Members of the corporate media covering former President Donald J. Trump‘s Manhattan-based hush money trial engaged in some fairly disgusting habits in an effort to work around security and typical court restrictions.
Reporters would use the periodic breaks in the trial to rush to the courthouse bathrooms, where they’d eat sandwiches, do their business, and charge their phones and laptops. While some used the facilities for their intended purposes, other journalists — according to POLITICO — “shoved granola bars and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into their faces before racing back to business.” Public bathrooms are known to harbor a plethora of harmful bacteria, including norovirus, salmonella, and even hepatitis A. Additionally, the act of flushing a toilet can disperse feces and urine microbes over five feet into the air, forming a plume of microscopic human waste that will eventually settle on the surrounding surfaces.
Many of the trial attendees, including several attorneys with the defense and prosecution, wore winter coats while sitting at their respective tables during the proceedings, as the chamber was frigidly cold. Former President Trump himself complained publicly about the freezing temperatures on several occasions, calling the courtroom an “icebox.”
Adding to the unhealthy environment created by a cold court and filthy journalists is the fact that the courthouse is undergoing significant remodels and reconstruction, which has led to asbestos abatements, a mess of scaffolding, and potentially toxic dust.
