NEW YORK—Stormy Daniels nearly derailed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case Tuesday as she testified about her alleged “sexual encounter” with former President Donald Trump, frustrating the judge and prompting the defense to motion for a mistrial.
While he declined to grant a mistrial, Judge Juan Merchan — who has not often criticized the prosecutors — did disapprove of Daniels’ behavior on the stand, allowing many of the objections raised by the defense during her questioning and agreeing when the mistrial motion was raised that many details would have been left better “unsaid.” Daniels did not hold back on the stand, speaking quickly and being told to slow down multiple times by Merchan as she provided elaborate descriptions, took detours with side stories and inserted demeaning details that showed her disdain for Trump.
The case, as the jury was…
