Former President Donald Trump attends his trial in Manhattan prison court docket on Could 2. The decide within the case heard arguments associated to the prosecution’s request to wonderful Trump for violating a gag order within the case.
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Former President Donald Trump attends his trial in Manhattan prison court docket on Could 2. The decide within the case heard arguments associated to the prosecution’s request to wonderful Trump for violating a gag order within the case.
Getty Photographs
Former President Donald Trump has been held in contempt of court docket and fined $1,000 for violating a gag order aimed toward defending witnesses and jurors in his Manhattan prison trial.
Whereas handing his order down from the bench, New York Choose Juan Merchan issued a blistering warning to Trump that ought to the violations proceed, he’ll put him in jail — an unprecedented consequence for a former president and presumptive GOP nominee.
Merchan stated that the utmost $1,000 per violation penalty is “not serving as a deterrent,” leaving him to contemplate jail time as a sanction. He famous that “to take that step could be disruptive to those proceedings.”
Merchan stated he worries in regards to the court docket officers, Secret Service and numerous different personnel that will be wanted for such a measure, “however on the finish of the day, I’ve a job to do.”
Trump sat on the bench with arms crossed, along with his son Eric Trump within the room, as the decide handed down his order.
“As a result of that is now the tenth time that this Courtroom has discovered Defendant
in prison contempt, spanning three separate motions, it’s obvious that financial fines haven’t and won’t, suffice to discourage Defendant from violating this Courtroom’s lawful orders,” Merchan stated in his written order.
Merchan solely fined Trump for certainly one of 4 alleged violations introduced by the prosecution — for a press release claiming the jury is “95% democrats.”
What did prosecutors argue Trump did?
Prosecutors in Trump’s prison trial final week requested Merchan to wonderful him $4,000 — $1,000 for every of 4 statements — for violating the order and to search out Trump in contempt of court docket for a second time. Merchan heard arguments over the violation in a listening to on Could 2.
Prosecutors introduced up feedback made by Trump in numerous media shops together with a podcast, native interviews and at media appearances. In a single occasion, the prosecution pointed to Trump calling Nationwide Enquirer David Pecker’s testimony “good,” arguing it might function a reminder to future witnesses that the previous president is watching and keen to remark.
As for Trump’s remark that “95% of the jurors are all democrats,” prosecutors argued that it “amplifies and creates an air of menace.” The 2 different allegations included feedback about former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who’s assumed to be a future witness.
Final week, Trump was ordered to pay $9,000 and take away seven offending posts from his Reality Social account, and two posts from his marketing campaign web site that Merchan dominated violated the gag order. Merchan warned in that ruling that the court docket “won’t tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if needed and acceptable beneath the circumstances, it’ll impose an incarceratory punishment.” In different phrases, he reminded Trump that jail is a punishment choice.
Weeks earlier than the trial started, Merchan issued a gag order on Trump that particularly bars him from making or directing others to make public statements about potential jurors, court docket workers or members of the family of workers.
Trump, the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee, is accused of 34 felony counts of falsifying enterprise information with the intent to additional different crimes forward of the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not responsible to all prices. The jury has already heard from a number of witnesses together with former Nationwide Enquirer writer Pecker, First Republic Financial institution banker Gary Farro, longtime Trump government assistant Rhona Graff and lawyer Keith Davidson, who represented two girls on the middle of the trial.
On Could 2, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Trump remains to be talking out in self-defense and in addition in protection of his run for president.
“He cannot simply say no remark repeatedly when he is working for president,” Blanche stated.
Trump has challenged the gag order, together with a failed try to delay the trial whereas he fought it. An appeals court docket decide’s resolution to maintain the gag order in place got here lower than per week earlier than jury choice started.
Trump has argued that this order is unconstitutionally limiting his political speech as he campaigns to be the following president. Within the ruling that put the gag order in place, Merchan rejected Trump’s assertion that his statements “represent core political speech.”
The present gag order doesn’t cowl Merchan or District Lawyer Alvin Bragg. Each have additionally been recipients of the previous president’s ire.
