During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Alex Witt Show," Guardian reporter Hugo Lowell emphasized how angry Judge Juan Merchan was when Donald Trump made comments that could be overheard by prospective jurors and in the audio feed to the overflow room where reporters were gathered.
Speaking with the host, Lowell said he was in that overflow room due to the volume of reporters covering the Manhattan hush money trial, and that Merchan lost his patience with Trump to an extreme degree.
Asked about the confrontation, Lowell replied, "The incident with the jury intimidation was when a juror was walking out. Trump made a remark that was audible enough to be heard in the overflow room and picked up on the microphones and was also picked up by the judge."
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"And Judge Merchan really went apoplectic, he was basically making the case that he is not going to tolerate any juror intimidation in his courtroom," he added. "This has been a subject that has been an issue for all of Trump's criminal cases for a very long time. Trump likes to make comments about prospective trial witnesses, prospective jurors."
"In fact he has been going on about that on his social media account and that's partly why he is going to be before a contempt hearing on Tuesday to answer for his social media post attacking people like Michael Cohen and leaking and posting articles from the New York Post attacking other trial witnesses," he reported.
"So this is clearly going to be an issue and it's going to be an issue throughout the trial — If Trump can stay seated, if he can stay a proper defendant and adhere by the rules, and keep his thoughts to himself. Otherwise, he will find himself in a great deal of trouble."
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MSNBC 04 20 2024 13 27 13 youtu.be
