A lawyer for former President Donald Trump insisted during a contempt of court hearing Thursday that his client’s comments about jurors and witnesses did not violate an order of silence, even though he admitted that the Republican candidate was not only responding to attacks, but was actively seeking opportunities to lash out at his trial.
Prosecutors accuse Trump of violating the silence order in his Manhattan criminal case four times, citing his praise of David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer, as a “nice guy” and his attacks on jurors as being “95 percent Democrats.” quickly chosen in “a purely democratic zone”. After a hearing last month, Trump also left the courtroom, where he is on trial for falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments, and approached reporters to tell them about an attack on Michael Cohen, his old fixer. “When are they going to look into all the lies that Cohen committed in the last trial,” Trump said.
Judge Juan Merchan, who fined the former president $9,000 earlier in the week for past violations — and raised the possibility of prison time for future offenses — said Thursday that Trump had gone out of his way to attack a witness.
“It was your client who walked into that waiting area, stood in front of the press and started talking.” Mercan told Trump lawyer Todd Blanche. “He spoke to the press. He didn’t need to go in that direction.”
“I agree with that,” Blanche replied, provoking what the New York Times described as “a big laugh in the overflow room.”
Trump didn’t seem to like this particular exchange. After his lawyer ruled in favor of the judge, “Trump shot all over the place and looked at his own lawyer in disbelief, his mouth hanging open,” ABC News reported. “He then turned around to face forward, shaking his head repeatedly.”
The hearing ended without a decision, but Merchan indicated it was likely that Trump had once again violated his order of silence, appearing very disturbed by his comments about the jury.
Prosecutors are not yet seeking prison time, seeking to minimize any disruption to the ongoing trial. But they are calling for more fines, with Christopher Conroy of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office saying Trump’s comments about witnesses and jurors create an “air of menace” that is “corrosive” to the cause of justice, according to NBCNews.
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