On Saturday, Trump shared a video of a former mob boss claiming that he never managed to convince the former president to partake in criminal activity. Trump said he hoped the judges overseeing two of his trials saw the former mobster’s comments.
Fishing for funds
“I couldn’t get to him,” Salvatore Gravano said in an interview. “He wouldn’t bite.”
Infamous mobster
Trump called Gravano “Sammy the Bull,” referencing the ex-mobster’s nickname earned while working for the Gambino crime family. Gravano earned the name as a kid when a group of mobsters were impressed with his fighting skills.
Trying everything
“I tried a couple of times to pressure [Trump] and make arrangements where I could work with him,” Gravano said. “I had the power of the unions. I could do all kinds of things. But I couldn’t get to him.”
Judge of character
“I hope Judges Engoron & Kaplan see this,” Trump wrote in reference to Gravano’s comments. The two judges are overseeing two of Trump’s several lawsuits.
Shouting in anger
During his closing statement, Trump lashed out at Judge Engoron, overseeing his civil fraud trial. He called the case a “political witch hunt,” insisting to the judge that it “is a fraud on me.”
Ruining the proceedings
Judge Kaplan is overseeing the upcoming defamation case between Trump and E. Jean Carroll. On Saturday, her lawyer asked the judge to prevent Trump from “turning this trial into a circus” during testimony.
Own agenda
“If Mr. Trump appears at this trial,” Carroll’s lawyer wrote in a letter to Judge Kaplan, “his recent statements and behavior strongly suggest that he will seek to sow chaos.”
Repeat event
A jury has already ruled in an earlier trial that Trump was liable for sexually assaulting Carroll and later defamed her by denying that fact and attacking her character. Trump was ordered to pay $5 million in damages.
False claims
This trial is over a separate, potentially defamatory incident in which Trump called Carroll’s allegation “totally false.” “I’m going to explain I don’t know who the hell she is,” Trump claimed last week. “I have no idea.”
Meaning of fair
“We need fairness, strength, and honesty in our New York Courts,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post sharing Gravano’s comments. “We don’t have it now!”
Spreading a myth
“Forget about Trump,” Gravano says in the video. “He’s a legitimate guy.” The video is captioned, “THIS IS WHY WASHINGTON HATES HIM..”
Changing name
Sammy “The Bull” Gravano later became known as “Sammy the Rat,” when in 1991, he agreed to cooperate with the state against his former mobster boss. At the time, he was the most senior mobster to break the Italian mafia’s blood oath of silence.
Recent release
Gravano was sentenced to five years in prison. In the early 2000s, he was arrested and sentenced to twenty years for drug offenses, though he was released in late 2017.
Dubious character
Gravano confessed to being involved in 19 murders. In 2020, he created a YouTube channel.
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