As former President Donald Trump awaits a decision on whether he will be held in contempt for violating his order of silence, prosecutors charged him Thursday with committing four other violations.
The limited order of silence, issued by Judge Juan Merchan before Trump’s secret trial, prohibits him from making public comments about jurors, lawyers, potential witnesses, court staff and their families. This allows Trump to continue making remarks about Merchan and District Attorney Alvin Bragg, but prohibits him from talking about their family members.
“We believe it is important that the court remind Mr. Trump that he is a criminal defendant and that, like all criminal defendants, he is subject to the court’s review and, in particular, the obligation to do so. court to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice system,” prosecutor Chris Conroy said last week.
Although the alleged violations were initially limited to Trump’s statements on social media and on his campaign website, the most recent ones announced Thursday focus on comments he made during live interviews or remarks – some in the hallway just outside the courtroom.
Here are the 14 gag violations Trump is accused of committing.
“Thanks to Michael Avenatti”
In an April 10 post on TruthSocial, Trump thanked convicted attorney Michael Avenatti for speaking out against Trump’s silence order in a social media post criticizing adult film actress Stormy Daniels and her former attorney Michael Cohen, both potential witnesses. In December 2022, Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding Daniels.
“We cannot be hypocrites when it comes to the 1st Amendment,” Avenatti wrote. “It’s outrageous that Cohen and Daniels can do countless TV interviews, post on social media, & making money from fake documentaries – all while talking shit about Trump – but he is gagged and threatened with jail if he responds. »
“Thank you to Michael Avenatti,” Trump responded, “for revealing the truth about two sleazy bags who, with their lies and misrepresentations, have cost our country dearly!”
Daniels’ retracted statement
In another TruthSocial article on April 10, Trump shared an image of a 2018 statement signed by Daniels, in which she denied having an affair with Trump.
“LOOK WHAT’S FOUND! IS THE FAKE NEWS REPORTING IT?” Trump wrote.
Although it was said that the statement was “just found”, the statement was actually released in January 2018 and received extensive media coverage at the time. Daniels later retracted her statement, saying she signed it under duress due to a nondisclosure agreement.
Attacking Cohen, the “disgraced lawyer and criminal”
Trump blasted his former lawyer in an April 13 TruthSocial article, which also attacked Mark Pomerantz, the former prosecutor who previously led the Trump investigation.
“Was Mark POMERANTZ prosecuted for his terrible actions inside and outside of the DA’s office. Was disgraced attorney and criminal Michael Cohen prosecuted as a LIAR?” Trump wrote. “Only TRUMP people are being prosecuted by this judge and these thugs! A dark day for our country. MAGA2024!!!”
Calling Cohen a “serial perjurer”
On April 15 and 16, Trump and his campaign website shared a New York Post opinion piece describing Cohen as a “serial perjurer” five times.
“Serial perjurer will attempt to prove old crime against Trump, embarrassing New York justice system,” reads the headline.
Trump posted the article twice on his campaign website and three times on TruthSocial. Prosecutors say each of the five posts constitutes five separate violations of the silence order.
‘Cohen’s guilty plea does not prove Trump committed campaign finance crimes’
Trump shared an article from the conservative National Review magazine on April 16, in which he argued that Cohen’s guilty plea should not be taken as a sign that Trump would be convicted.
“No, Cohen’s Guilty Plea Does Not Prove Trump Committed Campaign Finance Crimes,” the headline reads.
“Liberal activists infiltrated”
With jury selection well underway on April 17, Trump published an article on TruthSocial quoting Fox News commentator Jesse Watters who called potential jurors “undercover liberal activists.”
“They are catching undercover liberal activists lying to the judge in order to get on the Trump jury,” Trump wrote in his message, quoting Watters as saying.
At Tuesday’s contempt hearing, prosecutors called this particular post “very troubling,” arguing that it could have contributed to a selected juror deciding they did not feel comfortable serving in the case given the intense publicity.
“What happened here is precisely what this order was intended to prevent,” Conroy said, “and this defendant doesn’t care.”
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he arrives for his trial for allegedly concealing secret money payments related to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, April 25, 2024.
Mark Peterson/AFP via Getty Images
Courthouse Remarks on Cohen
Just after leaving the courtroom Monday, Trump made public remarks that attempted to portray Cohen as an unreliable witness.
“And when are they going to look into all the lies and the last trial? He was caught lying in the last trial,” Trump said.
Trump also said Cohen “wasn’t very good in a lot of ways” as a lawyer.
Disparaging jury interview
On Thursday, prosecutors said Trump gave an interview Monday in which he claimed the jurors were “95 percent Democratic.”
They seemed to be referring to an interview he gave on the Outside the Beltway radio show.
“This jury was chosen very quickly: 95% Democrats,” Trump said in the interview. “The area is mostly all Democrats. You consider it a purely Democratic area.”
“It’s a very unfair situation, I can tell you that,” he added.
“A liar found guilty”
Prosecutors also pointed to a Tuesday morning interview with Philadelphia’s ABC station WPVI, in which Trump called Cohen a “convicted liar.”
“Michael Cohen is a convicted liar, and he has no credibility. He was a lawyer and you rely on your lawyers. But Michael Cohen was a convicted liar. He was a lawyer for a lot of people, not just me . Then he came into trouble because of things outside of what he did for me,” Trump said.
David Pecker is a “nice guy”
In public remarks at a construction site Thursday morning, Trump directed his comments to David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, who would continue to testify later in the morning.
“David has been very nice, a nice guy,” Trump said when asked by a reporter what he thought of Pecker’s testimony so far.
Prosecutors said the comment was also a violation of the silence order.
“This is a message to Pecker: Be kind. This is a message to others. I have a platform and I will talk about you,” Conroy said. “This is a message to everyone involved in this proceeding and in this court.”
ABC News
