Judge attacks Trump for trying to ‘intimidate’ jury

The judge in Donald Trump’s landmark hush money case attacked the former president after he mumbled and gestured at a potential juror. Judge Juan Merchan told Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche to “talk to him” about his behavior.

It came as Trump already faces jail time for contempt of court if he violates a gag order banning him from attacking people involved in the case. The judge told Mr Blanche: ‘Your client said something audibly. He gestured and mumbled toward (the juror).”

Raising his voice, the judge continued: ‘I will not tolerate that. I don’t want jurors to be intimidated in this courtroom. Take a moment and talk to your client about it!’ Trump has already been warned that his anger could see him found in contempt of court for violating a silence order imposed by Judge Merchan.

It prohibits him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and the judge’s family. Prosecutors have already asked for a fine. Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying company records to cover up a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels says she had a sexual encounter with Trump about a decade earlier.

The Republican candidate for president in the November 5 election has pleaded not guilty and denied any meeting took place. On day two of jury selection, Trump and his lawyers got a potential juror dismissed over a 2017 social media post. The potential juror had written on Facebook about Trump, who was president at the time. They wrote: ‘Take him out and lock him up.’

When the potential juror was called into court to explain himself, he said, “I had strong feelings at the time,” but that today he could be impartial. Judge Merchan said the quote about wanting Trump to be thrown in jail was a problem. He said: “Everyone knows that if Mr. Trump is found guilty in this case, there is a possible prison sentence, which is incarceration.”

Then Trump, looking on, shook his head. Judge Merchan said, “I don’t think I can let this juror stay.” Judge Merchan then denied a request to dismiss a female potential juror over her husband’s Facebook posts, leading to a bizarre sequence in court.

The judge described a meme of a character from “The Simpsons” holding Trump’s head with a photo of Barack Obama in the frame. The caption read: ‘I don’t think this is what they meant by orange is the new black’.

The judge read out another message that was a meme with the caption: “The Avengers unite against Donald Trump… and to get Mark Ruffalo naked.” Judge Merchan said if this was the worst they could find on the juror, were messages from her husband that were “humorous, albeit not very good humor,” from eight years ago, it gave him confidence in the juror.

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