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“I’m just fascinated, you know? We have the opportunity to see him, that is the object of my fury for the last eight years. It’s fascinating and I try to come over and see it every single day that I don’t have to work.
Mary-Ann was in the courtroom on the day Trump had a gag order hearing, but she has been at the trial for several days.
Mohan said she is now very fond of him because she thinks his policy is good for America and the world. “America comes first, I really believe that. Every president of each country should think about their country first.”
Trump, who pleaded not guilty, claims the trial itself is “election interference” because of how it is disrupting his presidential campaign. Supporters and opponents of the presumptive GOP nominee are in the crowd.
Neil Mandt from Los Angeles paid to reserve a spot close to the front of the line. A former ABC producer on the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, Mandt said he was curious to see another big trial.
“It’s a little bit hard to get to New York City from where I live, but I thought I’m just going to do it,” Cauffman said. “I’ve been following the trial pretty closely, but I haven’t read any of the transcripts or actually gotten a sense of what the mood is like. I just want to have the experience with it.
The opportunity to witness the proceedings firsthand was enough for several people to pay for dedicated line-sitting services. Cauffman and a friend took a four hour train from Massachusetts to Rhode Island.
Source: These people waited hours to see the Trump hush-money trial up close. Here’s why
The Weinstein Family Judgment Hall Trial, 1822-1912, 1 p.m. E. Weinstein, 57
“It’s history. It’s kind of great, too, to make sure to see things like this,” Eileen said. “And I wanted to kind of see for myself how it … all works and how it’s going.”
Craig and Jessica Weinstein weren’t the only family members. Andrew was home from college for a few days after graduating, and Eileen waited with him near the front of the line. They arrived downtown at 3 a.m.
The general public is welcome to watch the proceedings but not all make it inside. About 30 people that line up in the overflow room will be able to watch the proceedings on closed-circuit TV, while the first five to nine people in line are likely to get a spot in the main courtroom. Some line standers say they start camping out at midnight, or even the night before. The courthouse doors usually open to the line about an hour and half before the 9:30 a.m. ET start of the trial weekdays except Wednesdays.
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Weinstein said that they always like to do historical events. At Yankee Stadium, the last game. There was a last game at the stadium. Anything that’s big, we do. This is our thing.
Craig and Jessica Weinstein traveled from California for Mother’s Day and were among the first in line on Monday. They were eating breakfast far back in the line, hoping to make it to the overflow room to watch the proceedings.
Maybe the only trial that will be before the election will be this one. So something went wrong, in my opinion,” Weinstein said, describing herself as a “Rockefeller Republican.”
” I feel betrayed because I knew of him being a New Yorker, and I didn’t like how he managed the government during his term,” Topp said. “I’m sorry, but Donald Trump has not been following the rules. And I am hoping that New York City shows itself here.”
Meanwhile, Trump speaks to the press assembled outside the courtroom daily. He used his time in front of cameras to be vocal about his opinions on the judge, court staff, the public officials bringing charges against him and the cases. He also uses these appearances to talk about the issues he is running on, like the jobs report, foreign policy and congressional debates.
The candidate regularly sends out fundraising emails that are false in claiming he has “stormed out of the courtroom” after unfavorable rulings.
Still, all guests volunteer to come to court to support their friend, President Trump, and are not invited by the campaign, according to a Trump campaign official.
These are also not his first high-profile political guests. To kick off Cohen’s testimony, Trump came with the company of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.
“I have a lot of surrogates who are speaking really well and I am very pleased with that,” Trump said. “They come from all over and they’re highly respected and they think this is the biggest scam they’ve ever seen.”
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Johnson did not enter the courthouse but instead delivered remarks outside in support of his friend, Trump.
“The system is using all the tools at its disposal right now to punish one president and provide cover for another,” Johnson said. “They’re using this trial as a hook. It’s so corrupt and everybody knows it.”
The entourage arrived on the second day of Michael Cohen’s witness testimony. Once also a staunch Trump “protector,” he testified to Trump’s knowledge and involvement in hush money payments made to an adult film star and the reimbursements paid to Cohen that constitute 34 felony charges of falsified business records.
Trump again said his guests came “to show up, they view this as a scam,” noting that among his guests were some legal experts, including acknowledging Bird as one of them.
Meanwhile Tuberville called the courtroom “depressing” and said it is putting Trump through “mental anguish,” reiterating that he was here for his friend.
Last week, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) came for the morning of the second day of questioning for adult film star Stormy Daniels. Later on Fox News, Scott also said he supported his friend and called the trial political persecution. The attorney general of Texas joined the president.
Eric Trump, one of the former president’s sons and current executives of the Trump Organization, has been the only family member to regularly attend the proceedings. Tuesday’s group also brought in Lara Trump, who now co-chairs the Republican National Committee.