Former President Donald Trump’s hush money case continued in court in New York on Tuesday, April 23. In the morning, Judge Juan Merchan held a hearing where both the prosecution and defense debated whether the former president had violated the gag order imposed on him in this case.
The purpose of this hearing, according to Judge Merchan, was to confirm whether Mr. Trump should be held in contempt of court for violating one or more aspects of the gag order.
The Manhattan district attorney alleged that Trump had violated the gag order 10 times, including verbally attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and judges’ families, and therefore requested a $1000 fine for each instance of violation.
The prosecutor claimed that Trump had “repeatedly violated this order and has yet to desist,” and that each social media post he made constituted a “real threat” to the litigation process.
The prosecutor argued that Trump’s violations of the gag order were “undoubtedly intentional,” requesting sanctions for each violation and the deletion of 10 of Trump’s posts.
Referring to social media posts made “during trial,” the prosecutor highlighted some posts related to jury selection as “very unsettling.”
Citing Trump’s comments on the jury selection process for the hush money case, where he alleged a majority of Democratic jurors, the prosecutor claimed Trump’s lawyer was attempting to “confuse matters.”
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche insisted that Trump “did not intentionally violate the gag order,” attributing posts regarding Daniels and Cohen as responses to their statements and emphasizing Trump’s right to respond to political attacks.
Blanche told the judge, “We are making an effort to comply with the order,” adding, “President Trump is very carefully observing your instructions.”
During a conversation with Blanche, Judge Merchan raised his voice, admonishing Blanche for not providing concrete answers when questioned about compliance with the gag order.
Judge Merchan told Blanche, “I am the one asking the questions. I will be the one to decide whether your client is in contempt of court… I have repeatedly requested a specific answer from you, but I have not received one.”
He further told Blanche, “You have completely lost credibility in this courtroom.”
After hearing arguments from the prosecutor and Trump’s lawyer, Judge Merchan announced that he would temporarily withhold a decision on the violations of the gag order.
Following the hearing, it is anticipated that former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker will be the first witness to testify in this case, sharing his testimony once again.
A month before the 2016 presidential election, Trump’s then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her allegations of an extramarital affair with Trump in 2006.
In November 2021, Democrat Alvin Bragg was elected as Manhattan District Attorney. In January 2023, the prosecutor began presenting evidence to a new grand jury regarding the case. On March 30, the grand jury voted to indict Trump, accusing him of falsifying business records to reimburse Cohen’s hush money payment.
On April 4, 2023, the Manhattan Criminal Court released indictments charging Trump with 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records, each potentially carrying up to four years of imprisonment.