Something Stinks In The Trump Hush Money Case

So،ing’s rotten in Judge Merchan’s courtroom. And not in the corruption sort of way that former president Donald T،p keeps pu،ng in his likely contemptuous social media posts. As in an actual stank in the courtroom.

And everyone’s talking about it.

Last night on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow said that it “smells like old soup and stale breath.” And she contextualized it in terms of a rather depressing courtroom tableau:

“I was in the courtroom for opening statements for this first criminal trial of a former President… I can report that former President Donald T،p looks a lot older than he used to. And that it seemed to me and my subjective take that he seemed miserable to be there. But you know, I look a lot older than I used to, as well. I think any،y’s got a right to look miserable when they’re sitting in a courtroom charged with dozens of felonies as a criminal defendant. The courtroom is bare ،s. It is not large. It is inelegant. It has unflattering lighting. Like I said, it does not smell good, and every،y is very tense. What I mean to present to you with all of this information is that given the c،ice, no،y would want to be there. Except, of course, journalists and reporters covering the most historic trial in American political history.”

But other people are pu،ng a different theory of what’s behind the odor. Ben Meiselas is reporting it’s the former president p،ing gas that’s stinking up the joint.

As Jenna Ellis can tell you, old guys can do that. And that ،or — marked “unproven” by Snopes — is making the rounds.

We may never — officially — get to the root of the smell, but it’s for sure making the trial even less pleasant for the former president.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, ،st of The Jabot podcast, and co-،st of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].