I never thought I would have a day like I did last week. Visiting New York is always an experience. But to be inside the trial of the century, to have a front seat for the most important case of the modern age, was not what I expected for the momentous election year that is 2024.
It started well. The NYPD officers on duty recognized me as I approached Trump Tower, one telling me he never misses my daily radio show quoting my signature sign-off phrase “Stay Frosty!” back to me after I said hello. After selfies with the boys in blue, our delegation to the court assembled with the Secret Service Team, waiting for the President to arrive. It was great to see familiar patriotic faces like Troy Nehls, Ronny Jackson, Boris Epshteyn, and Pam Bondi, and to meet new friends, especially the pugnacious Lt. Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick. Then into the motorcade, with the ladies riding in the comfy cars and the men, Senators, and Congressmen included riding in the unmarked van. Chivalry lives! Then it was like being back in the Swamp and working for the Commander-in-Chief, with Secret Service and NYPD outriders and squad cars, lights on, sirens on as we traversed New York to the State Unified Court System courthouse blowing through red lights and stop signs.
Then the arrival and the brainstorming with President Trump. We were ushered past the police cordon, the courthouse being cleared of pedestrians for blocks, up into the elevators and the dingiest anteroom I could imagine for as putatively as important an institution as the one holding a trial the world is witnessing. Worn, telling paint, broken power outlets, full wastebaskets, you name it. And there we were with the man who was President and may soon be again.
Then it was time for the usual pre-trial press conference from the narrow corridor outside the courtroom that you have seen multiple times a day for the last 5 weeks. Another dingy scene with low neon lighting and no standing microphone for the President with the sound bouncing off the walls, and his guests, standing behind him in solidarity. As usual, due to Judge Merchan’s unconstitutional gag order against the defendant, President Trump was limited to reading the published legal analyses of others in the media instead of seeking for himself. This is even though gag orders are meant to protect defendants, not the protection of the judge. His most powerful line: “I’m doing this for 300 million Americans, not myself.” Then the President turned to us his supporters and surrogate and sarcastically said: “Welcome to Paradise, as he led us into the fiefdom of Judge Juan Merchan, and man you as a Judge have illicitly donated to the Biden campaign and an anti-Trump PAC, and whose daughter had raised $93 million off her daddy’s case for the Democrats.
The several hours were surreal, as photographers were first let into the front of the court to crouch in front of the defendant and shove their massive lenses in Donald Trump’s face to take pictures, and then as Michael Cohen’s former lawyer was grilled by the prosecution who drilled for hours on the minutiae of emails between Cohen and Costello’s firm, communications that made it clear who the liar is. Clue: it’s the man who served time in prison as a perjurer and admitted on the stand that he had stolen more than $30,000 from Donald Trump because he felt he “deserved” it.
And the jury? I counted 8 white New York women in their thirties. I think we know who they voted for. None of them, or the men in the jury seemed to understand the enormity of the trial they are a part of. Not one tie or suit for the men. And one of the women was in a hoodie, another in a jean jacket as if this were a traffic court. Then we broke for lunch and the President’s supporters held their own presser with Donald Trump Jr taking the lead. I used the opportunity in front of the jackals of the mainstream media to reveal the 30-page federal court document listing all of the “star witness” Michael Cohen’s crimes, a document that the defense was prevented from entering on the record since Judge March wanted it suppressed. Read it here. Then it was back to the court for the self-same biased judge to hear the requests from the defense and protection regarding the final charging details prior to his instructions to the jury.
In a back-and-forth lasting for hours, with scores of requests from either side, Merchan accepted every demand from Alvin Bragg’s team and none from the defense. Correction: he said off one request: “I’ll think about it.” As Matt Whittaker, former Attorney General has stated, Judge Merchan should be wearing the jersey of the prosecution. At one point, he even said to the President’s attorney, as he was standing up and preparing to make a point: “Sit down, I don’t want to hear from you again!”
Is any more proof needed than that for you to believe this is a show trial designed to steal the election before the first ballot is cast?
Will Lady Justice be blind today as the jury considers the demerits of the “case?” If not, what will happen to our Republic? Stay tuned America.
Sebastian Gorka Ph.D. is the host of SALEM Radio’s AMERICA First and The Gorka Reality Check on NEWSMAX TV. A former Strategist to President Donald Trump, he is a member of the National Security Education Board of the Pentagon. His latest book is The War for America’s Soul. Follow him on his SubStack page and website. He is a regular contributor for the Association for Mature American Citizens (AMAC).
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.