
Donald Trump is no longer attending his hush money trial alone, now enjoying a growing crew of GOP hanger-ons who are helping him circumvent his gag order by acting as "surrogates" outside the courthouse. As Alternet notes, Trump's entourage may be pleasing to the former president, but it's now annoying Judge Juan Merchan.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported that Merchan was "visibly annoyed" by Trump's support group, which he appeared to view as disruptive to the proceedings. "This judge does not give away much," she told Wolf Blitzer. "He has a very even tone. He greets Donald Trump with a 'Good morning, Mr. Trump' every single day that he walks inside the courtroom… but there was this moment where it was five or six people from Trump's team, and they get into the second row of the entire courtroom to sit in the pews, to listen to what's happening. And the judge stared straight at them as they were walking in."