Rhona Graff’s questioning in Manhattan court on Friday was brief, but her testimony was nonetheless interesting. After all, she was Donald Trump’s personal assistant for more than 30 years.
The former US president has to stand trial because he is accused of manipulating his accounting records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels. She is said to have had an affair with Trump in 2006. The prosecution believes the money was intended to prevent Daniels from speaking about her time with Trump before the 2016 election. The transaction itself was not illegal, but when returning the money to his lawyer Michael Cohen, Trump falsified business documents to conceal their actual purpose, according to the allegations.
Trump’s former assistant Rhona Graff confirmed in court that she created and managed the address book entries of Stormy Daniels and the former Playboy model Karen McDougal for Donald Trump. Karen McDougal also received a similar payment before the 2016 presidential election. Graff also testified that she once saw Stormy Daniels in Trump’s office in Trump Tower. The reason for the meeting could have been a possible appearance by Daniel on the TV show “The Celebrity Apprentice,” hosted by Trump.
Graff praises the good working relationship
During her testimony, Rhona Graff, whose legal fees are being paid by the Trump Organization, praised her former boss and their good working relationship. As she left the witness stand, the former president stood to shake his former aide’s hand.
Trump regularly uses the globally acclaimed criminal trial in New York – the first ever against a former US president – for campaign appearances in front of the courtroom. On Friday, he complained again about the temperature in room 1530, which he felt was too low: “We have another day in court, an ice-cold courthouse. I think it’s intentionally very cold here,” said Trump.