Donald Trump acts terrified to face a jury. He should be scared

[marmar]

Donald Trump acts terrified to face a jury. He should be scared
Trump's efforts to disrupt his own trials only make jurors hate him more

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 3, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Donald Trump, as usual, is unhappy. Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Trump's first criminal trial in Manhattan, just expanded an already existing gag order on the infamously whiny former president. The old one barred Trump from talking about jurors, witnesses, court staff, prosecutors, or family members of court staff, with the exception of the judge himself and lead prosecutor, District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump, like a 5-year-old looking for loopholes in the rules against cookie-stealing, immediately went after the judge's daughter instead, spreading lies about her that were clearly meant to make her worry for her safety. On Monday, at Bragg's request, Merchan amended the gag order to cover his own and Bragg's family members.

....(snip)....

This language about recusal suggests this tantrum is about more than Trump's usual emotional incontinence. For one thing, it's his usual efforts to throw as much sand in the gears as possible in hopes of delaying a trial scheduled to start April 15. It also suggests Trump is already looking past this trial to the appeals process, where all these accusations can be bundled into the argument that the judge was prejudicial and therefore the conviction should be thrown out.

....(snip)....

This case indeed gets downplayed in the media because it's viewed as not as serious as Trump's other criminal cases regarding his attempted coup or his theft of classified documents. But a jury is not asked to decide where they rank this case on the distorted scale of Trump's criminality. They're just going to be asked if Trump committed business fraud to hide a campaign finance violation. Trump knows better than anyone how guilty he is of that accusation. That he's sweating bullets suggests Trump thinks things won't go so well at trial.

....(snip)....

Not that he has the attention span, but Trump would be wise to watch the recent documentary "The Truth vs. Alex Jones," about the two successful defamation lawsuits filed against the Infowars host by the parents of Sandy Hook victims. In real time, I closely followed these cases addressing Jones' repeated defamtion of these parents by accusing them, falsely, of fabricating or lying about their children's murders. But even for me, the documentary was riveting — especially in the courtroom — for one big reason: You can see the jurors' faces when they are in the presence of Jones. It's quite the trip, watching these people grow increasingly disgusted with Jones, with his bombastic lying, to the point where some looked physically ill as he kept talking. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/03/donald-acts-terrified-to-face-a-jury-he-should-be-scared/

[ProudMNDemocrat]

1. Which is why he is doing all this ATTACKING!

The thought of prison is frightening. TSF is GUILTY in the court of Public Opinion and most likely in a Court of Law.

His total disregard for the Rule of Law is pretty obvious. Anyone who says they are INNOCENT would want a Speedy trial based on facts, would not intimidate or threaten Judges, potential juries, and those lawyers involved in the case. Nor cause delays in the proceedings. The more desperate TSF acts, the more GUILTY he is.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Judge Merchan's daughter was cleared by ethics board before Trump complained: legal expert

This issue has been already litigated and a states ethics panel ruled on this supposed conflict

Link to tweet

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-hush-money-judge-ethics/

Donald Trump filed a motion for Judge Juan Merchan to recuse himself from the trial last year, but it was only after the judge requested a ruling about the matter from an ethics board.

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin pointed to the timeline of the motion, explaining that on May 4, 2023, the New York State Judicial Ethics Advisory Board reviewed Merchan for possible conflicts and determined there were none.

"We see nothing in the inquiry to suggest that the outcome of the case could have any effect on the judge's relative, the relative's business, or any of their interests," the committee found, an ABC News report quoted.

"There is simply nothing new here that would alter this Court's prior conclusion that nothing about this proceeding will directly benefit Authentic or this Court's family member, let alone this Court," wrote prosecutor Matthew Colangelo when responding to Trump's motion.

Here is part of the prior ruling by the ethics panel

Link to tweet

TFG's latest motion will not succeed

[Emile]

3. Judges keep cutting him breaks, jury could send his ass off to jail.