Most people in his situation would shut the fuck up….
NOT Donald Trump…..
When former President Donald Trump arrives for his first appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court next week, he will look up at a judge who has played a key role in several investigations involving those in Trump’s orbit.
Judge Juan Merchan presided over the convictions and guilty plea last year of two Trump Organization companies, and their former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, one of Trump’s most trusted advisers. Merchan is also overseeing the ongoing criminal proceedings involving Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist and senior counselor in the White House who has pleaded not guilty to state fraud and money laundering charges.
A grand jury has indicted Trump in connection with a possible falsification of business records case tied to a 2016 “hush money” payment. There are approximately 30 counts in the indictment, two sources confirmed. Merchan was assigned from a “wheel” of judges to supervise the grand jury and oversee any indictments arising from its investigation, a court spokesman said Friday.
Trump went after Merchan by name in a post on his social media site TruthSocial on Friday morning.
“The Judge ‘assigned’ to my Witch Hunt Case, a ‘Case’ that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME. His name is Juan Manuel Marchan,” Trump wrote, misspelling the judge’s last name….
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When lawyers for the Trump Organization said they might argue political bias during the companies’ trial, Merchan quickly shut them down.
“I will not allow you in any way to bring up a selective prosecution claim, or claim this is some sort of novel prosecution,” Merchan said last September, limiting both sides in the Trump Organization trial to arguments focused on the law.
In the Trump Organization trial, the two entities were found guilty by a jury in December of a combined 17 counts related to criminal tax fraud….
Would THIS work?
“Donald Trump can’t seem to stop talking about his indictment. But once he’s arraigned, it’s ‘extremely likely’ that he’ll have to,“ Insiderreports.
“His freedom to rant on Truth Social and say what he wants about his case at rallies will likely change once he surrenders and appears in a Manhattan courthouse.”