The most impressive moment Court on Tuesday Minutes after the trial began, it happened when the judge detained Donald Trump in criminality warned the former president for his posts on social networks that future violations could lead to his arrest.
Hours after Judge Juan Mercan said Trump’s presumptive Republican presidential nominee had violated an executive order banning attacks on witnesses and jurors. His Truth took Social The platform, which called the court “SALTA”, attacked the judge and promised not to be silent on the lawsuit.
When the jurors returned to the courtroom, all eyes were on the witness stand. The jury heard from four witnesses, including a lawyer who helped secure non-disclosure agreements involving two women who have alleged ties to Trump. He rejected their claims.
Here’s what you missed on Day 9 of the trial:
The gag order gets teeth
The lawsuit began with Mercha fining Trump $9,000 for Truth Social and campaign posts he ruled violated an April 1 gag order. Future violations could lead to jail time, the judge warned, and the offending posts must be removed quickly.
By Tuesday afternoon, the posts were gone. But Trump has made it clear that he does not intend to remain silent in the hush-hush lawsuit.
“It’s completely unconstitutional,” he said. Meanwhile, his campaign was raising money from the judge’s ruling.
Merchan said the gag order was “lawful and unambiguous” and that Trump evaded it by posting messages on social media that implicate witnesses and making public comments about jurors. One of the posts in question mentions Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen and adult movie star Stormy Daniels “bag bags.” Both Cohen and Daniels are expected to testify for the prosecution.
Mercha said in his ruling that “prison may be the necessary punishment” because his ability to fine Trump is limited by state law and that a $1,000 fine for each violation of the order would not deter Trump from breaking the law. will come.
Trump supporters gather in the courtroom
The landscape around Trump was much different from the previous days of the trial. Behind him sat a senior campaign aide, one of his sons and other political allies.
Co-campaign manager Susie Wiles and Eric Trump were the most notable attendees. David McIntosh, a former congressman and president of a conservative anti-tax group, also sat behind Trump, along with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. who dealt with his own legal problems for years.
Trump often appeared stone-faced, sometimes whispering to his lawyers. At other times, his eyes were closed for significant periods— a theme that continued throughout the trial.
The text messages provide details about Daniels’ contract
The is the most important witness Attorney Keith Davidson, representing Daniels and Karen McDougal, was scheduled to speak Tuesday. Both women claimed that they had a relationship with Trump in 2006.
Davidson said he has been subpoenaed and granted immunity to testify in the case. He learned how he came to represent prosecutors McDougal and Daniels and contacted Cohen.
When it came to Cohen’s deal to keep Daniels quiet about his lawsuit, Davidson told the court he suspected Trump would eventually provide the money. That comment prompted more questioning from the prosecution, who tried to explain why he understood Davidson the way he did, but Davidson said he was just working on “hypothesis.”
Asked if he ever believed Cohen would be the primary source of the payment, Davidson said, “Never before the funding,” adding that he thought it would be Trump or an associated entity.
Earlier, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass went over text messages that Davidson exchanged with National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard while trying to strike a deal to sell McDougal’s story.
“Did Trump cheat on Melania?” Howard asked Davidson in a text. “Do you know if this relationship happened during his marriage to Melania?”
“I can’t say yet, sorry,” Davidson said.
“Okay, keep me posted,” Howard said.
As he had for most of the day, Trump reacted with little emotion to the reading of that text message.
Davidson also testified that the Access Hollywood tape, which surfaced in the weeks before the 2016 election, reignited interest in Daniels’ story, saying it “reached a crescendo” and led to new settlement negotiations between Howard and Gina Rodriguez and Daniels. . manager. When that deal fell through, Davidson said he was pressured to negotiate with Cohen.
“The story is that no one wanted to talk to Cohen,” Davidson said.
“Gina came up to me. She said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this deal, and it’s going to be the easiest deal you’ll ever make in your entire life, and it’s already negotiated. All you have to do is pay for it and a—— is to speak,” referring to Cohen.
Davidson laughed after saying the arrangement would be “the easiest deal you’ve ever done.”