- On the first day of his trial in New York, Donald Trump appears to have violated his gag order by criticizing the jury during an interview.
- Judge Juan Merchán had prohibited Trump from attacking the jurors or making public statements about them
- Trump commented that the jury was predominantly Democrats: a hearing will be held Tuesday to determine whether Trump should face contempt charges.
It appears that Donald Trump has already violated his gag order since the first day of his “hush money” trial in New York.
During an interview on Steve Bannon’s Real America’s Voice network, Trump attacked the jury.
Judge Juan Merchán had already implemented a gag order prohibiting Trump from attacking witnesses, jurors, prosecutors and some others.
‘That jury was chosen very quickly. 95 percent are Democrats. The area is mostly all Democratic. It is thought to be a purely Democratic area. “It’s a very unfair situation, I can tell you,” Trump said during the interview.
On the first day of his trial in New York, Donald Trump appears to have violated his gag order by criticizing the jury during an interview.
Trump commented that the jury was predominantly Democrats: a hearing will be held Tuesday to determine whether Trump should face contempt charges.
Earlier this month, Judge Merchan had specifically ordered Trump not to make public statements about jurors in his trial.
The order stipulates how Trump would be in violation for: “making or directing others to make public statements about any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding.”
Judge Merchan has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday morning to consider prosecutors’ arguments that Trump has violated his gag order and should be found guilty of contempt.
The hearing will take place without the presence of the jury.
Trump could face fines or jail time if he violates Merchan’s gag order, which does not prevent him from criticizing the judge or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the charges last year.
New York prosecutors had argued in early April how Trump was trying to scare potential witnesses and urged Judge Juan Merchán to make clear that his existing gag order, which prohibits Trump from publicly commenting on witnesses and staff of the court, also applies to family members.
In a March 28 social media post by Trump, he called Merchan’s daughter a “Rabid Trump Hater” and demanded that the judge be removed from the case.
Judge Merchan has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday morning to consider prosecutors’ arguments that Trump has violated his gag order and should be found guilty of contempt.
Trump’s gag order has now been expanded to cover Judge Juan Merchán’s daughter, Loren (right), who is a Democratic political consultant.
‘This topic is not complicated. Relatives of trial participants should be strictly prohibited,” wrote prosecutor Matthew Colangelo.
Merchan’s daughter, Loren, runs a digital marketing agency called Authentic Campaigns, which works with Democratic candidates and nonprofits.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that her work poses a conflict of interest and have tried, unsuccessfully, to remove Merchan from the case.
The judge had also made several small donations totaling $35 to Democratic causes during the 2020 campaign, including $15 to Biden.
A state court ethics panel determined that Loren Merchan’s work had no bearing on her impartiality.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Successfully Pushed to Extend Judge’s Gag Order on Trump
In a recent interview, Merchan said: ‘There is no agenda here. We want to follow the law. “We want justice to be done.”
The judge said in a ruling last September that he was confident in his “ability to be fair and impartial” and that Trump’s lawyers “had failed to demonstrate that there are concrete, or even realistic, reasons for recusal to be appropriate, and much less required for legal reasons. these reasons.”
In a recent interview, Merchan said: ‘There is no agenda here. We want to follow the law. “We want justice to be done.”
The extension of the gag order came after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked a New York judge to consider his request.
Trump has previously criticized the gag order, saying it violates his First Amendment rights.