Arrogant narcissist on trial, pushing his luck

The big, swinging dick, "you-can't-touch-me" attitude.

And, after the break...

Zero respect for the court.

Appearing outside the courtroom during a mid-morning break, Trump appeared to take another swing at [the judge's clerk] while railing in general about the fact his civil trial is being heard by the judge, rather than a jury.

"If we had a jury it would have been fair, at least — even if it was a somewhat negative jury — because no negative jury would vote against me," Trump said. "But this judge will. Because this judge is a very partisan judge, with a person who's very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is."

[...]

Soon after Trump made those remarks Wednesday, Engoron questioned whether the former president had crossed the line once again by citing the above quotation, which the judge he attributed to The Associated Press. Greenfield sits directly next to Engoron every day of the trial.

"I’m very protective of my staff, as I believe I should be. [...] I don’t want anybody killed," the judge said.

Trump's attorney Christopher Kise asserted that Trump was referring to his ex-fixer Michael Cohen, whose testimony is ongoing. Cohen sits farther away from the judge than Greenfield, and the witness stand is poised lower vertically than the bench, where the clerk sits.

  The Messenger

$10,000 isn't going to faze him.

Under questioning from Engoron about his latest remarks, Trump said that he was referring to Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer who has been testifying throughout the trial day.

But Engoron said that answer was not credible, based on the language Trump used.

[...]

[The judge] fined former President Donald Trump $10,000 for violating the gag order in his $250 million New York business fraud trial.

“Don’t do it again or it will be worse,” Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron warned after issuing the fine — Trump’s second sanction for violating his order not to target Engoron’s staff.

[...]

Engoron fined Trump $5,000 last week, warning that future violations could carry much more severe sanctions, including imprisonment.

  CNBC

From the stand, Mr. Trump [...] said that while he had not been speaking about the clerk, Allison Greenfield, he thought she was “maybe unfair, and I think she’s very biased against me.”

  NYT

Sheesh. In other words, yes, judge I was talking about your clerk.

And as the cross of Cohen continued...

Cohen admits he can't recall if Trump actually directed him to inflate Trump's assets because Trump "speaks like a mob boss."  Trump's attorney then asked for a directed verdict.

What's unbelievable is his behavior.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 10/26/2023:

That $15,000 in fines really slowed him down, didn't it?