Hush money judge rules Trump violated gag order
NEW YORK — The judge overseeing former President Trump’s hush money case held him in contempt for violating a gag order nine times.
Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump nearly $10,000 over his recent posts on Truth Social and campaign website attacking prospective jurors and prosecutors’ expected star witnesses.
“What happened here is precisely what this order was designed to prevent and this defendant doesn’t care,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy said at last week's hearing.
At one point, a hearing on the matter grew heated between the judge and Trump's attorney, where at one point Merchan told Todd Blanche that he was "losing all credibility" with the court.
Trump regularly rails against his perceived foes in his legal entanglements, leading his hush money judge, at prosecutors’ request, to place restrictions on Trump’s speech as the case headed to trial.
The former president is barred from making public statements about witnesses concerning their involvement in the case and jurors. Trump also cannot attack court staff, line prosecutors or their families as well as those of the judge and district attorney with the intent to materially interfere with the case.
Last week's hearing came after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) office claimed Trump violated the gag order 10 times in the days leading up to and during jury selection. They urged the judge to fine the former president $1,000 for each violation and demand he take the posts down.
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