Porn star Stormy Daniels will not have to answer a subpoena from former President Donald Trump's defense team as his criminal trial continues.
Judge Juan Merchan issued the ruling on Wednesday. Trump's lawyers were attempting to obtain documents from Daniels related to his trial, but Merchan said the subpoena was "overbroad."
The subpoena was merely "an unrestrained foray into confidential records in the hope that the unearthing of some unspecified information will enable them to impeach witnesses," Merchan ruled.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, was charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment shortly before the 2016 U.S. election to buy the silence of Daniels about a sexual encounter she has said they had in 2006.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies the encounter.
Prosecutors have said it was part of a wider conspiracy to hide unflattering information from voters at a time when he was facing multiple accusations of sexual misbehavior. Trump went on to win the 2016 election.
Trump's defense was looking to get all documents from Daniels related to a documentary she participated in that premiered on Peacock this year, according to The Washington Examiner.
Daniels was served with the subpoena at a Brooklyn nightclub on March 18, though she ignored it, and her attorneys and prosecutors requested the judge squash it, according to the Washington Examiner.
Daniels is expected to be a witness for the prosecution in the Trump trial. On Truth Social two weeks ago, Trump called her a sleazebag.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Merchan needs to be removed from the case.
"We have a rigged judge who is working for the Democrat Party," Trump said.
The trial, which is expected to last up to two months, marks the first criminal trial of a former American president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.