Something’s rotten in Judge Merchan’s courtroom. And not in the corruption sort of way that former president Donald Trump keeps pushing in his likely contemptuous social media posts. As in an actual stank in the courtroom.
And everyone’s talking about it.
Last night on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow said that it “smells like old soup and stale breath.” And she contextualized it in terms of a rather depressing courtroom tableau:
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“I was in the courtroom for opening statements for this first criminal trial of a former President… I can report that former President Donald Trump looks a lot older than he used to. And that it seemed to me and my subjective take that he seemed miserable to be there. But you know, I look a lot older than I used to, as well. I think anybody’s got a right to look miserable when they’re sitting in a courtroom charged with dozens of felonies as a criminal defendant. The courtroom is bare bones. It is not large. It is inelegant. It has unflattering lighting. Like I said, it does not smell good, and everybody is very tense. What I mean to present to you with all of this information is that given the choice, nobody would want to be there. Except, of course, journalists and reporters covering the most historic trial in American political history.”
But other people are pushing a different theory of what’s behind the odor. Ben Meiselas is reporting it’s the former president passing gas that’s stinking up the joint.
Meiselas: What I’m hearing from credible sources is that Donald Trump is actually farting in the courtroom… I’m hearing it from actual credible people that as he’s kind of falling asleep, he’s actually passing gas and that his lawyers are really struggling with the smell. pic.twitter.com/wa6F3iRDgX
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 19, 2024
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As Jenna Ellis can tell you, old guys can do that. And that rumor — marked “unproven” by Snopes — is making the rounds.
I heard this too. I’m not kidding. The court’s going to have to issue more than a gag order here. https://t.co/hqFneiSwib
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) April 19, 2024
Not looking forward to testifying in the @realDonaldTrump DANY criminal trial for several reasons! #GasX pic.twitter.com/EmnJWxPypC
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) April 21, 2024
We may never — officially — get to the root of the smell, but it’s for sure making the trial even less pleasant for the former president.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].