CNN’s Kaitlan Collins calls out Trump for claim about trial judge: ‘That’s not true’

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins began her show on Friday by criticizing former President Trump for claiming that Judge Juan Marchand, who is presiding over the hush money case, is blocking the president from calling election experts to testify.

“In a post tonight, he slams the judge for blocking election experts from testifying,” Collins said Friday on her show, “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.”

“But that’s not true,” she said. “We were there! We witnessed this debate that took place inside the courtroom. Trump’s defense ultimately chose not to call the election expert because the judge refused to broaden the scope of who could testify. The judge was worried it would become a battle of the experts.”

The Republican front-runner has been posting a series of TruthSocial posts bashing Marchan, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and others as the defense wrapped up on Tuesday in the Manhattan hush-money trial in which Trump is charged with 34 felony counts. Closing arguments in the criminal case are scheduled for after Memorial Day weekend, after which the jury will begin deliberations.

“He has not given me the opportunity to bring in highly respected election law experts who will again assert that no crimes were committed,” Trump said. Said “This judge has not even required a unanimous jury decision on key aspects of this criminal fabrication, even though the vested interests are entirely disqualifying. This is unconstitutional and un-American,” TruthSocial wrote in a Friday post.

Collins, in her remarks Friday, said “history” could be made by the end of next week, given that a 12-person jury selected in mid-April will decide the former president’s guilt.

“Tonight we truly stand on the brink of history, because by this time next week we may finally know whether Donald Trump will be convicted or whether a jury here in Manhattan will find him not guilty.”