The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s hush-money criminal trial in New York City warned Monday that the former president could be arrested if he disrupts proceedings by failing to appear in court throughout the trial process.
According to WPIX 11, New York Judge Juan M. Merchan threatened that Trump would be arrested if he did not appear at various court proceedings and that the criminal trial would continue even if he was in jail. The judge explained that he provides all defendants with the same warning at the start of each trial.
“If you do not show up there will be an arrest,” Merchan told Trump, according to Jesse Rodriguez, vice president of Editorial and Booking.
The New York Times reported that Trump acknowledged Merchan’s warning during Monday’s court session.
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According to ABC News, Trump’s attorney indicated Monday that the former president “wants to be present at everything” throughout the criminal trial, including side conferences that take place throughout the jury selection process. While Merchan warned that the former president’s presence “at everything” could cause “logistical” issues with the Secret Service, he said he would work to accommodate Trump.
In light of Monday’s threat, Mike Davis, former Chief Counsel for Nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), told Real America’s Voice, “This whole process is clearly rigged against President Trump.”
Alex Bruesewitz, CEO of X Strategies, explained that forcing Trump to show up for court appearances is “election interference, as “Democrats are trying to take away Trump’s ability to campaign in the middle of a Presidential election!”
In addition to the judge’s warning, WPIX 11 reported that the jury selection process officially started on Monday for the former president’s criminal trial. Trump previously pleaded “not guilty” to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records over claims that Trump’s company paid $130,000 in hush-money payments to prevent adult film actor Stormy Daniels from making public statements about an alleged affair with Trump.
According to WPIX 11, Trump has been accused of reimbursing his former lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 allegedly paid to Daniels during the 2016 presidential election; however, Trump’s legal team has claimed that the payments to Cohen were legal expenses and were not part of a hush-money cover-up.
Prior to the start of Monday’s trial, Trump issued a statement on Truth Social, saying, “When I walk into that courtroom, I know I will have the love of 200 million Americans behind me, and I will be FIGHTING for the FREEDOM of 325 MILLION AMERICANS!”
The former president also made a statement to reporters outside the New York courtroom on Monday, saying, “This is really an attack on a political opponent. That’s all it is. So I’m very honored to be here.”
