It has come to light that a critical witness in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial spoke with Mediaite regarding the experience of testifying in the Manhattan courtroom, that 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 stated that 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 had an encounter with 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.”
