Eric Trump’s view from the front row of his father’s hush money trial: Crime is at an all-time high in New York so why is the city shut down for a $130,000 payment in 2016
Eric Trump accompanied his father for the first time at his criminal trial in New York on Tuesday morning and delivered a scathing assessment of what he saw.
“There are hundreds of law enforcement officers, the streets are closed for blocks around the courthouse and the entire DA’s office is there – their top prosecutors, all for a $130,000 attorney’s fee in 2016?” he told DailyMail.com.
Eric Trump sat in the front row just behind his father for the proceedings on the 15th floor of Manhattan’s outdated criminal court.
He learned his father was in contempt and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a silence order before listening to testimony from prosecution witnesses Gary Farro, a banker, and Keith Davidson, a lawyer representing the case.
Trump has denied 34 cases of corporate fraud.
Eric Trump (left) joined his father for the first time in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday morning. He asked why hundreds of officers were diverted from other duties to surround the courthouse while New York was suffering from high crime rates.
And his son said it was impossible not to conclude that the case was all about politics.
‘Crime is at an all-time high in New York,” he said. ‘Shops are closing left and right because of unthinkable shoplifting; the rest must hide their belongings behind sealed plexiglass to prevent them from being destroyed.
“Kids have been shot in Times Square. Women have been thrown to their deaths on the subway, drugs and homelessness are skyrocketing.
‘Nobody believes this production is serious. No one believes this isn’t 1,000 percent politically motivated.”
Allies have made similar points, questioning whether such a heavy police presence is necessary when officers have so much work to do elsewhere in the city.
While police officers guarded the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, students further north at Columbia University escalated their protest in Gaza, including taking over a building on campus.
His father has also condemned the street closures around the courthouse, complaining that it prevented his supporters from congregating in the area.
“Lower Manhattan around the courthouse, where I’m headed now, is completely CLOSED,” he posted on Truth Social last week.
Parts of a public square have been left open to protesters on both sides of the political divide, although navigating the streets around the courthouse has left visitors confused and disoriented.
Trump has denied 34 counts of falsifying corporate records. He is seen here with his lawyers
Eric Trump arrived with his father Tuesday morning as the trial entered its third week
Trump aide Margo Martin leaves Trump Tower with the president to go to court
Natalie Harp, another Trump aide, and his senior adviser Dan Scavino entered the motorcade
Eric arrived with Trump aides Margo McDonald and Natalie Harp. For the first time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was also present.
The trial is now in its third week and has kept Trump off the campaign trail. However, on Wednesday (if the court does not meet), he is scheduled to appear in Wisconsin and Michigan, where he will hold a meeting in the evening.
Trump is accused of falsifying company records to conceal hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Jurors heard testimony from longtime aide Rhona Graff, who described once seeing Daniels at Trump’s office and assuming she was in the running to appear on an “Apprentice” show.
And last week, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker described how he agreed to act as the “eyes and ears” of the Trump campaign, seeking out and killing unflattering stories about the 2016 Republican nominee.
Elsewhere in the city, pro-Palestinian protesters smashed windows and took over a Columbia University campus building, escalating tensions between them and the school.
Texas Attorney General and close Trump ally Ken Paxton was also in attendance Tuesday
Judge Juan Merchan also warned the former president that he could face jail time if he does not stop his stream of attacks on witnesses.
And in a stark warning in his ruling, the judge noted the challenge of applying financial sanctions against a defendant who can “easily” afford the fine. In the case of billionaire Trump, he raised the possibility “of whether prison may be a necessary punishment in some cases.”
But there was good news for the 77-year-old former president as Judge Merchan ruled he could attend Barron’s high school graduation next month.
Trump aides were furious early in the trial when Merchan said he could not guarantee he could give the court a day off.
Trump was each fined $1,000 for a series of social media posts that targeted witness Michael Cohen and questioned the jury’s bias.