Courtroom Drama: Judge Accuses Trump of Trying to Intimidate Jurors on Day 2
It’s only the second day of Donald Trump’s New York trial, but the judge has already seen fit to sternly warn the former president to shut up in the courtroom, after New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan witnessed Trump mumbling something while facing a juror in the courtroom.
“Your client was uttering something in the direction of the juror,” Merchan said to Trump’s lead attorney, Todd Blanche. “I won’t tolerate that. I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear. Take a minute with your client.”
While the court proceeding quickly moved on as lawyers continued to debate the merits of knocking potential jurors off the panel, the brief lashing showed how the judge continues to wrestle with a former president whose courtroom behavior shows undeniable contempt for the nation’s justice system.