Trump trial resumes with another gag order hearing

By: aysha Bagchi
Kinsey Crowley
and David Jackson
USA Today

NEW YORK - The 10th day of former President Donald Trump;s historic New York hush money trial started with another hearing about whether he was, in laypeople;s terms, illegally running his mouth."
..... The presumptive Republican presidential nominee is accused of falsifying business records to cover up unlawful interference in the 2016 election through a hush money payment to pron star Stormy Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty.
..... The gag order prohibits Trump form publicly commenting on potential witnesses or jurors, among other strictures. In imposing the order, Judge Juan Merchan noted a history of Trump making "inflammatory" statements that created fear and security needs for people tied to his legal cases.
..... Merchan already held Trump in criminal contempt Tuesday [04/30/2024] after concluding he commuted nine violations, totaling $9,000 in fines. He wared future vitalizations could mean jail time.
..... Thursday's [05/02/2024] hearing centered on four more allege violations.
..... "the defendant thinks the rules should be different for him," prosecutor Christopher Conroy said. He described Trump's statements as "corrosive to this proceeding and to the fair administration of justice."
..... Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said that his client has merely been responding to repeated attacks, which the order allows him to do. One example was a post Trump's former lawyer and potential witness Michael Cohen made on X. formerly Twitter: "Keep whining, crying and violating the gag order you petulant defendant!"
..... Blanche complained about alleged violations where Trump said something "completely neutral" or positive - such as his comment about former tabloid executive David Pecker, who testified last week: [04/22-26/2024] "David's been very nice, a nice guy."
..... Merchan said he understood Blanche's concerns about Cohen. But, he said, it's also about what other witnesses observe. Such comments could affect them, which "does go to the integrity of the proceedings."
..... As for comments Trump made about jurors, Blanche argued there were constitutional limits protecting Trump's speech rights in relation to his presidential campaign. Blanche said his team believes this is a "political persecution" and that part of their belief is tied to the jurisdiction of the trial. Merchan didn't seem to have much respect for that argument.
..... The judge did not immediately rule on the new alleged violations. It took him a week to issue the fines after the first gag order hearing.
..... After a break, lawyer Keith Davidson retook the stand. He represented Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal in their deals ahead of the 2016 election to stay quiet about alleged affairs with Trump.
..... Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass continued asking Davidson about emails with Cohen about getting paid. Davidson said he did finally receive the $130,000 Cohen promised as part of the Daniels deal. He made $10,000 personally.

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