're not doing that," a court officers scolds them. After the parties leave, the officer takes out the 2 men who spoke to Trump.

At 4:09 p.m., Trump and co. walk back in, Merchan walks back in as well, almost simultaneously.

👇🏼
👉🏼NEWS: The People no longer intend to call Karen McDougal to testify.👈🏼

70/ McB: Only 2 issues now, 1st: gag order.

Blanche asks that Trump be allowed to respond to Daniels' testimony, bc of all the reporting about it, which tells completely different story than Trump's. This will tie into mistrial motion, he says.

Daniels was on a polit TV show w "political commentators" last night, Blanche says & Trump can't say this never happened, this is never true, to this "new version of events" which deals with a very diff issue than sexual event that took place in 2006.

71/ McB:

We said repeatedly, and I'm not going to dwell on it, Blanche says, but Trump needs an opportunity to respond to the American people.

The only witness left subject to the gag order is Mr Cohen, Blanche says, but his argument is a bit garbled, hard to follow.

72/ McB:

There are voters out there, asking questions, but Trump can't say anything, Blanche says. There are numberous articles about it in the news, and Daniels' testimony will be a feature on shows today, and it "cannot be" that he can't respond to it, says Blanche.

It's much different than the same story that's been going around for several years, so Blanche asks that Trump be released from the gag order.

73/ McB:

Conroy up now: It seems the other side lives in almost an alternate reality.

Conroy wants to look back at why the order was an issue in the first place, and says that it has been somewhat successful thus far.

This is where facts are brought out, and if someone wants to respond to something someone 👉🏼said in this room, it should happen in this room, not out there, Conroy says.

74/ McB:

We have been told repeatedly by witnesses—even in the courtroom, even on the stand—about their fear, Conroy says. Even with a witness today, there was something with her home address on it, and you could see the fear in her eyes.

He does it selfishly with no concern about the safety of the people he's attacking, and unfortunately we have seen the results, Conroy says.

75/ McB:

Conroy brings up the NYPD's explosion in threat cases about the number of threats against the members of the DA's office and their families. I had a conversation with a
👉🏼custodial witness last night concerned about their safety, Conroy says.👈🏼
Modifying this gag order now in the middle of trial would signal to future witnesses that they could be at risk as well, says Conroy.

76/ McB:

He cites a DC circuit case about "hostile messages" that have an effect of "deterring, chilling, or altering the involvement" of witnesses.

77 McB:

The gag order is not just designed to protect the witness until they walkoff the stand, or to protect the proceedings part of the way, Conroy says.
Modifying the gag order now is for Trump to attack Daniels—that's what he wants to do,👉🏼let's not pretend he wants to engage in high-minded discourse, 👈🏼Conroy says.

78/ McB:

Blanche is back now, and he says everything we just heard in different in kind from what they're requesting.

In this case, a narrowly tailored gag order, the court should be constantly making sure its terms remain in effect, Blanche says.

79/ McB:

A completely different set of events, Merchan repeats, What exactly are you referring to?

For example, transcript pg 2610, Blanche cites, "at first I was just startled, jump-scare...room spin in slow motion...felt the blood leave my hands and my feet."

80/ McB:

What she had previously said, Blanche says, hinting that he's now getting to the mistrial motion, was "ugh, here we go, we started kissing, I hope he doesn't try to pay me."

👉🏼Merchan: Help me understand how it's different.
Blanche: One is about consent, and one is not.

81/ McB:

Merchan wants to take the issues one-by-one so we stay on the gag order

👉🏼It's interesting what Mr Conroy said, bc I wrote the same thing from the book down, Merchan says. My concern is protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole

Other witnesses, incl but not only Michael Cohen, will see your client doing whatever he intends to do, Merchan says. 👉🏼I can't take your word for it that this is going to be low key, this is going to be a response, bc that's not the track record

82/ McB:

These were very real, very threatening attacks on witnesses, so 👉🏼I can't take your word for it, Merchan says, while saying he is still concerned by some witnesses using the gag order as a sword, not a shield.

#WompWomp

Application to modify gag order is DENIED.

83/ McB:

Merchan will now hear motion for a mistrial.

Blanche starts by saying he will put something together over the weekend explaining why this trial cannot go forward in light of Daniels' testimony.

Blanche cites Merchan's finding that Daniels' testimony not only completes the narrative of events, but is also probative of the defendant's intent, but says he alerted the court and the government of Daniels' contradicting previous claims.

84/ McB:

Blanche says this new story is about how "this completely made up encounter with President Trump may have been nonconsensual," which they learned from the documentary, at which point they previously objected. Prosecution and court promised not to get into the details, then did.

85/ McB:

Questions about whether the encounter brought up Daniels' difficult childhood, Daniels spanking Trump, it almost defies belief that we're here about a records case and the government is asking questions about an incident that happened in 2006, that we don't even believe happened

86/ Emptywheel:

Blanche now complaining that Blanche opened by denying the sex happened.

Klasfeld:

Blanche calls the level of detail irrelevant:

"This is not a case about sex."

It's not about whether the sex took place or didn't take place, he adds.

87/ McB:

Blanche continues, This is extremely prejudicial testimony. This is not a case about sex. This is not about whether that encounter took place or didn't take place. Whether it happened or not has nothing to do with the charges in this case.

88/ Bower:

Blanche mentions, for example, the prosecution asking about Daniels supposedly spanking Trump with a magazine. And he says they elicited too much detail about the hotel suite -- what the inside of the bathroom in Trump's suite looked like, for example.

And the story Daniels told on the stand is not the story that Rodriguez, Howard, and Cohen were told back when the NDA was formed. So it's not relevant, Blanche insists.

89/ McB:

Blanche reads more of Daniels' testimony, calling it "extremely prejudicial" again, and testimony that has nothing to do with the motive of entering the NDA.

Klasfeld:

Blanche recites the passage of the transcript where Daniels quoted Trump trying to talk her into sex by telling her "[i]f you ever want to get out of that trailer park."

90/ Klasfeld:

Blanche, with some indignation: "You have jurors who are now hearing about an imbalance of power between a man and a woman."

He says that isn't relevant to the case.

91/ Bower adds a little more:

She talked about power imbalance, Blanche says, but none of that goes to motive or intent because that's not what she was saying at the time of the NDA.

92/ McB:

We didn't know these q's were coming, Blanche cont's. We had a sense from documentary that she was changing her story, & we alerted the court, but we were hearing this for 1st time.

He's repeating himself, but Merchan lets him continue.

"There was an objection, and it was sustained," Merchan cuts in. "In fact after many of these anecdotes, there was an objection and it was sustained."

But it was still said, Blanche pleads, that's why this testimony is so dangerous, so prejudicial.

93/ McB:

"It was so prejudicial—it was a dog whistle for rape," Blanche says. [Me: Rape. Gee. Ya think?]

Let's hear from the people, Merchan says.

👉🏼"Ok so that was a lot, and most of it, just flat out untrue," Steinglass says.

94/ McB:

The claim of ambush is just nonsense, says Steinglass. The claim of changing the story is also extraordinarily untrue. As any witness telling a story, there are details in one form and not in another form. And anyway, the defense has had access to all of this.