Things are about to get 'messy' for Trump as more 'high-stakes' trials loom

Two weeks into Donald Trump's trial in a Manhattan courtroom for financial fraud, things appear to be taking a turn for the worse for the former president who found himself unexpectedly ordered to take the stand and defend critical comments he has been making about the proceedings.

That stunning move by Judge Arthur Engoron and the $10,000 fine handed down by the judge could be a harbinger of what is to come as the former president faces multiple high-stakes criminal trials that could lead to him being incarcerated.

According to an analysis by the Guardian's Lauren Aratani, things are going to get increasingly "messy" for the former president as he tries to fend off all of his legal woes while at the same time attempting to present a strong image in the court of public opinion.

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As Aratani pointed out, the former president is fighting a multi-front war as he faces four major trials in four different jurisdictions while at the same time trying to make a third bid for the presidency.

Calling what he faces a "trial within a trial," the analyst suggested Trump's complaints that he is being persecuted may start to fall on deaf ears as more previously unknown evidence is revealed in the trials.

As Aratani wrote, "The second – unofficial – trial is being fought in the court of public opinion. The media circus arrives every time Trump appears in court he attacks the 'witch-hunt’.” His lawyers cry foul, shout at witnesses and demand the case is thrown out. The facts of the case seem almost incidental. For Trump and his lawyers, it is clear – often to the anger of the judge – that the official trial is less important to them than the political one."

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According to Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton, "A lot of him thinks that the trials are how he’s going to win re-election. He is going to be there and show himself under attack again and again to make the point that he’s an anti-establishment figure wherever they get him.”

However, as the Guardian analyst suggested, there are signs that Trump is having difficulties "juggling" his multiple legal problems that include both federal charges and civil suits.

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As Gregory Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University explained about the trial unfolding in Engoron's courtroom, "In many ways, I think this [case] is the least of his worries, although it’s going to put him out of business,.

"If this had been the case against Joe Blow, there would be no press there, there would be no people taking down this stuff. There would be no attacks on the court clerks and the judge. So that’s just the Hollywood nature of this crazy trial," he added.

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