Judge calls Trump out for ‘cursing audibly’ during Stormy Daniels testimony

Judge Juan Merchan, presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial, warned the former president’s lawyer about his client’s “contemptuous” behaviour as the former president was “cursing audibly” while adult film star Stormy Daniels testified in court.

MS Daniels spoke for more than four hours in the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, walking the jury through her a sexual encounter she claims to have had with Trump after meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in 2006.

Trump has been charged with allegedly falsifying business records as part of an alleged bid to hide hush money payments to Ms Daniels totalling $130,000 just weeks before the 2016 presidential election. Trump denies all the charges against him and the alleged affair with Ms Daniels.

As Ms Daniels wasrelaying in court her alleged encounter with Trump nearly 18 years ago, the former president was cursing out loud and shaking his head, something Judge Merchan warned Trump’s defence attorney, Todd Blanche, about in a mid-morning break.

“I understand that your client is upset at this point, but he is cursing audibly, and he is shaking his head visually and that’s contemptuous,” Judge Merchan told Mr Blanche after he was called up to the bench. “It has the potential to intimidate the witness, and the jury can see that.”

Mr Blanche responded to the judge, saying he would talk to his client.

“You need to speak to him. I won’t tolerate that,” Judge Merchan added after saying he was speaking to the attorney at the bench because he didn’t want to “embarrass” Trump.

Again, Mr Blanche said he would talk to Mr Trump.

“One time I noticed when Ms Daniels was testifying about rolling up the magazine, and presumably smacking your client, and after that point