Violations of a gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan in connection with Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial could bring contempt charges against the former president, but the results won't be known until next week.
On Monday, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office overseen by Alvin Bragg requested a hearing to have Trump held in contempt for violating the order. It is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on April 23, according to reports.
Last month, Merchan imposed the gag order on Trump to keep him from commenting on court staff, jurors, potential witnesses and lawyers involved in his 34-count criminal case in Manhattan. The judge expanded the order in April to include their family members or family members of the court.
In 34 felony counts, Trump is accused of falsifying business records in connection with a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, allegedly made to keep her from talking about an affair she says they had. He has denied all charges as well as the affair.
On Saturday, Trump seemed to breach the gag order after he called his former "fixer" Michael Cohen a "disgraced attorney and felon."
Trump previously made comments about both Merchan and his daughter, calling the former a "certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome." The ex-president also called for Merchan to recuse himself from the trial, which he rejected Monday as it commenced.
"His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for Adam "Shifty" Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden," Trump wrote on Truth Social last month.
Early on Monday, Bragg's office asked the court to impose a $1,000 sanction for each of three Trump posts that allegedly violated the gag order and ordered him to take them down, along with a warning that jail time could be served, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin reported on X (formerly Twitter).
One of the posts went live at 9:12 a.m. Monday, possibly in the courthouse.
"I want my VOICE back," Trump wrote at 7:19 a.m. on Truth Social. "This Crooked Judge has GAGGED me. Unconstitutional! The other side can talk about me, but I am not allowed to talk about them! Rigged Trial!"
Mike Davis, a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, said on X that the gag order against Trump is "illegal and unconstitutional." He added that Trump is being "muzzled" simultaneously because he is a presidential candidate.
"If there's anyone on the planet who needs the constitutional right to speak out against the judge, the prosecutor, and the potential biases in the process, it's the criminal defendant," Davis said.
Trump's trial is open to the press, but no cameras are allowed in the courtroom.
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Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
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