Todd Blanche got an earful from Judge Merchan on Tuesday at a sidebar where Trump was called out for cursing under his breath and acting like a whiny toddler.
This all occurred while Stormy Daniels was on the stand, testifying about her 90 second "brief" sexual encounter with Donald Trump 18 years ago. The Washington Post describes his rant as "angry, profane muttering" that "alarmed the judge."
No one knew about this sidebar or what was said until the transcript was published on Tuesday night, hence why it was not in the daily roundup. Reports are that Judge Merchan called up Trump lawyer, Todd Blanche, to the bench during a midday break to tell him that Trump was “cursing audibly” and "possibly intimidating Daniels." The judge went on to say "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. It has the potential to intimidate the witness and the jury can see that.”
Blanche, like a parent being told that his toddler was disrupting a movie, told the judge that he would speak to his uncontrollable client.
Judge Merchan responded “I am speaking to you here at the bench because I don’t want to embarrass him. You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that.”
Here is the transcript of the exchange:
EMBARRASS HIM?? HIM? He is the one who is out of control. CALL HIM OUT publicly. Tell him to control himself and stop CURSING and acting like a petulant child or threaten to put duct tape over his mouth or a giant face cage, a la Hannibal Lechter. Let's not play around with this.
Trump’s angry words and actions from the defense table are not the first time he has upset a judge. He also sparred with the judge overseeing his E. Jean Carroll defamation case earlier this year leading to his threatened expulsion due to his inability to control himself.
This is the Republican candidate for President and the leader of the current Republican Party! I can't even.
Two tiers of justice? Yes. And Trump is the one who is being treated better.
