Dr. Phil tore into Judge Juan Merchan in an interview that aired Thursday for “muzzling” presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his defense during his Manhattan trial.
In an exclusive interview with the former president on the newly launched “Merit Street” television network, Dr. Phil railed against the “prosecutorial abuse” that lead to a New York jury convicting Trump on all 34 counts in a falsified business records case brought by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“What I was concerned about with everything that happened in this New York trial is — one of the big myths is that the burden of proof lies within the prosecution,” Dr. Phil said. “That is the law, but I can tell you after years and years and years of trial, the truth is that the jury sits there and says, ‘Hmm, I’m looking at all this, and if we’re not down here for the reason they say we’re down here, somebody needs to give me an alternative explanation of why we are down here. So if we’re not down here because of what the prosecutors are telling us, then what’s the alternative story? Whats the alternative explanation?’”
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“And when you get muzzled in the way that this judge muzzled this case, they’re sitting there saying, ‘What’s the rest of the story?’ You’re not allowed to testify because you’re in jeopardy if you do,” Dr. Phil continued. “They let all of this other stuff in that should never get into the jury box. And so, you know, the scales get tipped.”
“And it’s very, very difficult to get even one juror because there’s not an alternative story that if you could tell without being in peril, that you could tell without being intimidated, it would be a very different situation,” Dr. Phil told Trump. “The burden, legally, is on the prosecution. But logically, the jury—”
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“You’re guilty until proven innocent,” Trump interjected.
“That’s exactly the truth,” Dr. Phil agreed.
Former President George W. Bush Department of Justice (DOJ) official John Yoo criticized Merchan in May for apparently allowing pornographic actress Stormy Daniels to testify freely during the trial. Merchan, however, restricted former Federal Election Commission (FEC) commissioner Brad Smith’s testimony, allowing him to touch only on what the commission does, what it is responsible for and defining terms pertaining to the case, CNN reported. (RELATED: ‘Come On, Just Relax’: Donald Trump Says ‘Locking Up’ Hillary Clinton ‘Would Have Been A Terrible Thing’)
Trump was under a gag order during the trial, and Bragg’s office requested it stay in place through the Republican candidate’s sentencing hearing in July and any post-trial motions.
