Former President Trump ripped the judge in the New York hush money trial following arguments to decide whether the former prez violated the gag order.
Judge Juan Merchan heard arguments Tuesday regarding alleged violations of the gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, contended that the order, which forbids Trump from speaking about jurors, witnesses, prosecutors other than the district attorney, staff members of the district attorney, or judges, was not broken.
In court filings, the prosecution said that Trump had broken the order ten times and requested that the judge force him to pay a maximum of $10,000 for each of those alleged infractions.
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According to Politico, Blanche said to the judge during the hearing, “He’s allowed to respond to political attacks, Your Honor. There is no dispute that President Trump is facing a barrage of political attacks from all sides, including from the two witnesses referenced in the early post.”
Blanche argued that Trump was being careful to comply with the order and was aware of what it prohibited. According to The New York Times, he also argued that reposts are not subject to the order.
“You’re losing all credibility, I have to tell you right now,” Merchan told Blanche, according to Politico. “You’re losing all credibility with the court.”
Following that hearing, Trump took to Truth Social and blasted Merchan.
“HIGHLY CONFLICTED, TO PUT IT MILDLY, JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN, HAS TAKEN AWAY MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH. EVERYBODY IS ALLOWED TO TALK AND LIE ABOUT ME, BUT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DEFEND MYSELF. THIS IS A KANGAROO COURT, AND THE JUDGE SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF!” said Trump on Social Media.
“Every single Legal Scholar and Expert said that Soros backed prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, has “no case.” This list includes Jonathan Turley, Gregg Jarrett, Byron York, Andrew McCarthy, Mark Levin, Alan Dershowitz, Mike Davis, David Rivkin, Kristin Shapiro, Brad Smith, Andrew Cherkasky, and many more. SO WHY WON’T THEY DROP THIS CASE? Alvin Bragg never wanted to bring it – thought it was a joke. Was furious at lawyer MARK POMERANTZ (will he be prosecuted?) for what he did!” Trump said.
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Merchan issued the first gag order on March 26. On April 1, he broadened its scope to include restrictions on remarks on “any counsel, staff member, the Court, or the District Attorney’s family members.”
District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote in the April 15 filing, “This Court should warn the defendant that future violations of the Court’s restrictions on his extrajudicial statements can be punished not only with additional fines but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days.”
Merchan said at the end of the hearing that he would reserve judgment on the matter of Trump’s alleged violations, according to multiple reports.
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