As former President Donald Trump’s infamous Manhattan Hush Money criminal trial marches forward, one crucial witness in this case has come forward, under the condition of anonymity, to speak with Mediaite about what it was truly like to testify in Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom while sitting face-to-face with the scandal-plagued ex-president who he’s testifying against.
The witness — who is not Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and “fixer” turned foe, Michael Cohen — has served as a crucial key to the prosecution in the case that will determine if a former United States president will be criminally charged with multiple felonies for the very first time in American history. This witness agreed to speak with Mediaite only on the condition that their identity was protected, as they truly fear the climate of violence and retribution that has saturated this country in the rise and wake of Donald J. Trump.
“There’s a lot of crazy people out there,” the witness told the publication. “Just look at January 6th, look at the protections that they established around the courthouse. The authorities took it seriously, so why shouldn’t I? I am concerned about retribution.”
They went on to admit that they fear not only Trump’s violence, but his affinity for vengeance, retribution, and cold, hard revenge.
“Is there going to be hell to pay if he becomes the President of the United States?” the witness pondered.
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The evidence of that violent climate can be seen through the heightened safety precautions that have been taken by police throughout this high-profile trial. The witness personally recalled being escorted by law enforcement officials from a pick-up location to the Manhattan courthouse, in an effort to ensure their safety and protection.
“It was an unmarked, government vehicle with two undercover law enforcement officers, and I was transported in the backseat and then shuttled to the courthouse,” the witness described. “It was a slow trek because there were two separate layers of barricades: an initial barricade and then a barricade that was closer to the courthouse so we had to get waved past after the driver, who was undercover law enforcement, showed their credentials. We got past each of those barriers then they swooped around to a street that was closed, they radioed ahead and… someone was outside waiting.”
A court officer met the witness on the street and escorted them from the car to a service entrance of the courthouse. Once inside the building, the witness and the court officer took an elevator to a room that was set aside to serve as a waiting area, where the witness describes waiting, alone and nervous, for more than 2 hours, waiting for their turn to testify.
Once their time came, they were shuttled into a small room that served as a witness holding area — described by the unnamed witness as about “six feet by twelve feet” with unsettling poor lighting and musty, old metal furniture.
Eventually, the court officer knocked on the door and escorted the witness into the courtroom, announcing their presence to the room.
“Two and a half hours sitting in this stale institutional government office and then you’re escorted into the courtroom,” packed with more than 100 people, according to the witness. ”
They describe walking past Trump and his legal team, seated just feet away from the table where the prosecution sat, with even less space between the witness box and the judge and jury.
“The judge is like right on top of you,” the witness described. “The jury box is maybe three feet away.”
While headlines have been full of stories about Trump nodding off and napping through his trial, the witness said the indicted ex-president stared a hole through them throughout their entire sworn testimony about the money paid to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels.
He was trying to mad-dog. He was staring and giving dirty looks, grimacing, staring at you, straight through you with a disapproving, intimidating look.
I was thinking, is the jury seeing this?”
When he wasn’t staring them down, the witness said Trump would close his eyes or stare up at the ceiling — behavior that the witness found to be disrespectful to the jury.
“He kept closing his eyes and then looking up at the ceiling,” they told the publication. “Almost like he couldn’t be bothered with the trial. Here are these jurors who have interrupted their lives to be here and Trump can’t show any respect. He’s constantly playing to voters and to the press, but he was not playing to the jurors, and in that room it’s all about the jury.”
When it comes to Trump’s behavior and rhetoric that resulted in a gag order against him, the witness said, “Even with the gag order the potential for intimidation is huge.” The witness pointed to the January 6th Capitol attack perpetrated by Donald’s “rabid followers,” as well as Donald’s personal vow to become the president of “retribution” if he returns to the White House next year.
But nevertheless, the witness feels that Merchan’s courtroom has humbled Donald Trump.
“A gravity existed in Judge Merchan’s court,” they recalled. “I think that everyone in attendance recognized the historic nature of the trial. I think that depending on perspective, some may think that this is a historic venture into firmly establishing the rule of law, while others think of the trial as a slippery slope of political prosecutions.”
You can read the full report from Mediaite here.
Featured image via screen capture
