Donald Trump's estranged niece has stated that the former president is stuck in a deepening "legal quagmire" as his criminal trial continues in New York City.
Former The Apprentice star Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to so-called hush money he arranged for his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an alleged affair she had with the former president a secret ahead of the 2016 election.
The money was listed in the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee's company records as "legal fees," which prosecutors suggest was part of an unlawful attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 race. Trump admitted to reimbursing the $130,000 to Cohen, but denies all wrongdoing, saying that the trial is part of a political witch hunt aimed at derailing his White House bid.
David Pecker, the former head of erstwhile National Enquirer publisher American Media, was the first witness to take the stand. Pecker discussed setting up an arrangement to help stop negative stories about Trump from coming out ahead of the 2016 election.
While under oath, Pecker said he had concerns about the legality of performing a so-called "catch and kill" by paying Playboy model Karen McDougal $180,000 to keep a story about an alleged affair between her and the former president from coming out ahead of the 2016 election.
Weighing in on the proceedings of the past few days, Mary Trump—daughter of Donald Trump's late brother Fred Trump—continued her public attacks on her uncle as she wrote about his court woes in a post on Substack on Thursday.
After touching on other cases involving her uncle, psychologist Mary Trump wrote that in the case of his New York trial, "prosecutors have been constructing a robust case, which the defense has, so far, been unable to challenge effectively. While it seems like this trial has already been going on for a hundred years, Pecker is the first witness and today was, effectively, day two."
Under a section titled "The long arm of justice: Donald's legal quagmire deepens," the younger Trump continued: "We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg and we have another four to six weeks to go, with testimony to be heard, potentially from Michael Cohen, Karen McDougal, and others. But at least the wheels of justice are turning in New York.
"And, of course, there is still the possibility that he will be found in contempt. This morning, prosecutors entered an additional four instances of Donald having broken Justice Merchan's gag order and he still has to rule on the first eleven."
Citing a report from ABC News, Mary Trump added: "The Secret Service has even reportedly begun planning for the possibility of Donald serving time in jail."
Newsweek has contacted a representative of Donald Trump via email for comment.
Last week, Mary Trump suggested that her uncle was starting to "fray at the edges" in another Substack post. The psychologist suggested the rules imposed on Donald Trump by Judge Juan Merchan would cause him to "freak out."
"[Donald Trump] is not free to come and go as he pleases," she wrote. "He doesn't handle it well when he feels like the walls are closing in on him. He freaks out—and acts out—when he feels thwarted because he so rarely ever has been."
"He will be seen to be rude, weak, and incapable of controlling himself when bound by the same rules to which the rest of us must conform," she continued. "Even after one day, it was clear Donald wasn't faring well."
Although she used to deny being related to the politician, Mary Trump published a tell-all book on Donald Trump and the Trump family in 2020. Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man was a bestseller, with over 1 million copies sold in the first week alone.
In addition to Donald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan, the U.S. Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments on the former president's claims of presidential immunity, in connection to his federal indictment for alleged election interference.
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