What People Are Getting Wrong This Week: Myths About Donald Trump’s Trial
For the first time in American history, a former president is accused of a felony, and disinformation, rumors and fake news have been pouring in since Trump’s trial. Below are some quick fact checks of some of the many questionable claims made during the trial.
Donald Trump farts in court
I’ll start with the most important statement first: Donald Trump farts a lot in court, and the stench is so bad that the stench fills half of Manhattan. Despite many people talking about it , the source of fart rumors is shaky. This comes from an X-post by Ben Meiselas of the anti-Trump organization Meidas Touch , who wrote: “I’m hearing from credible sources that Donald Trump actually farts in the courtroom… I’m hearing from real, credible people who like him would fall asleep, he would actually pass gas, and his lawyers would actually fight the smell.” While second-hand accounts from political opponents attributed to “reliable sources” and “real, trustworthy people” are obviously entertaining, they are not enough. However, he’s an old guy, reportedly has a terrible diet, and everyone farts, so it’s not out of the question that Trump will fart in court in the future.
Verdict : False
Trump on trial for secret money payments
Now that we’re done with the farts, let’s get down to the legal stuff. Despite widespread descriptions of the trial as a “hunch-up,” Donald Trump has not been charged with 34 felonies for paying adult actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep her quiet about the affair. There is nothing illegal about paying someone to keep quiet about having sex with you. Instead, Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush money payments. But it gets even more nuanced because falsifying business records can be charged as a misdemeanor in New York, but according to the prosecution, Trump’s actions rise to the level of multiple felonies because Trump falsified business records to cover up another, more serious crime.
Verdict : False
“Every legal scholar said this case was nonsense.”
On his social media accounts and during daily appearances to the press following the trial, Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that “every legal scholar has said this case is nonsense.” Even if we replace “every” with “most”, this is a dubious statement. However, some legal scholars see problems in this case. In an op-ed published in The New York Times this week , Boston University law professor Jed Handelsman Sugarman expressed concern that the underlying crime that makes Trump’s alleged falsification of records a felony is a federal crime, so prosecutor Bragg is essentially using the law state to investigate a federal crime. If what Sugarman says is true, then this is not a case of a straightforward and irrevocable question, as it would be if the question were: “Did Donald Trump pay a porn star not to talk about sex with him?
Verdict : mixed.
Joe Biden is behind the accusation
Another oft-repeated phrase from Trump is that this trial (and the rest of his trials) is happening under the direction of President Biden, or as Trump put it on Truth Social, “BIDEN’S DOJ IS MANAGING THE CASE.” There is no evidence that the Biden Justice Department is taking any action in connection with the case. In real life, the case is being handled by Prosector Alvin Bragg, who is a state elected official and does not report to the federal government.
Verdict : False
Judge Mehan did not allow Trump to attend his child’s graduation party.
Trump’s legal team asked for the May 17 trial to be delayed so Trump could attend Barron Trump’s graduation. Judge Juan M. Merchan did not rule on the request, saying, “It really depends on how successful we are in the deadline and where we are in the litigation.” But Trump still told reporters: “It looks like the judge won’t let me go to my son’s graduation” and “I can’t go to my son’s graduation.”
Verdict : False
Donald Trump never attended any of his children’s graduations.
Following Trump’s reports that he would not be able to attend his son’s graduation, random people on X and elsewhere said he never attended his other children’s graduation ceremonies. It is not true. Snopes looked into it, and Trump was seen at both the high school and college graduation ceremonies of Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka, and Tiffany Trump.
Verdict : False
Other things Trump says about the case
It would take forever to debunk the many false claims Trump has made about this criminal case (and his other criminal cases, and his civil cases, and everything), but here are a few of the main themes: The judge is biased against him. . The judge’s daughter hates him. The judge’s gag order means he is “not allowed to speak.” George Soros has something to do with the accusation. The jury is rigged. You get the picture. None of this is true, and in a general sense: Donald Trump lies all the time.
Verdict : False
Donald Trump fell asleep in court
Donald Trump may not fart all the time during the trial, but he does fall asleep all the time. According to authoritative courthouse sources, Trump fell asleep numerous times during the jury selection process. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times initially reported, “Trump appears to be sleeping,” a claim echoed by Courthouse News reporter Eric Ubelaker, Law360’s Stuart Bishop and others in the room.
Verdict : True
During his date with Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump demanded “pizza with little pizzas on top.”
While it’s possible to buy pizza with smaller slices on top, Donald Trump didn’t call room service after having sex with Stormy Daniels and say, “I want pizza, and I want the toppings on the pizza to be smaller, like pepperoni-sized, but It’s actually a real pizza, just a small one.” It was a joke . While Trump does eat pizza with a knife and fork , he told Stormy Daniels that her nose looked like a beet and said, ” I hope all the sharks die ,” according to Daniels.
Verdict : False