I believe the Times reporters are missing the point entirely. If this forced sex account is the first time anybody is hearing of it, it NOT relevant. The relevance is FAR outweighed by the prejudice. That is where the danger of a mistrial stems and accounts for Merchan’s anger. The details of the sex are irrelevant, that they had sex is relevant only to explain the motive for the subsequent hush money payment—that’s the charge, not having an extramarital affair, not engaging in prostitution, not rape.