Trump loses bid for mistrial in hush money case
Published Date: 5/7/2024
Source: axios.com

The judge in former President Trump's ongoing hush money criminal trial rejected his request for a mistrial on Tuesday.

The big picture: The request comes the same day adult film actress and star witness Stormy Daniels testified in the case. Trump's legal team alleged Daniels changed her story on the stand from what she said in 2016 when pushing for the mistrial.


  • "A lot of the testimony this witness talked about today is way different than the story she was peddling in 2016," Trump attorney Todd Blanche said Tuesday.
  • But Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case, said, "I don't think we're at the point where a mistrial is warranted," per the New York Times.

Catch up quick: In her testimony, Daniels described the night she says she met Trump at his hotel for dinner in 2006.

  • Daniels testified that she told Trump at the time that he was "arrogant." She recalled asking him about his wife, to which Trump allegedly said that he doesn't sleep in the same room with her.
  • Merchan told prosecutors that "the degree of detail we're going into here is just unnecessary," per CNN.
  • "When [Daniels] comes back to the stand, we can move it along more quickly," the judge said.

Zoom out: Trump's push for a mistrial is not uncommon. He has repeatedly criticized the trial proceedings, the judge and the prosecutor, and his legal team previously sought mistrials in his civil fraud case, though unsuccessfully.

Go deeper: Stormy Daniels describes dinner with Trump at N.Y. criminal trial

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.