Trump trial to focus on gag order before witness testimony resumes
Judge Juan Merchan will hear arguments on whether Trump violated a gag order with social media posts about two witnesses in the hush money trial.
Donald Trump’s social media posts about likely witnesses were the first order of business Tuesday when court resumed for the historic criminal trial of a former president, with a prosecutor suggesting Trump has been violating his gag order in the case to get locked up for political purposes.
“We are not yet seeking an incarceratory penalty. The defendant seems to be angling for that,” prosecutor Chris Conroy told Judge Juan Merchan at a hearing over whether Trump should be held in contempt over a series of posts on Truth Social that prosecutors argue violated Merchan's gag order. The ruling prohibits Trump from publicly attacking witnesses and jurors, something prosecutors say he's done at least 10 times since the order went into effect.
“The purpose of this hearing is to find out whether the defendant Mr. Trump should be held in contempt for one or all of these violations,” the judge said as the hearing began.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office also cited comments Trump made to reporters Monday, when he repeatedly called Michael Cohen, an expected key witness, a liar. Prosecutor Chris Conroy said he'd be filing another motion on those comments later Tuesday.
“His disobedience of the order is willful, it’s intentional,” Conroy said of Trump. "He knows what he's not allowed to do and he does it anyway."
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