Trump heads to court for the third day of the hush money trial and could face the judge’s wrath for violating the silence order AGAIN for attacking jurors as ‘liberal activists’
Donald Trump left Trump Tower on Thursday for the third day of his historic hush money trial.
He could face the wrath of a judge after a social media post that could potentially violate a gag order.
Judge Juan Merchan has ordered Trump not to assault potential jurors in the case, which is on the third day of jury selection.
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday evening, Trump quoted Fox News host Jesse Watters.
Watters said, “They catch undercover liberal activists lying to the judge to get on the Trump jury.”
Some legal analysts suggested this could violate the order.
The order prohibits Trump from “making public statements or directing others to make public statements about a prospective juror or any juror.”
Judge Juan M. Merchan issued a silence order against Trump
Stormy Daniels appears at an event on May 23, 2018 in West Hollywood, California
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said the post was “clearly barred by the silence order in this case.”
He added: “Criminal defendants have different and lesser rights than ordinary citizens. They are not allowed to interfere with the trial process, especially if there is a silence order specifically related to attempts to intimidate jurors. It’s just not allowed.’
So far, seven jurors have been selected for deliberation.
They include an oncology nurse, a software engineer, an IT professional, a sales professional, an English teacher and two lawyers.
Judge Merchan has said he expects opening statements in the landmark case to be delivered as soon as next week.
The jury selection process has moved faster than expected and Trump has complained that Judge Merchan is “rushing” the process.
The case centers on a $130,000 payment that Trump’s lawyer and personal fixer, Michael Cohen, made to porn actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election to prevent her claims about a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public.
Prosecutors say Trump covered up the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution.
Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal fees.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying corporate records and has pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison, although it is not clear whether the judge would choose to put him behind bars.
More to come