Trump hush money trial prosecutors ask for more gag order sanctions

NUEVA YORK — A judge considered holding Donald Trump in contempt yet again on Thursday for more potential gag order violations as his hush money trial resumed in Manhattan.

Before jurors took their seats for the day, state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan heard arguments from prosecutors and the former president’s attorneys concerning four more instances of Trump publicly commenting on witnesses and jurors in the case.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy alleged Trump had sought to “infect and disrupt” the proceedings by his repeated remarks, including comments just hours before the last contempt hearing on Tuesday, when he was fined $9,000 for nine offending posts on his Truth Social account and held in contempt. Merchan at the time said further violations could result in jail.

“It’s not just any jurors, it’s these jurors in this case who are going to be sitting here in a few minutes,” Conroy said, citing comments disseminated by Trump claiming the “jury was picked so fast, 95% Democrats.”

“By talking about the jury at all, he places this process and this proceeding here in jeopardy.”

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felonies alleging he repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to cover up reimbursement to his ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a hush-money scheme to hide damaging information from the voting public in 2016.

Describing other comments Trump made about key witness David Pecker — calling him a “nice guy” — as “deliberate” and “calculated,” Conroy asked the judge to reject the ex-president’s claims that his remarks were innocuous, calling them “deliberate shots across the bow.”

Conroy said the prosecution was “not yet” requesting the judge jail Trump for repeatedly violating his order in the interest of efficiency and not bogging down the trial. Merchan on Tuesday said he would consider jailing Trump if he continues to cross the line.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche said his client had not willfully violated the order and was defending himself against criticism as a presidential candidate. He said constant jabs by his ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, who’s expected to be the star witness, were essentially “daring” him to respond.

Blanche also cited President Biden’s remarks about the trial at the White House Correspondents Dinner, which mentioned Trump facing “stormy weather.”

“‘Stormy weather’ was an obvious reference to Stormy Daniels,” Blanche said, later adding, “He can’t just say ‘no comment’ repeatedly. He’s running for president.”

Merchan said nothing in the gag order prevented Trump from responding to the president. He did not immediately issue a ruling but sounded particularly unconvinced by Blanche’s attempts to defend Trump’s comments about the jury.

After the hearing, attorney Keith Davidson was expected to continue testifying about the hush money he negotiated for his client Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election. The lawyer is expected to face a brutal cross-examination by Trump’s legal team.

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