The judge in charge of Donald Trump’s hush-money trial scolded him for using curse words out loud during Stormy Daniels’s testimony. This happened during a private conversation on Tuesday between the judge, prosecutors, and Trump’s lawyers.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan stated that Trump’s actions could potentially intimidate Daniels, who was testifying as a crucial witness in the case. The judge also warned that he might hold Trump in contempt of court once again.
“I know that your client is angry right now, but he is using curse words that can be heard, and he is visibly shaking his head in a disrespectful way,” Merchan told Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche. “The witness may feel scared, and the jury can notice that.”
Daniels was sharing a story during her testimony about going to the bathroom while meeting with Trump in his suite after a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, California. She later testified that this was a lead-up to Trump having sex with her.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office claims that Trump made false business records to hide a $130,000 payment to Daniels before the 2016 election, in order to keep her quiet about their sexual encounter. Trump strongly denies these allegations.
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In a private conversation mentioned in the trial transcript obtained by Business Insider, Merchan expressed disapproval of Trump’s response to an anecdote shared by Daniels. The anecdote involved Daniels playfully hitting Trump on the behind with a magazine.
Daniels testified that during their conversation that evening in Trump’s hotel room, the real estate mogul had bragged about being featured on the cover of a recent financial magazine.
“I said, ‘Someone should give you a spanking with that,'” Daniels gave a testimony. “That’s the only thing I find interesting about that magazine.” “I think he didn’t expect me to do it.” “So, he rolled it up and gave me a challenging look,” Daniels continued. “So, now I had to.”
When prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked more questions, Daniels provided more details.
“I took it away from him and told him to face the other way.” “And I hit him,” she said.
“Where should I hit him?” Hoffinger asked.
“Right on the butt,” Daniels said during his testimony.
In the sidebar conversation, Merchan mentioned that Trump responded to that story in an inappropriate manner.
“Once, I observed Ms. Daniels testifying about rolling up the magazine and potentially hitting your client. After that, your client shook his head and looked down,” Merchan said.
The judge also said that Trump used offensive language when Daniels testified about “The Apprentice.” Daniels said that Trump had promised to have her on the NBC show, but it never happened.
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“I think he was looking at you, Mr. Blanche. Later, when we were talking about ‘The Apprentice,’ he once again said something vulgar and looked at you this time,” Merchan said.
Previously, Merchan issued a gag order to prevent Trump from discussing witnesses or jurors because there was concern that they could be threatened. The judge recently ruled that Trump broke the gag order 10 times and warned that he could be sent to jail.
“Merchan told Trump on Tuesday that the $1,000 fines are not stopping people from doing something wrong. So, in the future, the Court might have to think about sending people to jail instead,” Merchan said. This is not the first time that Trump has behaved disruptively in court while a woman was testifying about an encounter with him.
During E. Jean Carroll’s second civil trial against Trump earlier this year, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan repeatedly asked Trump to speak more quietly and “keep your voice down” during Carroll’s testimony. The judge even threatened to remove Trump from the courtroom. In a previous case, a group of jurors determined that Trump was responsible for sexually abusing her in the mid-1990s.
Carroll’s lawyers say that Trump interrupted and taunted Carroll while she was giving her testimony. “Mr. Trump is allowed to be here.” “That right can be taken away if he is disruptive, which is what has been reported to me, and if he ignores court orders,” Kaplan said during the trial in January.
“Mr. Trump, I hope I don’t have to think about removing you from the trial or at least from being present,” Kaplan then told Trump in open court. “I know you’re probably really excited for me to do that.”
“I would really like it,” Trump replied.
Merchan approached Trump’s disruptions in a more personalized way. During the sidebar conference on Tuesday, Merchan advised Blanche to directly communicate with him. The judge explained that he chose not to speak directly to Trump because he didn’t want to cause him any embarrassment.
“You should talk to him,” Merchan said. “I will not accept or allow that.” After Donald Trump and his lawyers came back from the break, Blanche told the judge that he had talked to his client.
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