Something’s
rotten
in
Judge
Merchan’s
courtroom.
And
not
in
the
corruption
sort
of
way
that
former
president
Donald
Trump
keeps
pushing
in
his
likely
contemptuous
social
media
posts.
As
in
an
actual
stank
in
the
courtroom.
And
everyone’s
talking
about
it.
Last
night
on
MSNBC,
Rachel
Maddow
said
that
it
“smells
like
old
soup
and
stale
breath.”
And
she
contextualized
it
in
terms
of
a
rather
depressing
courtroom
tableau:
“I
was
in
the
courtroom
for
opening
statements
for
this
first
criminal
trial
of
a
former
President…
I
can
report
that
former
President
Donald
Trump
looks
a
lot
older
than
he
used
to.
And
that
it
seemed
to
me
and
my
subjective
take
that
he
seemed
miserable
to
be
there.
But
you
know,
I
look
a
lot
older
than
I
used
to,
as
well.
I
think
anybody’s
got
a
right
to
look
miserable
when
they’re
sitting
in
a
courtroom
charged
with
dozens
of
felonies
as
a
criminal
defendant.
The
courtroom
is
bare
bones.
It
is
not
large.
It
is
inelegant.
It
has
unflattering
lighting.
Like
I
said,
it
does
not
smell
good,
and
everybody
is
very
tense.
What
I
mean
to
present
to
you
with
all
of
this
information
is
that
given
the
choice,
nobody
would
want
to
be
there.
Except,
of
course,
journalists
and
reporters
covering
the
most
historic
trial
in
American
political
history.”
But
other
people
are
pushing
a
different
theory
of
what’s
behind
the
odor.
Ben
Meiselas
is
reporting
it’s
the
former
president
passing
gas
that’s
stinking
up
the
joint.
As
Jenna
Ellis
can
tell
you,
old
guys
can
do
that. And
that
rumor
—
marked
“unproven”
by
Snopes
—
is
making
the
rounds.
We
may
never
—
officially
—
get
to
the
root
of
the
smell,
but
it’s
for
sure
making
the
trial
even
less
pleasant
for
the
former
president.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@Kathryn1@mastodon.social.