Quiet money judge rules Trump violated gag order, warns of jail time

NEW YORK The judge overseeing former President Trump’s hush money case charged him with contempt for violating a gag order nine times

Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for his recent posts on Truth Social and the campaign website attacking prospective jurors and expected star witnesses, and also warned the former president that additional violations could lead to prison

“The defendant is warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its legal orders and that, if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose a sentence of imprisonment, Merchan wrote in his ruling, ordering to Trump to remove the offensive posts from Veritat. Social and his campaign website.

At one point, a hearing on the matter became hushed up between the judge and Trump’s attorney, with Merchan at one point telling Todd Blanche that he was “losing all credibility” with the court.

Trump regularly criticizes his perceived enemies in his legal entanglements, prompting his silent money judge, at the request of prosecutors, to place restrictions on Trump’s speech as the case heads to trial.

The former president is prohibited from making public statements about witnesses about his involvement in the case and jurors. Trump also cannot attack judicial staff, line prosecutors or their families, as well as those of the judge and district attorney with the intent to materially interfere with the case.

Last week’s hearing came after the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs (D) claimed Trump violated the gag order 10 times in the days leading up to and during the selection of the sworn They urged the judge to fine the former president $1,000 for each violation and require him to drop the charges.

What happened here is precisely what this order was designed to prevent, and this defendant doesn’t care, Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy said at the hearing last week.

Most of the posts concerned Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and personal lawyer who has since turned against his former boss and is expected to be a star witness for prosecutors.

Trump repeatedly republished a New York Post op-ed written by Jonathan Turley, a prominent legal commentator who has criticized prosecutors for making the hush money case, that cast Cohen as a serial perjurer.

In two of the 10 posts in question, Trump went after Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who paid the $130,000 hush payment at the center of the case. In one post, Trump called Daniels and Cohen two scumbags.

However, in the latter post, the judge determined that the gag order was not violated, writing that the “tenuous correlation to whether the comment was directly linked to two earlier posts gave him pause.

The judge also found that Trump violated the gag order when he quoted a Fox News anchor that they are catching undercover liberal activists lying to the judge in order to get on Trump’s jury.

Trump has strongly opposed the gag order, arguing that it is a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech and that it is only responding to political attacks against him.

He has appealed the gag order, but it remains in place for now.

Trump’s lawyers had also argued that many of the posts in question were just other people’s posts and not Trump’s words. The judge rejected that argument, although he noted that it appeared to be a new issue.

It is counterintuitive and factually absurd to read the expanded Order not to prohibit statements that the defendant intentionally selected and published to maximize exposure, Merchan wrote.

That doesn’t mean a repost is always considered a statement by the republisher, as the context is directly relevant, he added. However, here, under the unique facts and circumstances of this case, the only credible conclusion is that the republications constitute statements by the defendant.

Prosecutors have separately accused Trump of violating the gag order four more times. The judge has not yet ruled on that request. He could impose a fine of up to $1,000 per violation, the judge could order Trump to spend 30 days in jail. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday to discuss these alleged violations.

Trump has faced gag orders and fines in his other legal matters.

At his civil fraud trial in New York, the judge imposed a gag order on Trump that prevented him from making public comments about judicial personnel. The former president racked up $15,000 in fines for circumventing the judges’ directive, and when Trump was asked to take the stand to explain himself, the judge found his testimony to be empty and false.

Trump also faces a gag order in Washington, DC that bars him from attacking key witnesses or prosecutors, except special counsel Jack Smith, in his federal election interference case.

Updated at 10:04 am