Donald Trump Has ‘Final’ Problem for Judge Merchan, Legal Analyst Predicts
May 20, 2024
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Donald Trump’s legal strategy may create a “final” problem for the judge overseeing his hush-money case, a legal analyst has said.
Speaking on MSNBC’s Inside With Jen Psaki, former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann said the former president’s legal team may try to influence the jury in the last week of the trial, despite Judge Juan Merchan’s attempts to prevent jurors from being swayed by outside influence, including social media.
The case is set to determine, as alleged in a criminal indictment, whether Trump falsified business records over payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an alleged affair between them secret ahead of the 2016 election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges against him in the case.
On May 14, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson attended the trial in New York and told reporters, “President Trump is a friend, and I wanted to be here to support him.”
Weissmann said prosecutors were concerned about the presence of high-profile Republicans at the trial and suggested that Trump could post on social media in the trial’s final week in the hopes of swaying the jury.
“That’s going to be the final thing that they [the prosecution and Merchan] have to worry about is essentially a form of jury tampering by the former president of the United States,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on May 17. Andrew Weissmann said Trump might attempt to influence the jury in his hush-money case. Former President Donald Trump in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on May 17. Andrew Weissmann said Trump might attempt to influence the jury in his hush-money case. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Tuesday, Republicans—including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Representative Byron Donalds, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Representative Cory Mills—were photographed attending the trial while wearing matching dark blue suits and red ties, an outfit frequently worn by Trump.
Newsweek has contacted a representative for Trump for comment by email.
Merchan imposed a gag order on the former president in March, which prohibits the Republican from making public comments about prosecutors, witnesses, or jurors involved in the case, or their families. The judge expanded the gag order in April to include prohibitions on Trump making statements about Merchan’s family or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s.
However, earlier in May, the judge fined Trump $1,000 for his 10th gag order violation and warned him that any future violations could land him in prison. Merchan previously fined Trump $9,000 for nine other violations of the order.
The trial, which began on April 15 and is expected to finish within six weeks, is set to continue on May 20.
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