Donald Trump posted an article containing an attack on the daughter of the judge overseeing his hush-money trial, once again testing the limits of the gag order imposed on him.
The former president shared a Newsmax article on his Truth Social platform on Saturday in which a former Trump lawyer called for Judge Juan Merchan to recuse himself from the trial "because of his daughter's political fundraising activities."
In the article, David Schoen, who represented Trump in his second impeachment trial when president, was quoted as saying: "We know that the judge and his daughter have a vested interest in making sure this case isn't dismissed and goes on."
In another post on the platform, Trump said his trial is being president over by "POSSIBLY THE MOST CONFLICTED JUDGE IN JUDICIAL HISTORY, WHO MUST BE REMOVED FROM THIS HOAX IMMEDIATELY."
Newsweek has contacted a Trump attorney for comment via email.
The trial involves allegations that Trump falsified business records at his company as part of an effort to disguise the true nature of payments made to his then lawyer Michael Cohen to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and denied all wrongdoing. It is the first of his four criminal cases to reach trial as he campaigns to reclaim the White House in November.
Merchan issued a gag order in the case in March, barring Trump from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors. The judge then expanded the order on April 1 to also bar Trump from making public statements about relatives of prosecutors and of the judge.
The revised order came after Trump repeatedly assailed the judge's daughter Loren Merchan—a political consultant whose firm has worked on campaigns for President Joe Biden and other Democrats—on social media. However, Trump is allowed to make critical comments about Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Arguments are scheduled for 9 a.m. on Tuesday on a motion filed by prosecutors to hold Trump in contempt of court and fine him for social media posts they argue violate the gag order. Prosecutors have asked for Trump to be fined $1,000 for each of three potential violations.
Legal experts have said that Trump risks jail time if he repeatedly violates the gag order. Attorney Andrew Weissman said the threat of jail could be the only thing to stop Trump from breaching it, noting in a recent interview that in November Trump was previously fined a total of $15,000 for twice violating a gag order imposed on him by Judge Arthur Engoron during his civil fraud case.
Trump slammed the gag order as he entered the courthouse on Friday morning.
"The gag order has to come off," he told reporters. "People are allowed to speak about me, and I have a gag order, just to show you how much more unfair it is. People should be allowed to speak."
The final jurors in the hush-money trial were seated on Friday, and opening statements are set to begin on Monday.
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
