The judge presiding over the first criminal trial against Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that the former president’s lawyer was “losing all credibility” in his arguments that the right to punish Trump for violating the gag order.
Judge Juan Merchán said he would not immediately rule on prosecutors’ request to fine Trump $10,000 for violating the order, which bars him from speaking about witnesses and others. others involved in the case.
Merchán told Trump’s defense attorney, Todd Blanche, that he had no trial or evidence to support his contention that Trump was not intimidating witnesses but “responding to political attacks.”
Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer. Photo: PBS.
“He didn’t reveal anything,” said Merchán. “I have asked him eight or nine times to show me the exact post he was responding to. It is not even possible to do it once. “I have to tell you right now that you lose all credibility before this court,” he said.
After the session, Trump repeated his claim that the gag order violated his constitutional rights to free speech. “This is an arbitrary court and the judge should recuse himself!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The gag order prevents Trump from speaking publicly about witnesses, judicial officials and his family members.
New York prosecutor Christopher Conroy said Trump has violated the order, pointing to an April 10 Truth Social post that named former porn star Stormy Daniels and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, “sleazy”.
“He knows what he’s not allowed to do and he does it anyway,” Conroy said of Trump. “Your disobedience to the order is deliberate.”
2024-04-23 20:14:18
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