Former President Donald Trump appears to have deleted a scathing social media rant attacking the judge and hinting at an upcoming witness in his ongoing New York hush money trial. The deleted post, captured by several political pundits, came just before adult film star Stormy Daniels took the stand on Tuesday to testify about her alleged affair with Trump and the subsequent hush money payments.
In the since-deleted Truth Social post, Trump wrote, "I have just recently been told who the witness is today. This is unprecedented, no time for lawyers to prepare." He went on to accuse the judge of being "CROOKED & HIGHLY CONFLICTED" and claimed that the judge was threatening him with jail despite having "NO CASE."
Trump appears to have deleted this post complaining that his legal team didn’t have time to prepare for today’s witness. (I saw it on Truth Social a few minutes ago but it’s gone now.) pic.twitter.com/Z6MdZruY9G — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 7, 2024
Political commentator Ron Filipkowski shared the image of the deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, "He obviously is concerned about this witness. Also, prosecutors can disclose who they will call that day as a courtesy. The judge has no power to order them to do so. They said he forfeited that courtesy with his continued threats and harassment of witnesses. Too bad."
Filipkowski later confirmed that the witness in question was indeed Stormy Daniels, prompting a flurry of comments from followers criticizing the former president. One user wrote, "So Trump is anxious about facing Stormy Daniels today? Everything about this is Epic Karma," while another noted, "He just can't help himself from discussing witnesses."
This development comes on the heels of Judge Juan Merchan's stern warning to Trump about violating the terms of his gag order after holding him in contempt of court for the 10th time on Monday. "Going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction," Merchan explained. "Mr. Trump, it's important you understand, the last thing I want to do is put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well."
As Daniels took the stand, Judge Merchan ruled that she could testify about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump and "how she felt about it," but cautioned against delving into the explicit details of the alleged affair. Prosecutors assured the court that Daniels would not be describing "genitalia" in her testimony, ensuring the jury would be spared from another mushroom-comparison session.
Daniels testified about her early life and entry into adult entertainment at the age of 17, as well as her first meeting with Trump at a golf tournament in 2006 when she was 27 years old. She described Trump answering the door to his hotel room in a pair of satin pajamas and her quip about him stealing them from "Mr. Hefner."
According to CNN, Trump appeared irked throughout Daniels' testimony, "scowling" at the witness stand and frequently whispering to his attorneys. At one point, Judge Merchan admonished the prosecution and Daniels for providing too much detail about the alleged sexual encounter, telling Daniels directly, "Just listen to the question and answer the question."
Trump stands accused of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to allegations that he and his associates made hush-money payments to women, including $130,000 to Daniels, to aid his 2016 presidential election campaign. Prosecutors allege that Trump unlawfully masked reimbursement payments to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, as legal expenses to cover up the alleged illegal campaign expense.
