Trump's attacks 'finally have real consequences' as judge penalizes him beyond a fine

Donald Trump is used to getting away with rule violations, even in a court setting, but those days are over, according to a former prosecutor.

Trump spent Thursday in court for jury selection in the former president's upcoming trial for allegations that he broke the law when he purportedly made hush money payments to hide an affair with an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election, and then covered it up by disguising the payment in his financial records.

At the end of the day in court, there was a situation in which the judge sided with prosecutors on an issue involving divulging the information of upcoming witnesses.

Specifically, New York Judge Juan Merchan said that he would not order the prosecutors to disclose a witness list to the defense team in light of Trump's recent attacks on figures connected to his hush-money case.

"We're not telling him who the witnesses are," a prosecutor said, according to reports.

"I can't fault them for that," Merchan replied, noting he would not order the prosecution to turn over a witness list.

Legal analyst and former prosecutor Renato Mariotti seemed to think this was a pivotal moment for Trump and his case. He quoted MSNBC, which reported that "Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked who the DA's Office plans to call as their first three witnesses. Joshua Steinglass from the office refused on the basis that Trump has been tweeting about them. Judge Merchan said he doesn't blame the DA's office. Blanche said Trump won't tweet about the witnesses — to which Merchan said Blanche can't promise that. Merchan refused to order the DA's office to name its first three witnesses."

"Trump's attacks on witnesses finally have real consequences. Typically, the prosecution *does* reveal the witnesses it will call the next day," Mariotti wrote Thursday. "Judge Merchan exercising discretion to penalize behavior that endangers witnesses will be a far more effective tool than a $1,000 fine."

Low energy Dozo The Clown’s rambling paper-clutching rant

Trump shuffled out of Manhattan criminal court Thursday with a pile of printouts he said detailed supportive opinions from legal experts following his case.

"These are all stories from legal experts saying how this is not a case," Trump said. "The case is ridiculous."

Trump — who has pleaded not guilty to charges that he covered up hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election — then proceeded to shuffle through the pages, several of which featured his own face.

On social media, Trump was faced almost immediately with mockery.

"Your Honor, I submit into evidence articles by @JonathanTurley and @AndrewCMcCarthy and demand you issue a directed verdict in my favor," quipped attorney Bradley Moss, citing two conservative commentators.

"See, it's in print, so believe it!" summarized @WTFH_Elaina. "It looks like multiple copies of the same paper."

@GregK quoted another notorious political reference to stacks of documents in question: Sen. Mitt Romney's "binders full of women."

"Stop me if you’ve heard this one before," he wrote. "Binders full of attorneys."

"He literally just printed out his social media feed," replied @stelenj. "And he named like 3 people. Wow, 3 people who support you are saying you're innocent. Well, let's just throw the whole thing out then since Turley says so."

"Is he tired?" political commentator Molly Jong Fast wanted to know. "Is he sleepy?"

X user @UrbanistaRamon took the opportunity to poke fun at Trump's attorney — who has recently pivoted to "spitting the truth" on his behalf — Alina Habba.

"Apparently, Alina Habba was tasked with 'tabbing' his notes," he replied. "As you can see, she did that just about as well as she defended him in court!"