Judge calls Trump out for ‘cursing audibly’ during Stormy Daniels testimony
Judge says former president was shaking his head while Daniels was on the stand
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New York Justice Juan Merchan, presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial, warned the former president’s lawyer about his client’s “contemptuous” behaviour as the former president was “cursing audibly” while adult film star Stormy Daniels testified in court.
Ms Daniels spoke for more than four hours in the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, walking the jury through her a sexual encounter she claims to have had with Mr Trump after meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in 2006.
The former president has been charged with allegedly falsifying business records as part of an alleged bid to hide hush money payments to Ms Daniels totalling $130,000 just weeks before the 2016 presidential election. Mr Trump denies all the charges against him and the alleged affair with Ms Daniels.
As Ms Daniels was relaying in court her alleged encounter with Trump nearly 18 years ago, the former president was cursing out loud and shaking his head, something Judge Merchan warned Trump’s defence attorney, Todd Blanche, about in a mid-morning break.
“I understand that your client is upset at this point, but he is cursing audibly, and he is shaking his head visually and that’s contemptuous,” Judge Merchan told Mr Blanche during a conversation at the bench out of earshot of the jury and away from microphones.
The exchange is only captured in the court reporter’s transcript, released after Tuesday’s proceedings.
“It has the potential to intimidate the witness, and the jury can see that,” the judge said, according to the court transcript.
Mr Blanche said he would talk to his client.
“You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that,” Judge Merchan added after saying he was speaking to the attorney at the bench because he didn’t want to “embarrass” Trump.
Again, Mr Blanche said he would talk to Mr Trump.
“One time I noticed when Ms Daniels was testifying about rolling up the magazine, and presumably smacking your client, and after that point [Mr Trump] shook his head, and he looked down. And later, I think he was looking at you, Mr Blanche, later when we were talking about The Apprentice, at that point he again uttered a vulgarity and looked at you this time,” Judge Merchan said.
Mr Blanche said he would talk to Mr Trump about this during a recess.
Ms Daniels spoke in front of the court about how she swatted Mr Trump “right on the butt” with a rolled-up magazine after she thought he was being arrogant during a conversation with him, and after that, he was “much more polite,” according to testimony from Ms Daniels.
She also said they discussed Mr Trump’s hit NBC series, The Apprentice, but doubted that even Mr Trump would be able to convince the network to hire an adult film star for the reality show.
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