Juan Merchan admonishes ex-president for ‘gesturing and speaking in the direction of the juror’ as jury selection continues

Juan Merchan admonishes ex-president for ‘gesturing and speaking in the direction of the juror’ as jury selection continues

Donald Trump met a stern rebuke on Tuesday from the jurist presiding over his criminal hush-money trial, with the judge warning: “I won’t have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom.”

Trump’s apparent misbehavior did not derail the trial’s progress; seven jurors were picked by day’s end.

Judge Juan Merchan’s comment came shortly after jury selection resumed after lunch. Trump’s team had found video on one possible juror’s social media that appeared to show a street celebration over his loss in the 2020 election.

She was called in to answer questions about it, and when she left, Merchan directly addressed Trump’s lawyers. “Your client was audible,” Merchan said, noting that she was just 12ft from him.

“It was audible. He was gesturing and he was speaking in the direction of the juror,” Merchan said, insisting he would not accept such behavior.

“I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom,” Merchan admonished. “Take a minute to speak to your client.”

Merchan’s warning to Trump marked a sharp diversion from what was otherwise a relatively routine jury selection process.

    • Zron@lemmy.world
      3·
      3 months ago

      I’m not holding my breath until it actually happens.

      This whole trump business has shined a studio spotlight on how blatantly corrupt the US justice system is.

      If you had some random dude on trial for fraud or theft of government property, he’d be in jail that night with a bond so high no bond company would touch it with a ten mile pole. If that same dude then threatened jury members during selection, he’d already have a trial date for tampering with the jury.

      But trump is a rich boy and a former president, so he gets to walk free and threaten all the jurors he wants, with only his lawyers getting a stern talking to. It’s a joke. The wealthy have long been protected from the legal system by the legal system, and this whole trump fiasco has only highlighted how blatant it is. He said the quiet part out loud back in 2016 when he said he could shoot a man on 5th avenue and walk away. He knew the game, and knew nothing he did would earn him real consequences due to his wealth and status.

      Until I see him in cuffs on his way to a jail, I’m just going to assume the system is working exactly how it was designed to.