Judge 'visibly annoyed' by pro-Trump entourage at hush money trial: 'Stared straight at them'

Several of Donald Trump's Republican allies have showed up at his hush money/falsified business records trial in Lower Manhattan, where they have been vigorously defending the former president outside the courthouse.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) have all showed up. Tuberville, with Vance at this side, railed against the jurors on May 13 — implying that some of them are not U.S. citizens.

With Justice Juan Merchan having imposed a partial gag order on Trump during the trial, these Republicans have, in effect, been acting as surrogates for him by echoing the former president's talking points. And according to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Merchan has "looked visibly annoyed" by a group of pro-Trump Republicans' presence in his courtroom during the trial.

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Collins told her colleague Wolf Blitzer, "This judge does not give away much. 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."

The Republican Trump allies, according to Collins, included former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, among others.

Collins told Blitzer that Merchan "looked visibly annoyed."

The CNN reporter explained, "Michael Cohen was in the middle of a line of questioning…. You saw the judge basically stare straight at them…. It seemed disruptive to the proceedings. Every time I've been there, I've never seen a large group of people come in and sit at the front of the courtroom while the witness is on the stand testifying."

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When Blitzer asked Collins if Johnson was "part of that entourage," she responded that he wasn't.

Collins told Blitzer that although the House speaker did talk to reporters outside the courthouse, she had not seen him inside the courtroom itself.

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