Trump shakes head as frustrated judge says he doesn’t have to talk to the press every day in tense gag order upon hearing Michael Cohen and Biden’s joke about ‘stormy weather’
Donald Trump turned to one of his top legal assistants during a hearing Thursday morning and shook his head as his lawyer struggled to get his point across to an increasingly irritated judge.
The former president is charged with four more violations of a gag order.
Attorney Todd Blanche tried to argue that the restrictions prevented his client from striking back against political opponents or responding to media reports about witnesses such as National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
“Anyone can say whatever they want, except President Trump,” Blanche said.
“They are not suspects in this case,” Judge Juan Merchan shot back, prompting laughter in the public gallery. They are also not subject to a gag order, he added.
Donald Trump took his seat in court on Thursday morning after campaigning on Wednesday and visiting the crucial swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan
Trump denounced the gag order on his social media site two hours before his court appearance
Prosecutors allege Trump violated a gag order four times last week, calling his former lawyer Michael Cohen a “liar” and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, another witness, a “nice guy” in interviews.
He also questioned the fairness of the jury, while continuing to say the prosecution is political.
On Tuesday, he was fined $9,000 for nine other violations of an order designed to protect the jury, the court and witnesses.
Thursday’s hearing was at times awkward as Merchan indicated he is likely to find Trump violating the order again.
One of the conversations focused on the moment last week when Trump called his former fixer Michael Cohen a liar as he stood in the hallway outside the courtroom.
“You’re telling me the audit is outrageous,” he continued. “No one forced your client to stand where he stood that day.”
He added that Trump did not have to stand in front of the media cameras set up in the hallway and that the exit is in a different direction.
At that point, Blanche said he agreed, prompting an angry shake of the head from Trump, who expects his lawyers to act like attack dogs rather than agree with the judges.
The exchange showed Merchan’s skepticism about Trump’s claims that the joke affects his right to free speech and his run for president.
Press aide Margo Martin was with Trump again on Thursday morning
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was the subject of much of the contempt hearings
Blanche also argued that this meant his client could not respond to the attacks from his election rival President Joe Biden.
“He was mocking President Trump,” Blanche said, referring to a joke made at the White House Correspondents Dinner. “He said Donald has been having a rough few days lately, you might call it stormy weather.”
His client, he continued, could not comment because Stormy Daniels was likely to be a witness in the case.
Nothing in the order means Trump can’t hit back at Biden, Merchan said.
“The defendant knows what he is doing.” said prosecutor Chris Conroy. “He was talking about a testifying witness… who says nice things, in front of the cameras.”
It was a message to other witnesses and also to Pecker, he said.
“It was intentional and calculated: Pecker, be nice,” he added.
They also say he violated the order by saying “that jury was picked so quickly: 95 percent Democrats. The area is largely democratic.’
On Thursday, Conroy said there is no excuse for talking about a seated jury hearing his case.
Judge Merchan found Trump in contempt and fined him $9,000 for violations on Tuesday
Attorney Keith Davidson, who represented former Playboy model Karen McDougal, testified Tuesday and is expected to resume his testimony after the contempt hearing
“By even talking about the jury, he’s jeopardizing the trial and this hearing, and he did that anyway,” he said.
Blanche said it was part of Trump’s belief that the proceedings were political, but Merchan let him go
“Did he violate the gag order? That’s all I want to know, he said.
The order was imposed to protect witnesses and the jury, but Trump claims it prevents him from responding to political attacks.
Trump leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed as Conroy outlined how the defendant had called Cohen a “liar” just outside the courtroom
“This is the most critical moment, the moment when the procedure must be protected,” Conroy said.
He demanded a maximum fine of $1,000 per violation.
“We’re not looking for jail yet,” he said.
Trump was fined $9,000 on Tuesday for nine previous charges and ordered to delete social media posts that cast shade on the jury selection process and criticized Cohen, who is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution.
Merchan said he would consider jailing Trump if he continued to violate the order.
Keith Davidson returns to the stand after describing Tuesday how he negotiated hush-money deals with the National Enquirer and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer, on behalf of former Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors say it was part of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election with a “catch and kill” scheme to buy and bury negative stories about the then-Republican candidate.
Trump denies all 34 allegations of falsifying company data.
Prosecutors accuse him of concealing the payments by filing them as legal fees.
Trump used Wednesday’s day off to hit the campaign trail and visit key battleground states Michigan and Wisconsin.