Trump Complains Not a Single Juror Smiled at Him During Hush Money Trial

Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Donald Trump, convicted last week in New York on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to help his 2016 campaign, complained once again Tuesday that the process was “unfair” to him, adding disappointedly that he “never saw a glimmer of a smile from the jury.”

On Newsmax’s Greg Kelly Reports, the former president was asked whether he could “get a sense of” the jurors, for instance, by reading their body language. But he couldn’t pick up any such cues, he said.

“You heard me say long before the verdict that Mother Teresa couldn’t get a fair trial here. I said that, and no, you couldn’t. I never saw a glimmer of a smile from the jury. No, this was a venue that was very unfair,” Trump complained. “It’s a tiny fraction of the people [who] are Republicans, and it’s very unfair. And then we had a judge who was very unfair.”

Trump is still barred by the gag order in the case—which he violated 10 times—from commenting about members of the jury, as well as court staff, prosecutors, and witnesses, among others. On Monday, his lawyers requested that Judge Juan Merchan lift the gag order, citing the trial’s conclusion and Trump’s debate against President Joe Biden later this month, among other reasons.

Meanwhile, Trump’s supporters are threatening jurors, prosecutors, and Merchan himself, NBC News reported last week, citing Advance Democracy, a nonprofit research organization.

Trump’s comments about the jury in his criminal trial weren’t the only ones he made Tuesday that could potentially have legal ramifications.

The former president, who is appealing an $83 million judgment for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll by claiming her account of him sexually assaulting her was fictitious, made the same claim once more.

“I’ve never met this woman. I don’t know this woman, and I’m supposed to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a fictional story,” he griped.

Trump has continued to attack Carroll even after the hefty defamation judgment, having done so late last month. In response, Carroll’s attorney said that “all options are on the table.”

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