‘He Was Trying to Mad-Dog’: Witness in Trump Trial Describes What It Was Like Testifying in Front of the Ex-President

Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP

A critical witness in Donald Trump’s hush money trial spoke with Mediaite about what it was like testifying in the Manhattan courtroom, which will determine if the former president is convicted for falsifying business records in an attempt to hide his payout to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

The witness, who was key to the prosecution — though not Trump’s fixer turned foe Michael Cohen — would only speak with Mediaite about their experience under condition of anonymity, saying they feared the climate of violence that has permeated since the rise of Trump.

“There’s a lot of crazy people out there,” they said. “Just look at January 6th, look at the protections that they established around the courthouse. The authorities took it seriously, so why shouldn’t I? I am concerned about retribution.”

The witness also said they feared Trump’s power and predilection for vengeance. “Is there going to be hell to pay if he becomes the President of the United States?” they wondered.

As a result of said climate, police have taken heightened precautions throughout the course of this high profile trial. The witness described being ushered from a pickup location to the Manhattan courthouse by law enforcement to ensure their protection.

“It was an unmarked, government vehicle with two undercover law enforcement officers, and I was transported in the backseat and then shuttled to the courthouse,” they said. “It was a slow trek because there were two separate layers of barricades: an initial barricade and then a barricade that was closer to the courthouse so we had to get waved past after the driver, who was undercover law enforcement, showed their credentials. We got past each of those barriers then they swooped around to a street that was closed, they radioed ahead and… someone was outside waiting.”

From there, a court officer met the witness on the street and escorted them from the car to a service entrance.  Once inside of the building, they took an elevator to a room that was set aside as a waiting area.

The witness said they waited nervously for more than two hours alone until it was their time to testify.

From there, the witness was shuttled into a small witness holding area — about “six feet by twelve feet” with poor lighting and musty metal furniture.

When ready, the court officer knocked on the door and escorted the witness to the courtroom,announcing them as they entered.

“Two and a half hours sitting in this stale institutional government office and then you’re escorted into the courtroom,” which was packed with more than 100 people, the witness said. “It was unnerving.”

The witness walked past Trump and his attorneys, who were just feet away from the table that housed the prosecution. Even less space separated the witness stand from the judge and jury.

“The judge is like right on top of you,” the witness said. “The jury box is maybe three feet away.”

Much has been made of Trump napping during the trial. But the witness who spoke with Mediaite said the former president stared them down throughout the testimony about the money paid to Stormy Daniels to silence her allegation of an extramarital affair.

“He was trying to mad-dog,” the witness said. “He was staring and giving dirty looks, grimacing, staring at you, straight through you with a disapproving, intimidating look.”

“I was thinking, is the jury seeing this?” they added.

When Trump was not staring at the witness, the witness said he closed his eyes or gazed at the ceiling, behavior they thought was disrespectful to the jurors.

“He kept closing his eyes and then looking up at the ceiling,” they said. “Almost like he couldn’t be bothered with the trial. Here are these jurors who have interrupted their lives to be here and Trump can’t show any respect. He’s constantly playing to voters and to the press, but he was not playing to the jurors, and in that room it’s all about the jury.”

Trump has sought to litigate the trial outside of the courthouse as much as his legal team is working to beat it inside. He has repeatedly attacked Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, and has earned himself a gag order and thousands of dollars in fines for violating that gag order. At one point the judge even threatened Trump with jail time.

“Even with the gag order the potential for intimidation is huge,” the witness said. Again the witness pointed to the events of Jan. 6, Trump’s “rabid followers,” and his pledge to be a president of “retribution” if he’s elected. Even in light of that atmosphere, the courtroom seemed to humble the former president.

“A gravity existed in Judge Merchan’s court,” the witness recalled. “I think that everyone in attendance recognized the historic nature of the trial. I think that depending on perspective, some may think that this is a historic venture into firmly establishing the rule of law, while others think of the trial as a slippery slope of political prosecutions.”