OF THE COURTROOM. >> VAUGHN, PLEASE STAND BY, DAVID, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OFFERING YOUR INSIGHTS. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE PROSECUTION ASKING HER SOME BASIC QUESTIONS, BY THE WAY WE SHOULD NOTE SHE IS GOING BY STORMY DANIELS ON THE STAND. SHE WAS ASKED BY THE PROSECUTION WHICH NAME SHE PREFERS, IF SHE PREFERS STORMY DANIELS OR STEPHANIE CLIFFORD, SHE SAID STORMY DANIELS. AT THIS POINT, THEY'RE JUST LAYING SOME OF THE GROUND WORK ON WHO SHE IS, HER BACKGROUND, SHE TALKED ABOUT GROWING UP IN LOUISIANA, SAYING SHE WAS BORN AND RAISED IN BATON ROUGE, HER PARENTS SPLIT UP WHEN SHE WAS 4, SHE WAS RAISED MOSTLY BY A SINGLE WORKING MOM, WENT TO A STRICT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, SO THEY'RE REALLY TAKING THE JURORS THROUGH HER LIFE STORY, BRIEFLY, TAKING THEM UP TO, YOU KNOW, SHE GRADUATED THE TOP TEN IN HER CLASS, SHE SAID, WHEN IT CAME TO THIS HIGH SCHOOL THAT SHE WAS AT, A MAGNATE HIGH SCHOOL, RECEIVED A SCHOLARSHIP FROM TEXAS A&M, DID TAKE COLLEGE CLASS, SHE SAID WHEN SHE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND THE COLOR FROM THE COURTROOM IS SHE IS SPEAKING VERY QUICKLY AND IS BEING ASKED TO SLOW DOWN FOR THE COURT REPORTER. SHE TALKS ABOUT BEING IN THE EQUESTRIAN CLUB, WAS A MEMBER, IT APPEARS, OF THE BALLET COMPANY. SHE SHOVELED MANURE WHERE HER HORSES WERE BOARDED, LATER I WENT ON TO DANCING AND SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN A DANCER IS WHAT SHE SAYS, MOSTLY LOOKS LIKE BALLET AND JAZZ AND THEY'RE STILL FILLING IN THE REST OF THE DOCUMENTS. SO, LET ME BRING OUR LEGAL ANALYST HERE INTO THE CONVERSATION. JUST HELP US UNDERSTAND, CATHERINE, WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN TERMS OF ESTABLISHING WHO STORMY DANIELS IS, WHY THEY HAVE TO GO INTO THIS FAR BACK IN HER STORY? >> I ALWAYS TELL MY WITNESSES, I WANT THE JURY TO GET TO KNOW YOU. SO BEFORE WE GET TO THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY, AND I WAS A VICTIM OF A CRIME OR THE DEFENDANT DID THIS, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF THE BACKGROUND OF YOUR LIFE, BECAUSE SOMETIMES, LIKE, WHY DO I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS, SO THEY CAN KNOW YOU, SO THEY KNOW YOU'RE TELLING THE TRUTH, WHERE YOU WORKED, WHERE YOU WENT TO SCHOOL, YOUR FAMILY. THIS IS THEIR WAY OF HAVING THE JURY GET TO KNOW HER AS A PERSON AND FINDING HER CREDIBLE WHEN SHE SPEAKS. SHE'S NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS. FIRST, IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT HER. >> SUSAN HOFFINGER IS DOING THE QUESTIONING OF STORMY DANIELS. THERE IS A BIG TEAM WITH THE MANHATTAN ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE. DO YOU THINK IT IS STRATEGIC TO HAVE A WOMAN QUESTIONING STORMY DANIELS THROUGH THIS SENSITIVE PART OF TESTIMONY THAT IS TO COME? >> I THINK IN THIS STAIR SCENAR YES. SOMETIMES YOU SEE MORE SO ON THE DEFENSE, SOMETIMES ON THE PROSECUTION, IF THERE IS A SEXUAL CRIME, SOMETIMES YOU WANT A FEMALE PROSECUTOR OR FEMALE DEFENSE ATTORNEY TO ADDRESS THE WITNESS BECAUSE THERE IS MORE OF A BOND AND YOU DON'T WANT TO LOOK LIKE A GUY BEING A BULLY AND WHO HAS NO CONCEPT OF THE ISSUES THAT A WOMAN WOULD GO THROUGH, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE. SO, YOU KNOW, SUSAN HOFFINGER, THIS IS NOT HER FIRST TIME, NOT HER FIRST RODEO, SHE'S BEEN ON BOTH SIDES AS A PROSECUTOR AND CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, SO IF ANYONE IS FIT FOR THIS TYPE OF QUESTIONING, IT WOULD BE HER. AND TO YOUR POINT, SECONDS AGO, YOU WANT TO HUMANIZE THAT WITNESS, YOU WANT THE JURY TO LIKE THEM AND FIND THEM TO BE REGULAR, NO DIFFERENT THAN YOU, SOMETIMES THAT'S TEARS, EVEN A JUROR -- A WITNESS SPEAKING QUICKLY, THAT'S A SIGN OF ANXIOUSNESS, LIKE YOU MIGHT HAVE OR HOPE HICKS WHO WAS CRYING BECAUSE IT IS A NERVOUS, DIFFICULT THING TO DO TO TESTIFY IN FRONT OF STRANGERS. >> WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT STORMY DANIELS' STORY. SHE TALKED ABOUT MOVING OUT OF HER MOTHER'S HOUSE, SHE MOVED OUT WHEN SHE WAS 17, SAYS MY MOTHER WAS NEGLECTFUL AND SHE DISAPPEARED FOR DAYS AT A TIME, SHE WOULD VANISH, IT WAS AT THE TIME OF MY SENIOR YEAR, I LEFT FOR A LITTLE BIT, I CONSIDERED MYSELF AN ADULT, SO I MOVED OUT. DANIELS GOES ON TO SAY, HER MOTHER WAS NOT AN ADDICT, BUT WOULD DISAPPEAR AT TIMES AND TO THIS DAY SHE DOESN'T KNOW, SHE SAID HER MOTHER WOULD JUST VANISH AND THEN THE PROSECUTOR ASKS HAVE YOU SUPPORTED YOURSELF EVER SINCE, DANIELS, YES. DID YOU START DOING OTHER WORK, NUDE MODELLING? >> DANIELS, WE HAD GUEST STARS AT THE CLUB AND THEY WOULD DO AERIAL SHOWS AND BECAUSE I WAS AN ACTUAL DANCER, YOU NEEDED CREDITS TO BE THE HEADLINER, SHE SAID I WAS LIKE I WANT TO DO THAT, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF CREDIT, A REASON TO BE THE HEADLINER, THE REASON TO COME IN AND BE THE STAR. DANIELS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE CREDIT, SO I STARTED POSING TO GET THE ACCOLADES. SHE SAYS I WENT ON TO POSE FOR MAGAZINES TO GET ACCOLADES TO GO ON TOUR. HOFFINGER, HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED THAT WORK? STORMY DANIELS, 21. HOFFINGER, DID YOU WORK IN THE ADULT FILM INDUSTRY? DANIELS, YES, WE HAD CONTESTS IN NORTH AMERICA, THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE MOST WERE -- AND THEN WE'RE STILL TYPING HERE, SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE IN THIS TESTIMONY FROM STORMY DANIELS. DANNY, HOW CRITICAL IS THE TESTIMONY FROM STORMY DANIELS TO THIS CASE? >> THERE ARE TWO ANSWERS TO THAT QUESTION. IN TERMS OF FLASHINESS AND IN TERMS OF NAME RECOGNITION, STORMY DANIELS IS NEAR THE TOP, UP THERE WITH MICHAEL COHEN. IN TERMS OF SUBSTANTIVE EVIDENCE, NOT THAT IMPORTANT IN MY VIEW. LET ME SAY IT THIS WAY, THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER WITNESSES THAT ARE FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO THE PROSECUTION'S CASE. ARGUABLY EVEN TODAY AND YESTERDAY, NAMES THAT YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF BEFORE, PEOPLE WHO ARE INSIDE THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION WHO HANDLED THE FINANCES, YOU COULD ARGUE THAT YESTERDAY A HUGE PORTION OF THE PEOPLE'S CASE WAS MADE WITH WITNESSES THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF. AND THEN YOU HAD SOMEONE LIKE STORMY DANIELS, WHICH I TOOK THE POSITION THAT THEY ARGUABLY DIDN'T NEED TO CALL HER, I THINK THEY DO FOR TWO MAIN REASONS, NUMBER ONE, TO BOOK END AND PUT A NAME TO THE FACE OF THE TRANSACTION FROM COHEN TO DANIELS. AND THEN ALSO I THINK SHE'LL TESTIFY ABOUT THE VALUE OF HER STORY, AND HOW THAT VALUE, LIKE ANY OTHER MARKET INCREASED AS THE ELECTION APPROACHED. SO SHE IS SIGNIFICANT TO THE PROSECUTION'S CASE, BUT IN TERMS OF WHAT EVIDENCE THEY NEED FROM HER, IT IS REALLY MINIMAL. THIS IS MORE ABOUT CONTEXT, THIS IS MORE ABOUT NAME RECOGNITION, THE JURY WILL BE RIVETED IN A WAY THAT MAYBE THEY WEREN'T RIVETED YESTERDAY WITH ALL THE ACCOUNTING TESTIMONY. SO, THIS IS GOING TO BE A GOOD WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, EVEN IF SHE IS LIMITED IN HER TESTIMONY, I DON'T THINK SHE IS GOING TO BE VY LIMITED AND ALSO I WAS WONDERING IF SHE MIGHT SORT OF GO OFF SCRIPT AND MAYBE SAY SOME OUTRAGEOUS THINGS, DOESN'T SEEM THAT WAY RIGHT NOW. BUT RIGHT NOW SHE APPEARS TO BE RESPONDING TO WHAT THE PROSECUTION'S ASKING HER, BUT WHEN THE DEFENSE GETS UP, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY SHE MIGHT THROW OUT A FEW GRENADES IF THEY ASK QUESTIONS THAT ARE ILL ADVISED. THEY ASKED QUESTIONS OF STORMY DANIELS AT THEIR OWN RISK, THE DEFENSE DOES, BECAUSE SHE IS NOT REALLY UNDER THE CONTROL THE WAY A COOPERATING WITNESS WOULD BE OF THE PROSECUTION, SO, SHE COULD REALLY SAY ANYTHING AND SHE ARGUABLY HAS A MOTIVE TO DO SO TO STAY IN THE PUBLIC LIGHT. >> AND RIGHT NOW SHE IS STILL JUST TALKING ABOUT HER BACKGROUND, THEY'RE ASKING, DID YOU CONTINUE TO WRITE AND DIRECT FILMS, HOW OLD WERE YOU AT THE TIME, SHE WAS 23 WHEN SHE WAS OFFERED A CONTRACT IN ADULT FILM WRITING AND IF SHE CONTINUES TO WRITE AND DIRECT FILMS, SHE SAYS, YES, I STILL DO. SHE DESCRIBES THE TYPES OF MOVIES SHE HAS WRITTEN AND DIRECTED, AND SHE SAYS THERE IS THE KINDS THAT AREN'T SCRIPTED, THEY'RE JUST SORT OF SCENES, AND THEN THERE ARE ACTUAL MOVIES THAT HAVE SEX, SHE SAYS SHE STARTED DIRECTING WHEN SHE WAS 23, STARTS LISTING SOME OF THE NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT MOVIES SHE HAS DIRECTED. CATHERINE, IS IT RISKY TO PUT STORMY DANIELS ON THE STAND IF YOU'RE THE PROSECUTOR? >> NO. BECAUSE -- AND I AGREE WITH DANNY, SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO BE CALLED. HER LAWYER WAS CALLED. HE CONFIRMED THE PAYMENT, THE BANKER CONFIRMED THE WIRE. BUT I ALWAYS FELT AS A PROSECUTOR YOU DON'T WANT TO HIDE A WITNESS, YOU DON'T WANT A JURY THINKING WHY DIDN'T THEY CALL HER, UNLESS SHE WAS GOING TO BE HORRIFIC AND SHE'S WILLING TO TESTIFY, I WOULD PUT HER ON. I THINK THE CROSS EXAMINATION IS GOING TO BE DONE BY SUSAN NECHELES WHO ON THAT DEFENSE TEAM IS THE MOST EXPERIENCED IN TERMS OF DOING CROSS EXAMINATION. SO, AND, AGAIN, THE WOMAN POINT, SO I DON'T THINK SHE WILL OPEN THE DOOR TO SOME OUTRAGEOUS TESTIMONY COMING OUT OF MISS DANIELS' MOUTH UNLESS SHE VOLUNTEERS THAT, WHICH WOULD NOT MAKE HER LOOK GOOD. >> JEREMY? >> COMPLETES THE NARRATIVE TO EVERYONE'S POINT. YOU DON'T NEED HER THERE TO PROVE THE CASE, BUT YOU NEED HER THERE IF YOU WANT TO COMPLETE THE NARRATIVE AND NOT SEEM LIKE YOU'RE HIDING SOMETHING. THE DANGER FOR THE DEFENSE, IF THE DEFENSE TAKES THE TACTIC THIS IS A SHAKEDOWN AND SHE'S A DISTORTIONIST BLACKMAILER, THEY'RE GOING TO DROP AND DETONATE THEIR OWN GRENADE AND OPEN THAT DOOR THAT THAT LIMITED SEXUAL STORY THAT JUDGE MERCHAN SAID WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO INTO THE DETAILS, WELL, DOES IT OPEN UP THE DOOR TO THAT, DOES IT OPEN UP THE DOOR TO ANY OTHER CONVERSATIONS THAT OCCURRED, THERE IS A LOT OF FEAR THAT THE PROSECUTION, PARDON ME, THE DEFENSE MIGHT HAVE IF THEY GO TOO FAR OFF COURSE, AND OPEN THAT DOOR. SO, IF SHE NEEDED, AGAIN, SHE HELPS, AND SHE IS ESSENTIAL TO COMPLETE THAT STORY, THAT NARRATIVE, SHE DOESN'T PROVE THE ELEMENTS AND THERE IS A DANGER
