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  • New york city appeals court decreases to hear Trump’s obstacle to gag order in hush cash case

    New york city appeals court decreases to hear Trump’s obstacle to gag order in hush cash case

    The New York City Court of Appeals on Tuesday decreased to hear previous President Donald Trump‘s appeal of the gag order in the hush cash case in which he was founded guilty last month.

    The court stated it was dismissing the appeal “upon the ground that no considerable constitutional concern is straight included.”

    That implies the gag order troubled Trump by state Judge Juan Merchan is still in impact. A court spokesperson did not right away return NBC News’ ask for more info on the choice.

    Trump initially asked the appeals court in mid-May, before he was condemned of 34 felony counts of falsifying company records, to get rid of the gag order that has actually limited Trump from making remarks about members of the jury, witnesses, court personnel and district attorneys.

    Trump consistently railed versus the gag order throughout the trial, which lasted about a month and a half. The previous president was discovered to have actually broken the order mutiple times, which caused Merchan fining Trump $10,000 and threatening to put him in prison if it occurred once again.

    In early June, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche sent out a letter to Merchan asking for that he end the gag order, arguing that “since the trial has actually concluded, the mentioned bases for the gag order no longer exist.” The Manhattan District Lawyer’s Workplace, which prosecuted the case, opposed the demand by Trump’s legal group.

    The jury in the event discovered Trump guilty on Might 30 of all 34 felony counts of falsifying company records, which marked the very first time a previous U.S. president was founded guilty of a criminal activity.

    Following the conviction, Trump might have more broke the gag order by making remarks about 2 witnesses in the event: Robert Costello, who affirmed for the defense, and Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness and Trump’s previous legal representative, though Trump didn’t clearly call him.

    The previous president is set up to be sentenced in the event on July 11. On June 10, he satisfied essentially with a New york city probation officer for a pre-sentencing interview.

    This short article was initially released on NBCNews.com

  • New york city’s leading court decreases to hear Trump’s appeal of gag order in hush cash case

    New york city’s leading court decreases to hear Trump’s appeal of gag order in hush cash case

    NEW YORK CITY (AP) — New york city’s leading court decreased on Tuesday to hear Donald Trump’s gag order appeal, leaving the limitations in location following his felony conviction last month. The Court of Appeals discovered that the order does not raise “significant” constitutional concerns that would call for an instant intervention.

    The choice is the most recent legal problem for the Republican previous president, who has actually consistently railed versus the gag order, which avoids him from talking about witnesses, jurors and others who were associated with the hush cash case. However it might be brief lived. The trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, is anticipated to rule quickly on a defense demand to raise the gag order.

    Trump’s lawyers submitted a notification of appeal with the state’s high court on Might 15, throughout the previous president’s landmark criminal trial. They argued that the gag order limited Trump’s “core political speech on matters of main significance at the height of his Governmental project.”

    However the Court of Appeals disagreed. In a choice list published on Tuesday, the court stated it would not immediately hear the case, composing that “no significant constitutional concern is straight included.”

    Trump’s legal representatives were basically looking for a faster way to accelerate their appeal, which was turned down by the state’s mid-level appeals court last month. They now have thirty days to submit a movement for leave to appeal, according to court representative Gary Spencer.

    Merchan enforced the gag order on March 26, a couple of weeks before the start of the trial, after district attorneys raised issues about the presumptive Republican governmental candidate’s propensity to assault individuals associated with his cases.

    Throughout the trial, Merchan held Trump in contempt of court and fined him $10,000 for breaching the gag order. The judge threatened to put Trump in prison if he did it once again.

    The order stays in impact weeks after the conclusion of the trial, which ended with Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying company records emerging from what district attorneys stated was an effort to conceal a hush cash payment to porn star Stormy Daniels right before the 2016 election. Daniels declares she had a sexual encounter with Trump a years previously, which he rejects. He is arranged to be sentenced July 11.

  • Trump’s attorneys advise judge to decline unique counsel’s ask for gag order in categorized docs case

    Trump’s attorneys advise judge to decline unique counsel’s ask for gag order in categorized docs case

    Donald Trump’s attorneys on Friday countered at unique counsel Jack Smith in the categorized files case by opposing his demand to disallow the previous president from making any declarations that district attorneys state threaten police associated with the examination.

    In a 20-page filing, defense lawyer argued that Smith “looks for to limit President Trump’s project speech” ahead of the very first argument with President Joe Biden later on this month.

    Smith’s group asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Might to customize Trump’s conditions of release in the event, pointing out Trump’s incorrect claims about FBI representatives being prepared to eliminate him throughout the search at Mar-a-Lago for categorized files. District attorneys stated such declarations have actually “threatened police officers associated with the examination and prosecution of this case.”

    Trump’s attorneys argued that Smith’s demand need to be rejected on the basis of “the obscurities, absence of enforcement requirements, and resulting chilling result.” They likewise called it “a naked effort to enforce totalitarian censorship of core political speech.”

    The defense stated that “not a single FBI representative who took part in the raid sent an affidavit, or perhaps an argument, declaring that President Trump’s remarks put them at danger.”

    The FBI has stated that the fatal force permission that Trump seemed referencing in his earlier remarks was basic language developed to restrict making use of force.

    Trump has actually pleaded innocent in the categorized files case. The trial has actually been forever delayed.

    Cannon has actually set up a June 24 hearing on the gag order demand. There is no set timeline for when she might rule on the completing filings.

    Trump’s attorneys on Friday made much of the exact same arguments they have actually utilized in combating gag orders for criminal cases in New york city and Washington D.C., consisting of a concentrate on First Change securities, what they considered unclear language in district attorneys’ proposed gag orders and an absence of proof of real risks originating from Trump’s declarations.

    The filing comes the exact same week that Trump’s attorneys asked a New york city court to end the gag order that was enforced versus the previous president throughout the hush cash trial where Trump was later on condemned on 34 felony counts.

    This short article was initially released on NBCNews.com

  • District attorneys desire Donald Trump to stay under a gag order a minimum of till he’s sentenced July 11

    District attorneys desire Donald Trump to stay under a gag order a minimum of till he’s sentenced July 11

    NEW YORK CITY (AP) — Manhattan district attorneys advised a judge Wednesday to keep Donald Trump ’s gag order in location in his hush cash criminal case a minimum of till the previous president is sentenced in July, opposing a defense demand that the constraints be raised following his felony convictions recently.

    Assistant District Lawyer Matthew Colangelo informed Judge Juan M. Merchan in a letter that the Manhattan DA’s workplace opposes any instant termination of the gag order, which disallows Trump from commenting about witnesses, jurors and others connected to the case — however not the judge himself.

    The court “has a commitment to safeguard the stability of these procedures and the reasonable administration of justice a minimum of through the sentencing hearing and the resolution of any post-trial movements,” Colangelo composed.

    On Tuesday, Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove had actually asked Merchan to end the gag order, arguing there was absolutely nothing to validate “continued constraints on the First Change rights of President Trump” now that the trial is over.

    In providing the gag order in March, Merchan kept in mind that district attorneys had actually sought it “throughout of the trial.” Colangelo argued, nevertheless, that the order was “based not just on the requirement to prevent dangers to the fairness of the trial itself” however likewise the judge’s “responsibility to avoid real damage to the stability” of the case.

    Colangelo stated district attorneys prefer having both sides send composed arguments to the court on the gag order concern in the next couple of weeks — an action that, if Merchan concurs, would keep the constraints in location a minimum of till almost completion of the month.

    A message looking for remark was left for Blanche.

    Trump was founded guilty last Thursday of 34 counts of falsifying company records occurring from what district attorneys stated was an effort to cover a hush cash payment to porn star Stormy Daniels right before the 2016 governmental election. She declares she had a sexual encounter with Trump a years previously, which he rejects.

    Trump is set up to be sentenced July 11. His conviction is punishable by as much as 4 years behind bars, however district attorneys have actually not stated if they would look for imprisonment and it’s unclear if Merchan would enforce such a sentence. Other choices consist of a fine or probation.

    Blanche and Bove argued in their letter Tuesday that Trump is entitled to “unrestrained project advocacy” because of President Joe Biden’s public remarks about the decision last Friday, and continued public criticism of Trump by his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen and Daniels, both essential prosecution witnesses.

    Trump’s attorneys likewise compete the gag order need to disappear so he’s complimentary to completely deal with the case and his conviction with the very first governmental dispute set up for June 27.

    Merchan provided Trump’s gag order on March 26, a couple of weeks before the start of the trial, after district attorneys raised issues about the presumptive Republican governmental candidate’s tendency to attack individuals associated with his cases.

    Merchan later on broadened it to forbid remarks about his own household after Trump made social networks posts assaulting the judge’s child, a Democratic political expert. Remarks about Merchan and District Lawyer Alvin Bragg are enabled, however the gag order bars declarations about court personnel and members of Bragg’s prosecution group.

    Trump has actually continued to run rather under the concept that he’s still muzzled, informing press reporters Friday at Trump Tower: “I’m under a gag order, nasty gag order.”

    Describing Cohen, Trump stated, “I’m not enabled to utilize his name due to the fact that of the gag order” before knocking his lawyer-turned-courtroom enemy as “a scum.”

    Throughout the trial, Merchan held Trump in contempt of court, fined him $10,000 for breaching the gag order and threatened to put him in prison if he did it once again.

    Trump’s usage of the term “dirtbag” to explain Cohen right before the trial rankled district attorneys, however was ruled out a gag order infraction by the judge. Merchan decreased to sanction Trump for an April 10 social networks post, which described Cohen and Daniels by that insult.

    The judge stated at the time that Trump’s contention that he was reacting to previous posts by Cohen that were crucial of him “suffices to provide” him stop briefly on whether district attorneys fulfilled their problem in showing that the post ran out bounds.

  • Donald Trump asks New York’s high court to intervene in fight over gag order in hush money trial

    Donald Trump asks New York’s high court to intervene in fight over gag order in hush money trial

    NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is seeking to have New York’s highest court intervene in his fight over a gag order that has seen him fined $10,000 and threatened with jail for violating a ban on commenting about witnesses, jurors and others connected to his hush money criminal trial.

    The former president’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal Wednesday, a day after the state’s mid-level appellate court refused his request to lift or modify the restrictions. The filing was listed on a court docket, but the document itself was sealed and not available.

    Trump presidential campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said it’s a request for the state’s Court of Appeals to take up the matter.

    “President Trump has filed a notice to appeal the unconstitutional and un-American gag order imposed by conflicted Judge Juan Merchan in the lawless Manhattan DA case,” Cheung said in a statement.

    “The threat to throw the 45th President of the United States and the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election in jail for exercising his First Amendment rights is a Third World authoritarian tactic typical of Crooked Joe Biden and his comrades,” Cheung said.

    A five-judge panel of the mid-level appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court, ruled Tuesday that Merchan “properly determined” that Trump’s public statements “posed a significant threat to the integrity of the testimony of witnesses and potential witnesses in this case as well.”

    Trump had asked the state’s intermediate appeals court to lift or modify the gag order. Among other restrictions, it bars him from making or directing others to make statements about witnesses like his fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen, who will testify for a third day Thursday. It also prohibits comments about court staff, the judge’s family and prosecutors other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

    Bragg’s office declined comment. A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for the state court system.

    “The gag order has to come off,” Trump told reporters as he headed into court Tuesday. Later, he lamented, “As you know, I’m under a gag order, so I can’t answer those very simple questions you’re asking me.”

    Trump has been noticeably more circumspect in his comments after Merchan held him in contempt of court and fined him a total of $10,000 for violating the gag order 10 times in recent weeks. The judge told Trump last week that future gag order violations could send him to jail.

    Among the violations were Trump’s several attacks on Cohen, including an April 13 social media post asking, “Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING? Only TRUMP people get prosecuted by this Judge and these thugs!”

    Merchan also flagged reposts Trump made of a New York Post article that described Cohen as a “serial perjurer,” and a Trump post quoting Fox News host Jesse Watters’ claim that liberal activists were lying to infiltrate the jury.

    Merchan’s jail warning came after he ruled Trump had violated the gag order a final time when, in an April 22 interview with television channel Real America’s Voice, he criticized the speed at which the jury was picked and claimed, without evidence, that it was stacked with Democrats.

    Merchan issued the gag order March 26 after prosecutors raised concerns about Trump’s propensity to attack people involved in his cases. He expanded it April 1 to prohibit comments about his own family after Trump lashed out on social media at the judge’s daughter, a Democratic political consultant, and made false claims about her.

    Trump appealed the gag order April 8, just days before the start of jury selection. At an emergency hearing before a single judge of the Appellate Division, Trump’s lawyers argued the order was an unconstitutional curb on the Republican presidential nominee’s free speech rights while he’s campaigning and fighting criminal charges.

    Specifically, according to court papers, Trump challenged restrictions on his ability to comment about Matthew Colangelo, a former Justice Department official who is a part of the prosecution team, and Merchan’s daughter, whose firm has worked for Trump’s rival, President Joe Biden, and other Democrats.

    In its ruling Tuesday, the Appellate Division noted that Trump wasn’t claiming that the gag order had infringed on his right to a fair trial. Rather, Trump’s lawyers argued that prohibiting him from commenting about Colangelo and Loren Merchan restricted his ability to engage in protected political speech and could adversely affect his campaign.

    The appeals court ruled that Judge Merchan “properly weighed” Trump’s free speech rights against the “historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm.”

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  • With Trump under a gag order, allies step up attacks on his hush money trial

    With Trump under a gag order, allies step up attacks on his hush money trial

    Former President Donald Trump risks a trip to jail if he attacks witnesses in his New York hush-money trial. But his allies aren’t covered by the gag order he has repeatedly violated, and they’re increasingly launching the broadsides that Trump can’t.

    On Monday, as former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen testified that Trump was directly involved in a scheme to kill negative stories about him during the 2016 election, Sens. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., ripped into Cohen.

    “He’s a convicted felon,” Tuberville said of Cohen at a press conference outside the courthouse. “I mean this guy is giving an acting scene.”

    “Cohen can’t remember how old his son is or how old he was when he started to work for Trump but I’m sure he remembers extremely small details from years ago!” Vance, who is in contention to be picked as Trump’s running mate, wrote in a sarcasm-laden tweetstorm on X. “Michael Cohen admitting he secretly recorded his employer. Just totally normal conduct, right? The best part is he said he did it only once and only for Trump’s benefit. A standup guy!”

    Follow live trial coverage here.

    In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump project in Moscow. At the time of his testimony, he remained loyal to his longtime employer.

    The friends-and-family loophole has been exploited by lawmakers and by Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, the latter of whom has attended portions of the trial. Neither of them has been accused of any wrongdoing in the case, which centers on whether the former president falsified business records in order to help his 2016 election chances by covering up alleged affairs that he denies occurred.

    Trump has frequently denounced the gag order, portraying it as an effort to silence his political speech as he campaigns for a return to the Oval Office. Merchan has found him in violation of the order 10 times, fined him and warned him, in no uncertain terms, that further transgressions could result in incarceration.

    That’s why Trump supporters say it is crucial for his defenders to give his claims voice in the public arena.

    J.D. Vance looks on as Donald Trump speaks to the media. (Sarah Yenesel / Pool via Getty Images)

    J.D. Vance looks on as Donald Trump speaks to the media. (Sarah Yenesel / Pool via Getty Images)

    “It’s more important than normal that all of Trump’s allies speak out loudly against this sham prosecution, given the unconstitutional gag order President Trump is being forced to abide by,” one Trump ally said. “They are not allowing Trump to speak out about the connections the judge and prosecution have to the Democrat[ic] Party and Joe Biden, so it’s incumbent upon his biggest supporters to carry that vital message on his behalf.”

    Trump has said that he is ready to testify in his own defense at the trial, but many legal experts note that his lawyers are likely to advise against that.

    In addition to the two senators, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and the Republican attorneys general of Iowa and Alabama — Brenna Bird and Steve Marshall — went to the courthouse Monday to support Trump.

    “I have been a prosecutor for 30 years and have never witnessed a greater perversion of the criminal justice system than I did this morning,” Marshall said in a statement to NBC News. “This reeks of desperation from a party that has clearly lost all confidence in its nominee, but even this circus won’t distract Americans from recognizing the failures of this administration.”

    Malliotakis, who represents Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, said Trump is being subjected to a “sham trial” that depends on the testimony of a “convicted disbarred perjurer” in Cohen. Though prosecutors used Cohen to introduce new evidence — including a recording of Trump telling Cohen to use cash to purchase Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story of an alleged affair — prior witnesses had already testified about key details of the catch-and-kill scheme and how payments were made.

    Deploying allies points to the two-pronged nature of Trump’s current fight: inside the courtroom, his lawyers must convince at least one juror that the prosecution failed to prove he is guilty; outside it, he must convince voters that he should be elected president, regardless of the outcome of the trial.

    And without cameras to capture the trial, the Trump campaign has also been twisting the truth of what’s happening to supporters, at times telling them versions of developments that don’t completely line up with what’s going on in the room.

    This article was originally published on NBCNews.com



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  • Trump suggests he’d ‘sacrifice’ himself and go to jail over gag order violations

    Trump suggests he’d ‘sacrifice’ himself and go to jail over gag order violations

    Donald Trump was held in contempt Monday for violating a gag order in his hush money trial for a 10th time, and New York state Judge Juan Merchan has warned the former president that he may be jailed if he keeps it up.

    But Trump suggested that he’s not deterred by the prospect of jail time. In fact, he said, he would “sacrifice” himself to protect the sanctity of his free speech rights.

    “This judge has given me a gag order and said you’re going to jail if you violate it. And frankly, you know what? Our Constitution is much more important than jail,” he told reporters outside the courtroom later that day. “It’s not even close. I’ll do that sacrifice any day.”

    Trump has repeatedly attempted to paint his gag order infractions as a battle to assert his right to free speech, including the freedom to attack court staff, prosecutors, the jury and witnesses, if his sanctioned public statements are the measure. When imposing the gag order, Merchan cited “not only fear on the part of the individual targeted, but also the assignment of increased security resources to investigate threats and protect the individuals” that would “risk impeding the orderly administration” of the court. (Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts of falsifying business records.)

    Trump’s portrayal of himself as a political martyr is not out of character: He has long claimed, when faced with potential repercussions for his actions, to be a victim of a “weaponized” criminal justice system.

    His claims of political persecution have also galvanized his supporters and made for effective fundraising. Before court was adjourned Monday, an email was sent to Trump’s supporters seeking donations for his presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, Politico reported. The subject line read: “They want me in HANDCUFFS.”

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

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  • ‘For a million reasons petty, shallow, and primal Trump does not want go to jail’

    ‘For a million reasons petty, shallow, and primal Trump does not want go to jail’

    Devlin Barrett, Washington Post Justice Reporter, Harry Litman, former U.S. Attorney, and Donny Deutsch join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to the gag order judgment rendered by Judge Merchan after ruling that Donald Trump violated his gag order for a 10th time, with the judge warning defendant Trump that the next level of punishment could be jail time.

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  • Judge threatens Trump with jail time for gag order violations in hush-money trial

    Judge threatens Trump with jail time for gag order violations in hush-money trial

    The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial on Monday held him in criminal contempt for the 10th time and warned he could face jail for continued violations of a gag order.

    Juan Merchan’s admonition to Trump came in response to the Republican presidential frontrunner’s repeated commentary on trial witnesses and jurors, which flouts the judge’s order barring him from speaking about those who are testifying at the high-profile proceedings and panelists weighing his fate.

    Merchan’s decision – which imposed a $1,000 fine – came less than one week after Trump was held in criminal contempt and fined $9,000 for violating the gag order on other occasions. The order was in response to Trump’s comments on the jury, which described their selection as rushed.

    “Mr Trump, as you know the prosecution has filed three separate motions to find you in criminal contempt,” Merchan said. “It appears that the $1,000 fines are not a deterrent.”

    Merchan continued: “The last thing I want to do is put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well … but at the end of the day, I have a job to do and part of that job is to protect the dignity of the judicial system.”

    He also said that Trump’s actions “constitute a direct attack on the rule of law. I cannot allow that to continue”.

    “So as much as I do not want to impose a jail sanction,” Merchan added sternly, “I want you to understand that I will, if necessary and appropriate.”

    The dramatic development unfolded moments after Trump entered Merchan’s courtroom for the 12th day of his criminal hush-money trial.

    Trump, wearing a deep blue suit, said “good morning” to someone as he crossed into the well, and dropped a set of papers on to the defense table, which fell with a low, orderly whack.

    The first witness called this week was Jeffrey McConney, former Trump Organization comptroller and senior vice-president. Through McConney’s testimony, the prosecution sought to show that Trump had intimate knowledge of his personal and companies’ finances – and that repayments to Cohen were out-of-the-ordinary for his boss.

    “Who has the authority to approve invoices?” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo asked.

    “President Trump, before he became president,” McConney said. When Trump was president, those authorized to greenlight invoices included the former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, as well as and Trump’s adult children.

    Colangelo asked McConney about a talk he had with Weisselberg about repaying Cohen. Weisselberg, a longtime Trump loyalist, is presently jailed for perjury after lying in court in Trump’s civil fraud case.

    “We have to reimburse Michael,” McConney recalled Weisselberg saying in an early 2017 meeting, where they determined Cohen was owed $420,000 for legal expenses and taxes, as well as a bonus. “He tossed the pad toward me, I started taking notes on what Allen said.”

    Through questioning, Colangelo showed that Trump – who throughout the trial has been portrayed as incredibly cheap – lavished more money on Cohen than was normal. “Do these notes show that Mr Cohen was receiving $360,000 back on a $180,000 expense?” Colangelo asked.

    “Yes,” McConney said.

    “Are you aware of another incident where an expense was doubled because of taxes?” Colangelo pressed.

    “No.”

    Colangelo’s implication was clear: Cohen’s receipt of more money than he had paid out suggested that Trump was giving him special treatment, potentially to maintain his silence about the alleged hush-money cover-up.

    Jurors were also shown Trump Organization ledger reports that described payments to Cohen coded as a “legal expense” and with “retainer” also listed. McConney had testified that he had not seen a retainer, again suggesting that Trump was falsifying business records – the charge he is facing.

    On cross, defense attorney Emil Bove asked McConney whether Trump had told him to engage in any of the repayment practices that came up in Colangelo’s questioning.

    McConney said, “He did not.”

    The morning’s proceedings came after testimony from a teary top campaign aide, Hope Hicks, at the end of last week.

    Hicks told jurors on Friday that Trump wielded complete control over his 2016 presidential campaign – including a media strategy which, prosecutors allege, involved illicit business records for hush-money payments.

    Prosecutors must establish that Trump plotted with aides – then lawyer Michael Cohen and tabloid honcho David Pecker – to bury negative stories that could have thwarted his presidential bid, including accounts of extramarital affairs with the adult film actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

    Cohen allegedly paid $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her silence; prosecutors contend that Trump represented repayments to him as legal services, constituting felony falsification of business records.

    By putting Trump at the center of his media strategy, Hicks’s testimony could bolster prosecutors’ argument that he was well aware of this catch-and-kill scheme, and the financial machinations used to allegedly cover up these payouts.

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  • Judge warns Trump could face jail time if he continues to violate gag orders

    Judge warns Trump could face jail time if he continues to violate gag orders

    The judge overseeing the New York hush money trial has found that former President Trump has violated his gag order again, fining him an additional $1,000 and warning about the possibility of jail time “if necessary.” NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard reports on the decision and the new Trump organization witness taking the stand.

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  • What a judge’s gag order on Trump means in his hush money case

    What a judge’s gag order on Trump means in his hush money case

    NEW YORK (AP) — Virtually every day of his hush money criminal trial, former President Donald Trump talks about how he can’t talk about the case.

    A gag order bars Trump from commenting publicly on witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the matter. The New York judge already has found that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly violated the order, fined him $9,000 and warning that jail could follow if he doesn’t comply.

    But the order doesn’t stop Trump from talking about the allegations against him or commenting on the judge or the elected top prosecutor. And despite a recent Trump remark, it doesn’t stop him from testifying in court if he chooses.

    As he fights the felony charges against him while running for president, Trump has at times stirred confusion about what he can and can’t do in the case. He has pleaded not guilty.

    So what does the order do, what doesn’t it and where did it come from?

    WHAT IS A GAG ORDER?

    Generally speaking, a gag order is a judge’s directive prohibiting someone or people involved in a court case from publicly commenting about some or all aspects of it. In Trump’s case, it’s titled an “Order Restricting Extrajudicial Statements,” with “extrajudicial” meaning outside of court.

    Gag orders, particularly in high-profile cases, are intended to prevent information presented outside a courtroom from affecting what happens inside.

    Trump also is subject to a gag order in his federal criminal election interference case in Washington. That order limits what he can say about witnesses, lawyers in the case and court staff, though an appeals court freed him to speak about special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the case.

    In his recent New York civil fraud trial, Trump was fined a total of $15,000 for comments he made about that judge’s law clerk after a gag order barred participants in the trial from “posting, emailing or speaking publicly” about the court’s staff.

    The U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged that gag orders can pit fair trial rights against free speech rights. The court has struck down some orders that barred the press from reporting on certain cases or court proceedings and rejected as too vague a Nevada court rule that limited what all lawyers could say out of court.

    IS TRUMP FIGHTING THE GAG ORDER?

    Yes. Before the trial, he asked a state appeals court to postpone the trial while he appeals the gag order, but the court refused. His appeal of the order itself is ongoing.

    WHO IS COVERED BY THE GAG ORDER ON TRUMP?

    Initially imposed March 26, the gag order bars Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about any juror and about any “reasonably foreseeable” witness’ participation in the investigation or the trial.

    It also bars any statements about lawyers in the case, court staffers, prosecution aides and relatives of all of the above, to the extent that the statements are intended to “materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with” their work on the case “or with the knowledge that such interference is likely to result.”

    The order doesn’t apply to Judge Juan M. Merchan or to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office is bringing the case. It does apply to comments about their family members, however. Merchan added that provision on April 1 after Trump lashed out on social media at the judge’s daughter, a Democratic political consultant, and made a claim about her that was later repudiated by court officials.

    Trump is also allowed to talk about his political opponents, as Merchan made clear on Thursday.

    The order also doesn’t bar witnesses from commenting on Trump. Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-lawyer and an expected witness, has routinely attacked his former boss, leading Trump to complain about not being able to respond in kind.

    CAN TRUMP TESTIFY?

    Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to take the stand in their own defense — or not to.

    There was some confusion after Trump said Thursday that because of the gag order, he was “not allowed to testify.” In context, it appeared he was actually referring to his ability to respond to a reporter’s court-hallway question about a witness’ testimony that afternoon.

    Trump clarified to reporters Friday that he understood the order wasn’t a bar on testifying. Merchan emphasized the same in court.

    “I want to stress, Mr. Trump, you have an absolute right to testify at trial, if that’s what you decide to do after consultation with your attorneys,” Merchan said.

    WHY DID TRUMP GET FINED? WHAT CAN’T HE SAY?

    Merchan found that Trump violated the gag order with social media posts that laid into Cohen. Among the offending posts: one that asked whether “disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING,” a repost of a New York Post article that described Cohen as a “serial perjurer,” and a Trump post referring to Fox News host Jesse Watters’ claim that liberal activists were lying to infiltrate the jury.

    Merchan noted that Trump’s comment on the Watters segment misstated what the host had actually said, making the comment “the words of Defendant himself.”

    On the other hand, Merchan declined to sanction Trump for an April 10 post that referred to Cohen and Stormy Daniels, the porn performer who got a $130,000 hush money payment that’s at the heart of the case, as “sleaze bags.”

    Trump contended that he was responding to previous comments by Cohen, and the judge said the back-and-forth gave him pause as to whether that post met the bar for a violation.

    COULD TRUMP REALLY GO TO TO JAIL OVER THE GAG ORDER?

    When Merchan fined Trump $1,000 apiece for nine violations — the maximum fine allowed by law — he wrote that “jail may be a necessary punishment” for some wealthy defendants who won’t be deterred by such a sum.

    Merchan added that he “will not tolerate continued willful violations” of the gag order and that, if “necessary and appropriate,” he “will impose an incarceratory punishment,” meaning jail.

    It’s unclear what would rise to the level of “necessary and appropriate.”

    Defense lawyer Todd Blanche indicated in court Friday that he plans to appeal the judge’s finding this past week that Trump violated the gag order.

    Prosecutors have asked Merchan to hold Trump in contempt again and fine him $1,000 for each of four alleged violations from April 22-25. But the prosecution isn’t asking for the former president to be locked up over those comments because they happened before Merchan’s jail warning and because “we’d prefer to minimize disruption to this proceeding,” prosecutor Christopher Conroy said.

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  • Hope Hicks caps another dramatic week of testimony in hush money trial

    Hope Hicks caps another dramatic week of testimony in hush money trial

    Welcome back, Deadline: Legal Newsletter readers. It was a historic week in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president, with Donald Trump being held in criminal contempt. Judge Juan Merchan hasn’t jailed him yet over his repeated gag order violations — and prosecutors haven’t asked him to yet — but the threat of incarceration looms as we enter the third week of testimony.

    This second week made progress on the state’s election-interference theory. Two of the biggest witnesses this week were former Trump aide Hope Hicks and Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented alleged hush money recipients Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels. Both Davidson and Hicks testified to, among other things, the impact of the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, which is taking on its own starring role in the prosecution even if the recording itself doesn’t come into evidence.

    A “damaging development” is how Hicks described the tape that was released just ahead of the 2016 election. The recording showed Trump a decade earlier bragging about being able to grab women by their genitals. “It wasn’t until ‘Access Hollywood’ that interest sort of reached a crescendo,” Davidson testified, explaining how the deal went down to secure Daniels’ silence as Trump successfully sought the White House. Expect to keep hearing about the tape as the case goes on.

    Trump also broke new ground this week by earning the criminal contempt finding from Merchan. The judge said in a ruling Tuesday that Trump violated the gag order nine times. Merchan imposed the maximum fines available of $9,000 total and warned the defendant that jail may be next. The judge held yet another hearing over more possible violations Thursday, but prosecutors still didn’t press for jail “yet,” they said, to avoid disrupting the proceeding.

    One wonders how much longer they — and ultimately, Merchan — can delay the seeming inevitable incarceration of a defendant who prosecutors allege keeps violating the court order.

    The Supreme Court is done with oral arguments after last week’s immunity hearing in Trump’s case. But the justices issued orders in pending appeals, blocking former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro’s bid to get out of jail, turning away Elon Musk’s appeal against the SEC, and declining a free speech challenge to a Texas law requiring age verification for pornography sites, which makes adults submit personal information.

    The justices are set to issue opinions this coming week, on Thursday. Will we see the Trump immunity decision then? That would surprise me, partly because they have much else to decide as well.

    Have any questions or comments for me? I’d love to hear from you! Please email deadlinelegal@nbcuni.com for a chance to be featured in a future newsletter.

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

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  • Merchan fact-checks Trump’s claim that he ‘not allowed to testify’ while under a gag order

    Merchan fact-checks Trump’s claim that he ‘not allowed to testify’ while under a gag order

    Judge Juan Merchan told Donald Trump on Friday morning that he is, in fact, allowed to testify in court while under a gag order, addressing a false claim that Trump made the day before.

    “I’m not allowed to testify, I’m under a gag order — I guess, right? I can’t even testify,” the former president told reporters outside the courtroom at his hush money trial Thursday as he turned to his lawyer, Todd Blanche, who appeared to nod and shake his head at the same time.

    Trump added: “I’m not allowed to testify because this judge, who’s totally conflicted, has me under an unconstitutional gag order.”

    At the start of Friday’s court session, Merchan explained to Trump that the gag order “does not prohibit you from taking the stand” and that the order “only applies to extrajudicial statements.”

    This wasn’t the first time that Trump has shown a lack of knowledge about the criminal trial process. Last month, he suggested that arbitrary limits had been placed on his lawyers during the jury selection process, when those limits are based on the law.

    Earlier this week, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for repeatedly violating the gag order and warned that jail is a possibility for further violations, though Manhattan prosecutors said Thursday that they are not seeking jail time just yet. (My MSNBC colleague Jordan Rubin has questioned the purpose of a gag order if low-level fines are all that prosecutors are willing to seek at the moment.)

    Trump has made conflicting statements about whether he will take the stand, which would require him to answer questions under oath before the jury. It’s unclear whether the notoriously verbose defendant will be willing to take that risk.

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com



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  • New York prosecutors aren’t seeking jail for Trump on gag order — ‘yet’

    New York prosecutors aren’t seeking jail for Trump on gag order — ‘yet’

    Manhattan prosecutors keep objecting to Donald Trump’s alleged gag order violations, but they still don’t want him to go to jail over them. And while that is understandable from a practical perspective, it raises the question of why they keep pressing the issue.

    Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy told Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday morning that the office isn’t seeking jail time “yet” because it prefers to minimize disruptions to the proceeding. Conroy made the remark at a hearing over the latest alleged violations of the gag order.

    Merchan already found Trump in contempt on Tuesday for violating the order nine times. The judge imposed a $1,000 fine for each violation — the legal maximum. Even Merchan effectively conceded the punishment was relatively minor, but in his ruling Tuesday, he warned Trump that he could send him to jail if he keeps testing the limit.

    Ahead of Thursday’s hearing over additional alleged violations, I wrote that fines might be all that come out of this latest hearing, too. That’s because Merchan’s jail warning in Tuesday’s ruling might be read to apply only to violations that come after that ruling, and the alleged violations at issue in Thursday’s hearing happened earlier. There’s no legal bar to Merchan jailing Trump over these latest alleged violations — he could’ve done so with the nine violations in Tuesday’s ruling — because state law gives him the option of fines up to $1,000 and/or jail up to 30 days.

    Trump didn’t need any special warning, but Merchan gave him another one anyway, probably to delay the momentous decision of whether to jail a former president and presumptive presidential nominee.

    But with the state’s latest concession Thursday, Merchan may not have to truly grapple yet with whether to send Trump to jail, since even prosecutors say they don’t want that yet. That is, if the judge even finds any violations over the latest contested statements about witnesses Michael Cohen and David Pecker and the jury. Merchan didn’t immediately rule Thursday, as testimony resumed in the criminal case charging Trump with falsifying business records. (Trump has pleaded not guilty.)

    Let’s assume Merchan only imposes fines again if he finds further violations. What does the prosecution’s position mean for the additional violations by Trump that will almost surely come? Prosecutors said they’re not seeking jail yet, implying there may come a point when they will. And by their logic, jailing Trump risks disrupting the trial. Maybe so.

    But that raises the question of the purpose of the gag order in the first place. It’s to protect the proceedings, by stopping Trump from going after witnesses, jurors and others involved in the case (he can still rail against the judge and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg himself). The prosecution seems to think that’s an important interest to protect because they keep raising it with Merchan. But if Trump keeps violating the order in the face of $1,000 fines, it’s clear that the order isn’t serving its purpose.

    Prosecutors likely don’t want to risk messing up the underlying case itself, which seems to be moving along well for them. And jailing Trump would raise unprecedented issues, at least from a practical perspective. But if they’re confronted with further violations, they’ll have to weigh the risks of Trump’s disruption to the proceedings against whatever disruption holding him accountable for that would bring. Ultimately, the weighty decision will fall to Merchan, who had to know that he’d be faced with such a decision when he imposed the order in the first place.

    Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

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  • Trump trial judge to hold gag order hearing before Stormy Daniels’ ex-lawyer is back on the stand

    Trump trial judge to hold gag order hearing before Stormy Daniels’ ex-lawyer is back on the stand

    Donald Trump‘s hush money trial resumes Thursday in a Manhattan courtroom with prosecutors set to argue that the judge overseeing the trial should find the former president in criminal contempt — again — for violating a gag order.

    The hearing will focus on remarks Trump made last week to reporters in the courthouse hallway and in interviews with two news outlets. In his remarks, Trump referred to his former lawyer Michael Cohen — a key figure and probable witness in the trial — as “a convicted liar.” Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to lying to Congress about a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

    Trump last week also complained that the jury of his peers is overwhelmingly Democratic. Jurors weren’t asked about their party affiliations during the selection process.

    State Judge Juan Merchan this week held Trump in contempt for nine violations of his April 1 order prohibiting criticism of witnesses and jurors. The violations all pertained to posts on Trump’s social media account and his campaign website. Merchan fined Trump $9,000 — the maximum allowed by law — and warned that any future violations could result in jail time.

    Trump attorney Todd Blanche has defended Trump’s online commentary, saying at a hearing last week that he’d been responding to “political” attacks against him. Trump has claimed the gag order is “unconstitutional” because he’s the presumptive Republican nominee for president and should be able to speak his mind.

    The narrowly tailored gag order bars Trump from “making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding” and “public statements about any prospective juror or any juror.”

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office hasn’t requested a particular punishment for what it argues are further violations of the gag order. It said in a court filing that Trump’s “decision to again specifically target individuals and the proceeding which this Court’s order protects is a deliberate flouting of this Court’s directives that warrants sanctions.”

    The hearing Thursday morning is expected to last 30 minutes. It will be followed by attorney Keith Davidson’s return to the witness stand.

    Davidson represented Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who both claim to have had affairs with Trump in 2006 and were paid to keep quiet about those claims in 2016 when Trump was running for president. Trump has denied their claims.

    The National Enquirer’s parent company paid McDougal, a former Playboy model, $150,000 as part of what prosecutors described as a “catch and kill” scheme to suppress negative stories and benefit Trump’s presidential campaign. Cohen, Trump’s lawyer at the time, paid Daniels, an adult film star, $130,000 in the closing weeks of the campaign.

    Trump eventually repaid Cohen in payments that prosecutors say were falsely recorded in his company’s records as legal payments. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

    Davidson said on the stand Tuesday that he and Daniels nearly walked away from the deal after Cohen missed the deadline to pay. “I thought he was trying to kick the can down the road until after the election,” Davidson said.

    He’s expected to get into the details of the payment and its aftermath before Trump’s attorneys cross-examine him.

    Court wasn’t in session Wednesday.

    This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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  • Why there’s yet another gag order hearing at Trump’s trial

    Why there’s yet another gag order hearing at Trump’s trial

    Judge Juan Merchan found Donald Trump in contempt on Tuesday for nine gag order violations in his New York criminal case. The state judge imposed the maximum fine of $1,000 per violation and warned Trump of possible incarceration for further defiance.

    While imposing the punishment, such as it was, even Merchan acknowledged its relative weakness against this wealthy defendant. But it was nonetheless a historic ruling against the former president and presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

    Yet, that epic backdrop sets up for a possibly anticlimactic outcome from the latest gag order hearing, set for Thursday morning over additional alleged violations. The reason why is that, even if Merchan were to find more violations, that might only yield more low-level fines. The alleged violations at issue occurred before Merchan issued his ruling Tuesday.

    So if the judge’s jail warning in that ruling was only meant to be applied for violations starting after that, then one might think that fines are the most that can come out of Thursday’s hearing. The law gives judges the option of fines of up to $1,000 or a maximum of 30 days in jail (or both) for criminal contempt violations.

    Of course, Trump was clearly on notice before Tuesday that jail was a possibility for violating the court order. But even so, Merchan might not consider the option a practical one heading into Thursday.

    Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

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  • Maddow Blog | As Judge Merchan finds Trump in contempt, what happens now?

    Maddow Blog | As Judge Merchan finds Trump in contempt, what happens now?

    It was a few weeks ago when Judge Juan Merchan first imposed a gag order on Donald Trump in his hush-money/falsifying-business-records case. The former president responded soon after by going after the judge’s daughter — publicly and repeatedly — which led to a revised gag order.

    The Republican was told he could still talk publicly about much of the case — he rarely stops talking about it — but among other things, the criminal defendant is supposed to refrain from making public statements related to jurors and witnesses.

    That proved problematic when the suspected felon used his social media platform to criticize jurors and witnesses.

    Local prosecutors urged the judge overseeing the case to hold Trump in contempt. As NBC News reported, that’s precisely what happened.

    As my MSNBC colleague Jordan Rubin explained, the jurist “also ordered Trump to remove the seven offending posts from his Truth Social account and the two offending posts from his campaign website by 2:15 p.m. Tuesday.”

    Team Trump did, in fact, comply ahead of the deadline.

    At this point, I imagine some readers are probably thinking, “Wait, $1,000 for each violation is only $9,000. Trump has plenty of money problems, but this won’t create much of a disincentive for him to comply with the court order.”

    But it’s not quite that simple. For one thing, Merchan conceded that the fines are modest, but they represent the legal maximum under these circumstances.

    For another, this did not represent the entirety of the judge’s pushback: Merchan also warned in his decision that he would not tolerate further violations of the order and said “if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances,” he would impose “an incarceratory punishment” on the defendant.

    In other words, if Trump continues to push his luck, he risks the very possibility of going to jail the next time he runs afoul of the gag order.

    Let’s not forget that it was earlier this month when Trump used his social media platform to declare that it would be a “great honor” to be jailed for violating a gag order. As part of the same boast, the former president compared himself — in apparent seriousness — to Nelson Mandela.

    We’ll now see whether the presumptive GOP nominee intends to back up this rhetorical chest-thumping with deliberate violations of a judicial gag order. I have a hunch Trump will find it far easier to simply comply.

    As for the bigger picture, it’s worth pausing to emphasize that while the former president’s jury trial is a long way from being over, it’s now fair to say that Trump has already suffered an important defeat. It’s also history in the making: The Republican is now the first former president in American history to be held in criminal contempt.

    This post updates our related earlier coverage.

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com



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  • Trump fined $9,000 for violating gag order in NY hush-money trial

    Trump fined $9,000 for violating gag order in NY hush-money trial

    Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears ahead of the start of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 15, 2024, in New York City. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial. (Photo by Jabin Botsford-Pool/Getty Images)

    Former President Donald Trump defied a gag order in his New York state hush-money trial by posting attacks on likely witnesses on his social media platform and campaign website, the judge in the case ruled Tuesday.

    Judge Juan M. Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for nine violations of an order barring him from making public statements about “reasonably foreseeable witnesses” or prospective jurors in the case, in which Trump is accused of disguising payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels to conceal an alleged affair.

    Merchan also ordered the offending posts to be taken down by 2:15 p.m. Eastern Tuesday.

    Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, had posted to his social media site, Truth Social, and to his campaign website comments about Daniels and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and fixer, who prosecutors say delivered a $130,000 payment to Daniels.

    Cohen and Daniels are expected to testify for the prosecution in the criminal trial, the first involving a former U.S. president.

    Trump did not deny posting any of the items, but said they were in response to political attacks by Cohen and Daniels. Merchan’s order allowed Trump to respond to political attacks.

    Prosecutors had asked Merchan to fine Trump for 10 statements, but the judge gave Trump a pass on the first post in question, which Merchan said could be interpreted as a response to tweets from Cohen that could be considered political attacks.

    Merchan said Tuesday he was broadly interpreting political attacks out of deference to Trump’s First Amendment right to free speech, which he said was especially important as Trump runs again for the White House.

    “It is critically important that Defendant’s legitimate free speech rights not be curtailed, that he be able to fully campaign for the office which he seeks and that he be able to respond and defend himself against political attacks,” Merchan wrote. “For that reason, this Court exercised discretion when it crafted the Expanded Order and delayed issuing it until the eve of trial.”

    Reposts as endorsements

    Trump also argued that “reposts” from other accounts should not count as his own speech.

    Merchan roundly rejected that argument, noting Trump has bragged about the size of his audience on Truth Social and fully controlled its content.

    “There can be no doubt whatsoever, that Defendant’s intent and purpose when reposting, is to communicate to his audience that he endorses and adopts the posted statement as his own,” Merchan said. “It is counterintuitive and indeed absurd, to read the Expanded Order to not proscribe statements that Defendant intentionally selected and published to maximize exposure.”

    Tuesday’s order also warns Trump “that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations” of the gag order and warned that Merchan may impose jail time for further violations.

    U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who is the ranking minority member on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, told reporters in Washington Tuesday that he did not expect the ruling to lead Trump to change his behavior.

    “I don’t think he’ll take it seriously, unless he’s going to be held overnight or something like that,” Raskin said. “He acts with utter contempt towards the rule of law.”

    Raskin, a constitutional law professor, was the lead impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment, which dealt with the then-president’s efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. Raskin also was a member of the House Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

    The trial resumed Tuesday with testimony from Gary Farro, a former banker of Cohen’s, after a break Monday.

    Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.

    The post Trump fined $9,000 for violating gag order in NY hush-money trial appeared first on Rhode Island Current.

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  • Judge Merchan’s gag order ruling against Trump

    Judge Merchan’s gag order ruling against Trump

    Judge Juan Merchan finally ruled on Donald Trump‘s alleged gag order violations in his New York criminal trial. As the second week of testimony started Tuesday, the judge found the defendant in criminal contempt for willfully violating the order nine times. Merchan imposed the maximum legal fine of $1,000 for each violation and warned the presumptive GOP presidential nominee that jail may be next.

    Read the ruling here:

    Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.

    This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

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  • Trump’s hush-money trial resumes with arguments over holding him in contempt of court

    Trump’s hush-money trial resumes with arguments over holding him in contempt of court

    Donald Trump was in court again in Manhattan on Tuesday morning for the second day of witness testimony in his criminal trial over hush-money payments to a pornographic film star weeks before the 2016 election.

    David Pecker, the ex-president’s longtime ally and former publisher of the National Enquirer – who prosecutors contend was integral in illicit catch-and-kill efforts – is expected to take the stand again following a brief appearance Tuesday.

    First off, however, Juan Merchan heard arguments about a request from prosecutors to hold Trump in contempt of court. They said he repeatedly violated a gag order barring him from publicly attacking witnesses in the trial.

    Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, argued that his client was just responding to political attacks with some of the alleged violations, not flouting the judge’s order.

    He further argued that seven of the instances cited by the prosecution did not violate the gag order because they were re-posts of other people’s content on social media.

    “Re-posting an article from a news site or a news program,” he said, “we don’t believe are a violation of the gag order.”

    Merchan asked whether there was any case law on it. Blanche replied: “I don’t have any case laws, your honor, it’s just common sense.”

    As Blanche continued to repeat that claim, the judge rebuked him.

    “Mr Blanche you’re losing all credibility, I have to tell you right now,” Merchan said.

    “You’re losing all credibility with the court. Is there any other argument you want to make?”

    Merchan eventually called a short break and said he was reserving decision for the time being.

    Trump’s criminal hush-money trial: What to know

    Pecker first took the stand on Monday and provided brief testimony of his work as a tabloid honcho. “We used checkbook journalism and we paid for stories. I gave a number to the editors that they could not spend more than $10,000 to investigate or produce or publish a story, anything over $10,000 they would spend on a story, they would have to be vetted and brought up to me, for approval.”

    Related: Trump’s hush-money trial: key takeaways from opening statements

    Pecker said he had final say over the content of the National Enquirer and other AMI publications. “Being in the publishing industry for 40 years, I realized early in my career that the only thing that was important is the cover of a magazine, so when the editors produced the story or prepared a cover, we would have a meeting and they would present to me what the story would be, what the concept was, what the cost was going to be.”

    Prosecutors contend that Pecker was at the center of a plot to boost Trump’s chances in the 2016 election. Shortly after Trump in the summer of 2015 announced a presidential run, he met with his then lawyer Michael Cohen and Pecker at Trump Tower where, the prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said in his opening statement on Monday, they hatched a plan.

    If Pecker caught wind of damaging information, he would apprise Trump and Cohen, so they could figure out a way to keep it quiet. That collusion came to include AMI’s $150,000 payoff to the Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had an extramarital affair with Trump, prosecutors have said.

    The alleged plot to cover up a claimed sexual encounter between the adult film star Stormy Daniels and Trump is the basis of prosecutors’ case.

    In October 2016, the Washington Post published a video featuring Trump’s hot-mic comments during an Access Hollywood taping, in which he boasted about sexually assaulting women. The comments, which Colangelo read to jurors, included “Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

    After they surfaced, the campaign went into panic mode, Colangelo said. It worked to characterize these comments as “locker room talk”, but, when Daniels’ claim came across Trump and his allies’ radar, they feared the backlash: people would see these ill-behaved ways were not mere talk.

    “Another story about infidelity, with a porn star, on the heels of the Access Hollywood tape, would have been devastating to his campaign,” Colangelo also said in his address to jurors. “Cohen carried out a $130,000 payoff to Daniels which Trump allegedly repaid him in checks that he listed as legal services in official company records.

    “Look, no politician wants bad press, but the evidence at trial will show that this wasn’t spin or communication strategy,” Colangelo continued. “This was a planned, coordinated, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures – to silence people with something bad to say about his behavior.

    “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

    Pecker’s testimony will provide insight into the alleged plot, as discussions of concerns about damaging information – and the steps his cronies purportedly took to bury it – would speak to motive.

    Trump’s camp has insisted that Trump did not do anything wrong and that the basis of prosecutors’ claims lacks legal merit. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election,” the defense lawyer Todd Blanche said in his opening. “It’s called democracy.”

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