Donald Trump’s lawyer has been told by a judge to stop the former president from “cursing audibly” and “shaking his head” during Stormy Daniels’ testimony at his hush money trial.

Judge Juan Merchan said the former president’s swearing had the “potential to intimidate” Ms Daniels – the porn star who was paid to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

The judge also told lawyer Todd Blanche that Trump had at one stage “uttered a vulgarity” during Ms Daniels’ testimony in New York on Tuesday.

The conversation took place during a sidebar at the trial – where a lawyer is called to speak to the judge about something so that the jury and the rest of the courtroom cannot hear.

Details of the exchange add to what would have already been remembered as a surreal day in court, as Ms Daniels described a sexual encounter she claims she had with Trump in Lake Tahoe.

As it happened: Stormy Daniels testifies for first time during hush money trial

The official court transcript reveals that after Ms Daniels had given part of her testimony, the judge told Mr Blanche: “I understand that your client is upset at this point, but he is cursing audibly, and he is shaking his head visually and that’s contemptuous.

“It has the potential to intimidate the witness and the jury can see that.”

Mr Blanche responded by saying he would talk to Trump, the transcript shows.

Mr Merchan also told Mr Blanche: “I am speaking to you here at the bench because I don’t want to embarrass him.”

The judge continued: “You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that.”

Mr Blanche again told Mr Merchan that he would talk to Trump before the judge spoke further about the former president’s behaviour in the courtroom.

The judge said: “One time I noticed when Ms Daniels was testifying about rolling up the magazine, and presumably smacking your client, and after that point he shook his head and he looked down. And later, I think he was looking at you, Mr. Blanche, later when were talking about The Apprentice, at that point he again uttered a vulgarity and looked at you this time. Please talk to him at the break, Mr Blanche.”

Mr Blanche responded by saying he would talk to his client.

Read more:
Who is Stormy Daniels?
Analysis: This was Trump with his trousers down

Following Ms Daniels’ testimony, the Trump team used its opportunity to question the adult film star to paint her as motivated by personal hatred of the former president and hoping to profit off her claims against him.

It comes after the judge found on Monday that Trump had again violated a gag order that bars him from disparaging witnesses or the jury.

Mr Merchan warned Trump he could face jail time “if necessary” for any further violations. Trump has already been fined $10,000 (£8,000) for breaches of the gag order.

What is the trial about?

Payments made to Ms Daniels by Trump’s then lawyer Michael Cohen near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign are at the heart of the hush money case.

Cohen paid Ms Daniels $130,000 (£104,000) in return for her keeping quiet about her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump.

Ms Daniels testified on Tuesday about the contact she said she had with Trump and the payment to buy her silence.

Trump, the Republican candidate for president again ahead of this year’s election, has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records to cover up the payment and denies having sex with Ms Daniels.

Legislation dubbed the “Taylor Swift bill” has passed in Minnesota in an effort to help people buy concert tickets.

The bill, officially called House File 1989 in reference to Taylor Swift’s hit album and the year she was born, was signed into Minnesota law on Tuesday.

It will require sellers offering tickets to people in the state or tickets for concerts being held there to disclose all fees up front and prohibit resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket, among other measures.

Minnesota State Representative Kelly Moller, chief author of the bill, pushed for the legislation after she tried to get tickets to one of Swift’s concerts in 2022.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Ms Moller said she was among thousands of people who became stuck in ticket sales company Ticketmaster’s system after it crashed amid the huge demand for Swift concert tickets and attacks from bots, which tried to buy tickets for resale at inflated prices.

The situation led to congressional hearings but no federal legislation.

Governor Tim Walz, who signed the bill into law at First Avenue, a popular concert venue in downtown Minneapolis, said it was “protection so you don’t get a bad ticket, a fraudulent ticket, and resellers can’t snatch them all up before you get an opportunity”.

Two young girls – one wearing a shirt that said “A LOT going on at the moment” in a nod to Swift, and another wearing a shirt that said “Iowa 22” in reference to basketball star Caitlin Clark – attended the bill signing with their dad, Mike Dean, who testified in support of it.

Mr Dean said his daughter came to him in December and said she wanted to see Clark play. He said the website initially showed the tickets would cost $300 total, but they ended up costing over $500 because of hidden fees.

The timer had begun in the online checkout process, so he had just minutes to decide whether to buy the tickets for the higher price or lose them.

Read more:
Travis Kelce to take up role in horror series
College course on Taylor Swift offered to parents and carers

He ultimately bought them, but he told the Associated Press these practices mean customers can’t make informed decisions. The new law, he said, will bring transparency to the process.

Sky News contacted Ticketmaster for comment.

A spokesperson for fellow ticket sales giants StubHub said: “StubHub has long advocated for legislation that protects fans from anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices in the ticket buying process.

“We share the goals of HF1989 and look forward to continuing discussions with policymakers to advance policies that provide more transparency, more control, and more choice for ticket buyers.”

The law takes effect from 1 January 2025 and applies to tickets sold on or after that date.

There are moments, more than others, that scream the humiliation of it all.

Take this, before Tuesday’s proceedings got underway. “No descriptions of genitalia or anything but it’s important to elicit that she had sex with him.”

It was the prosecution’s assurance prior to questioning Stormy Daniels after Donald Trump’s lawyers had objected, in advance, to her testifying to the details of sexual acts.

It would be that kind of day in this kind of trial.

Trump trial as it happened: Stormy Daniels accused of car park ‘threat’ lie

In a dingy New York courtroom, this was the president and the porn star, together again, in a reunion most reductive for Mr Trump.

He might have secured guarantees on anatomical detail but, from the moment the court heard “The People call Stormy Daniels” this was Mr Trump with his trousers down, no doubt.

Ms Daniels told her story, of growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of a single mother. She edited her high school newspaper, enjoyed ballet dancing and horses and had ambitions to be a technician.

By the time she met Mr Trump, aged 27, we learned she was an adult film actress and director, star of the likes of 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.

By her telling, the Trump encounter was more Austin Powers – the penthouse suite, the satin pyjamas and the spanking with a rolled-up magazine.

“Bullshit,” Mr Trump was heard to mutter. His problem is that this kind of bullshit sticks.

Whatever his lawyers’ protestations about Ms Daniels’ credibility – and there are holes – that’s hardly the headline for a watching, voting, public.

What will they take from court to the polling booth in November? Quite apart from the imagery, what message does it send to key demographics?

An affair with a porn star, whilst married, is a poor fit with the principles of evangelicals, so critical to the Trump vote in 2016. Suburban women might also reel from this tawdry peek backstage at the presidency.

How much will Mr Trump worry? About $130,000 (£103,000) worth. It is the premium he paid to stop the story coming out in the first place.

Sadly, for him, the insurance policy has run out.