“The filthy Democrat judge wants to see me behind bars” is the subject of former president Donald Trump‘s fundraising email sent out to RNC email subscribers on Tuesday, the day House Speaker Mike Johnson showed up at Trump’s New York City trial and spoke to the press outside, impugning the United States justice system, which he called “corrupt.” (Johnson did not offer evidence of the corruption.)
Speaker Mike Johnson is outside Trump’s trial offering a stream of lies pic.twitter.com/LpCpqturFI
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 14, 2024
Trump’s email refers to Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over his New York City trial on charges that Trump falsified business documents to cover up payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Merchan has issued a gag order on Trump during the trial in an attempt to prevent the defendant from intimidating witnesses, court personnel, and the jury. Trump has violated the order ten times so far, for which he has been fined, but not jailed — as experts agree would likely be the case for other defendants exhibiting similar conduct and disregard for the court. (Notably, the gag order does not prevent Trump from denigrating the judge.)
Trump continues, as the email subject line indicates, to present himself as a victim of political persecution run by his “filthy” enemies. Speaker Johnson and other high-ranking Republicans continue to back his claims that the charges against him — the two federal indictments, the indictment in Georgia, and the current “hush money” case — are “witch hunts.” The civil cases against him, which have resulted in enormous financial penalties, are also part of what he characterizes as a Democrat-led political movement to harm his candidacy.
The fundraising email with the “filthy Democrat judge” title goes on to say Trump needs “one million responses by midnight” to the question “would you vote for me if I’m arrested?”
Trump tells his subscribers that “your public declaration of support would be a turning point in my sham trial,” though it is unclear how such a show of support, even if he claimed it, would influence the jury deciding the case based on the evidence presented by prosecutors and on Trump’s legal defense.
Trump’s pitch includes the following high-dudgeon verbiage:
After I had my home RAIDED and my MUGSHOT TAKEN…
After I was ARRESTED, GAGGED, AND DRAGGED THROUGH COURT …
After the corrupt Democrat judge in my rigged Biden trial threatened to throw me in JAIL…
I need to know: ARE YOU STILL VOTING FOR ME?
Donald Trump in an email pitch to supporters