QUEENS MAN TO APPEAR IN COURT

As with everything else relating to Trump, there’s a question over what’s show, and what’s substance.

Think back to the two scandals that got him impeached: in both Ukraine and January 6, nearly everything played out in public.

In a sense, the show is the substance; demanding in public that Georgia reverse its election results, screaming that a judge “HATES ME;” all is and is intended to be entertaining, but also they’re substantive acts.

Keep that in mind for tomorrow. Trump is trying to turn this into a circus, leaking various details to the press of how he intends to use the arraignment to make himself look both strong and persecuted, his favorite stance.

Of course, a world where seeming is being leads in some bizarre directions to weird places:

From the moment he heard he was indicted, Trump began planning a publica spectacle

“We’ll have a mug shot," says HoganGidley. "For the record, it will be the most manly, most masculine, most handsome mug shot of all time. I can say that definitely, before having even seen it."

The judge, who Trump has already said “HATES ME,” has a long track record of overseeing matters regarding Trump and his companies. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has served for 16 years on New York City’s Supreme Court (a trial court that adjudicates criminal matters). In that time, Merchan has overseen several Trumpworld cases. In 2022, he signed off on Alan Weisselberg’s guilty plea and deal.

When former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance brought tax fraud charges against the Trump Org, Merchan oversaw the trial until its guilty verdict. Merchan repeatedly smacked down suggestions from the company that the prosecution was politically motivated.

There’s another Trumpworld defendant who has encountered Merchan as well: Stephen K. Bannon was before Merchan on the state-level prosecution in the We Build The Wall case, where Bannon is fighting fraud charges which Trump pardoned him for at the federal level.

Trump’s arraignment start at 2:15 pm EST. It’s likely to be brief — 20-30 minutes, max.

Alvin Bragg will hold a press conference at 3:30 pm. By that time, the indictment itself will likely have been released per a court order.

Gavin Wax, the head of the New York Young Republican Club, will in his endless quest for attention will be staging an event a few blocks from the courthouse. Wax has booked Marjorie Traitor Goon for the event, along with Pizzagate grifter Jack Posobiec and right-wing coffee entrepreneur Graham Allen. If you like spectacle, tomorrow will already be a feast. But the rally might be like a particularly delicious dessert at the buffet.

Professional blowjobber Marge the Goon exemplified the nuttiness in her reply to Mayor Adams’s gentle admonition to “control” herself. She tweeted: “Delusional NYC Mayor is attempting to intimidate, threaten and stop me from using my 1st amendment rights to peacefully protest the Democrat’s unconstitutional weaponization of our justice system against our top Republican Presidential candidate, President Trump.”

The NYPD will be patrolling the streets outside the courthouse. Mayor Adams said there’s no “specific threat,” but Trump’s overt threats, Goon’s presence, and the possibility the event might attract far-right extremists all make a police presence inevitable.

The hubbub accompanying the arraignment has already begun, at least for reporters. A line has stretched out of Manhattan Supreme Court since this afternoon, composed of jorurnalists waiting for tomorrow’s hearing; reports are they are spending the night in the line.

Welcome my friend to the show that never ends

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