With Donald Trump on trial in a Manhattan court room facing 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business documents to cover up payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, his followers and media backers have been deputized to help him prevail in the trial — by hook or by crook, as it were.
Some have taken these marching orders to the extreme, suggesting that felonies be committed on the former President’s behalf. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) called out one such public call-to-action from the right-wing media personality Clay Travis, who invited MAGA-faithful New Yorkers to try to infiltrate the jury and hang it by refusing to convict, no matter the evidence at hand.
Jury tampering. That’s what they do. *It’s a felony. pic.twitter.com/ad0nGC7y7B
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 15, 2024
Travis told Trump supporters in New York to “do everything you can to try to get in the jury pool and then refuse to convict as a matter of principle,” adding that such an action is “the most patriotic thing you can do.”
Swalwell portrayed Travis’s directive as felonious jury tampering, writing: “Jury tampering. That’s what they do. *It’s a felony.”
A lawyer, radio host, political provocateur and author based in Nashville, Travis posted that he has been asked about allegedly committing a felony by news outlets like CNN.
So @cnn hasn’t talked about me on air since 2017 when I said I only believe in boobs & the first amendment leading to an immediate network ban. Then seven years later they suddenly talked about me again & said I should be arrested for felonies. That’s honestly perfect.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 16, 2024
Travis is also attempting to equate his call for “patriotic” jurors in New York with late night talk show host Stephen Colbert‘s joke about getting the Trump detractors in his audience picked for the jury. The clip is below.
Stephen Colbert tells his New York audience that cheers Trump being on trial in NYC. “Don’t cheer too loud, we need you to get picked for jury duty.” How is this outrageous anti-Trump NYC jury tampering allowed? Colbert must be arrested immediately! pic.twitter.com/RULVuoB5zR
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 16, 2024