Donald Trump’s posts on social media about potential witnesses Tuesday was the first case in court for the date Criminal of the former president.
The day began with a hearing on whether Trump should be detained disrespect A series of posts on Truth Social that prosecutors allege violated a congestion order New York State Judge Juan Merchan this month barred him from publicly assaulting witnesses and jurors. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office was cited as saying by Trump during multiple calls to reporters on Monday. Michael Cohenexpected key witness, liar.
Prosecutor Chris Conroy said Tuesday he would file another motion regarding the comments.
“The purpose of this hearing is to determine whether the defendant, Mr. Trump, is in contempt of any or all of these violations,” the judge said as the hearing began.
The DA’s office is seeking a maximum fine of $1,000 for each of the 10 posts it says violate the order, along with an order for Trump to remove the posts from the social media platform. He also wants Merchan to warn Trump that future violations risk not only additional fines but also 30 days in jail.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, claims that his client did not violate the April 1 order.
It is unclear when Merca will rule on the prosecution’s motion; a decision could be made as soon as Tuesday.
After the hearing, the jury will be brought into the courtroom for additional testimony from former National Enquirer publisher David Packer, the DA’s office’s first witness called on Monday. During his opening statement, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said Packer conspired with longtime friend Trump and Cohen, who was his lawyer at the time, to suppress scandalous stories about Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.
“They agreed that Packer would help the defendant’s campaign by acting as the eyes and ears for the campaign,” Colangelo said.
Colangelo said it was Pecker who alerted Cohen to news that adult film star Stormi Daniels was about to come forward with allegations that she had sex with Trump while she was married in 2006. Trump rejected his claim.
Packer’s testimony Monday was brief — he was on the stand for about 20 minutes before the end of the court day. When he returns to the stand around 11 a.m. Tuesday, he is expected to go into details about his relationship with Trump and the details of the alleged conspiracy.
Ultimately, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Prosecutors allege that Trump falsely claimed his payment to Cohen as a legitimate payment. He is charged 34 numbers falsifying business records is a low-level misdemeanor, punishable by up to four years in prison if convicted. He pleaded not guilty.
The contempt hearing, set for Tuesday morning, will focus on two lawsuits that prosecutors allege Trump “willfully violated” the gag order with his repeated posts on Truth Social. Among the posts referenced are others related to a New York Post story calling Cohen and Daniels “goody bags” and Cohen a “serial liar.”
Mercha’s partial gag order against Trump this month prohibits him from making “public statements about witnesses whose potential involvement in an investigation or criminal proceeding is known or reasonably foreseeable.”
Trump’s lawyers argued that the posts did not violate the order because he was mostly sharing posts from other people and news outlets. They also argue that the order allows Trump to defend himself against attacks, so he was within his right to speak out because Cohen and Daniels have publicly criticized him. Merchan said last week that he did not believe his order constituted such an exception.