Attorneys for Donald Trump said on Thursday the sweeping gag order against their client in the New York hush money trial bars the former president from defending himself.
“Judge, last weekend, last weekend, President Trump’s rival, President Biden, said in a public forum — he talked about this trial, and he talked about a witness that’s going to be in this trial. He mocked President Trump,” Trump attorney Todd Blanche said, referring to President Joe Biden‘s speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday.
“Donald has had a few tough days lately. You might call it ‘stormy weather,’” Biden said during his speech.
Meanwhile, prosecutors’ star witness in the case, former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, “has started going on TikTok nightly and literally making money,” Blanche added.
Trump was fined $9,000 earlier this week after prosecutors sought to hold him in contempt for 10 alleged violations of his gag order. Each violation Judge Juan Merchan finds results in a $1,000 fee and can result in limited jail time, although prosecutors said Thursday they would not seek such penalties at this time.
“Because we prefer to minimize disruptions to this proceeding, we are not yet seeking jail,” prosecutor Chris Conroy said.
Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s office have alleged four additional violations of the gag order, including one instance in which Trump criticized the jury selection process as too fast, a second violation in which Trump called witness David Pecker a “nice guy,” a third in which Trump called Cohen a “convicted liar,” and a fourth in which Trump said on April 22 that Cohen lied during his last trial.
Merchan said he was “not terribly concerned” about Trump calling Pecker a “nice guy” because Trump and the former National Enquirer publisher have been friends for years.
“Just to save you time, I’m not terribly concerned about that one,” the judge said.
Meanwhile, Blanche argued that Cohen and Stormy Daniels, the porn star who was paid $130,000 by Cohen to stay silent about her alleged affair with Trump, should not have “protection” in the gag order.
“They’re not people that need to be protected,” said Blanche, who, at one point, read aloud Cohen’s social media post referring to Trump as “Von Shitzinpantz.” Blanche said Cohen is “almost daring” Trump to respond.
Conroy said there is no question that Trump continues to violate his gag order willfully, stating that such violations are “part of the plan.”
“The defendant thinks the rules should be different for him,” Conroy said.
In response to the defense’s and prosecutors’ points about Cohen, Merchan declared Trump is “not allowed to refer to a foreseeable witness.” Regarding Biden’s recent comments, Merchan said, “There’s nothing in the gag order that says he can’t respond.”
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Merchan did not rule immediately from the bench before the 12-member jury was brought back into the courtroom to hear continued testimony from Keith Davidson, an attorney for Daniels and one other woman who was paid hush money during Trump’s 2016 campaign. His comments indicated he could fine Trump on up to three alleged gag order violation claims prosecutors have made.
Bragg has charged Trump under New York Penal Law Section 175.10, falsifying business records in the first degree. Falsification alone is a misdemeanor under Section 175.05, but the district attorney, an elected Democrat, has boosted the charge to a felony by alleging Trump falsified the records with the “intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof.”
