According to audio obtained by Vanity Fair, former President Donald Trump seemed to have had enough of an NBC News reporter in recent days.

Fox News reported, citing Vanity Fair, that Trump allegedly demanded the removal of an NBC correspondent from his aircraft after being questioned about the criminal investigation by Manhattan DA Alvin Brag during an informal press conference.

The news source reported that the confrontation occurred on March 25, following Trump’s campaign rally in Waco, Texas. The 2024 Republican frontrunner spoke with a group of journalists, including NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard, while onboard his plane, Trump Force One.

Hillyard’s remark that Trump appeared “frustrated” by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s criminal investigation appeared to provoke the former president, who confiscated the reporter’s phone and demanded that he cease asking questions.

According to a recording obtained by the Washington Post, Trump replied, “I’m not frustrated by anything.”

“What am I, annoyed? I just delivered a two-hour speech. It does not frustrate me. This is a sham investigation. We committed no errors. I told you so… It’s exactly the opposite. This is fabricated news, and NBC is among the worst offenders. “Ask no further questions,” he continued.

“I heard you’re a nice guy from NBC, but you’re not,” Trump added.

Almost a quarter-hour passed before Hillyard attempted to pose another question, which was related to Bragg’s case, according to the reports.

“I don’t want to talk to you. You’re not a nice guy,” Trump said.

As the NBC correspondent continued to ask his question, “a frustrated Trump reportedly grabbed the reporter’s two phones from the table in front of him and tossed them to the side, a source familiar with the matter told Vanity Fair,” Fox News reported.

On the audio, Trump can also be heard demanding to aides, “Get him out of here!”

“Let’s go, get him out of here. Out of here. Out of here,” he said.

According to the Washington Post, the correspondents were subsequently escorted away from the scene. It is unknown if Hillyard was among them, but Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told the outlet that “no negative incidents” involving journalists occurred aboard the former president’s aircraft.

The alleged incident occurred in New York City several days before the former president was charged, arraigned, and accused of tampering with business records related to payments to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016. As the leading Republican candidate for president in 2024, Trump has described the investigation as “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”

Meanwhile, a former Manhattan prosecutor stated this week that the judge appointed to oversee the 34-count indictment against Donald Trump by District Attorney Alvin Bragg should not have been assigned the case due to his history with the former president.

Trump’s hush-money prosecution was allocated to New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan due to his prior experience presiding over litigation involving Trump and his company. The Wall Street Journal reported that this history could potentially complicate the proceedings and expose Merchan to additional assaults from Trump.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Merchan was selected by the court’s administrative judge to supervise complex grand jury investigations into Trump and his enterprises over the past two years, resulting in his assignment to cases related to the investigations. Merchan is a 14-year veteran of the criminal trial court in Manhattan.

More on this story via Conservative Brief:

“Since 2021, the judge has held the Trump Organization in contempt for failing to turn over documents in one probe by the Manhattan district attorney’s office; presided over a trial in which a jury convicted the company of tax fraud; and sentenced former company finance chief Allen Weisselberg to jail for tax and other offenses,” the WSJ reported further. CONTINUE READING…