Left: The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg walks in a hallway outside a courtroom where former President Donald Trump is attending a hearing in his criminal case related to hush money paid to a porn star in New York, Monday, March 25, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)/Right: Former President Donald Trump speaks during news conference Monday, March 25, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
While jury selection is ongoing, the defendant Donald Trump posted a quote on Truth Social from Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday, alleging that the pool of potential hush-money trial jurors was filled with “Liberal Activists” aiming to convict the former president dishonestly.
In the updated version of the gag order currently in effect, Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Merchan clearly stated that Trump cannot make or direct others to make “public statements about any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding.”
Considering the order, some questions arise: 1) Did Trump write the Truth Social post himself or instruct someone else to do it? 2) Does sharing a quote from someone else on Truth Social and attributing it to them, as opposed to simply reposting (i.e., retweeting) the content, violate the gag order? And does repeating scattered accusations from a Fox News host about “undercover Liberal Activists” trying to infiltrate the jury with falsehoods to the judge count as Trump making a public statement “about any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding”?
For noted Trump critic and former Mueller probe prosecutor Andrew Weissmann the answer to these questions was “clear.”
The MSNBC legal analyst said that it seems Trump is asking Merchan to hold him in criminal contempt.
“I think that it is incumbent on the judge to treat him like any other party. It is, as I have said repeatedly, it is the road to hell to not treat him like anyone else. And it’s very hard to see the defense that’s going to be made,” Weissmann commented. “I’m not going to be surprised at all if the district attorney revises their pending motion to encompass this. And I think the judge will certainly want to give the defense an opportunity to be heard, that is required by due process. But it’s very hard to see why there will not be sanctions for this conduct.”
The pending motion from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg (D) that Weissmann referred to was submitted in response to Trump’s three posts about “known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses” in the case, specifically his former attorney Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels, whom he called “sleaze bags” on Truth Social.
Bragg argued earlier in the week that Trump violated the gag order because the posts “concern[ed] Cohen’s and Daniels’s participation in this criminal proceeding” just days before trial was set to begin.
Bragg said on Tuesday that Trump intentionally broke the orders to not speak publicly and should be punished for not following a lawful command. The DA requested that Merchan should fine Trump, instruct him to delete the offending Truth Social posts, and warn him about the possibility of being jailed for more violations.
Trump still shared the Watters quote one day later.
The judge has set a hearing is set for April 23 on the matter and it wouldn't be surprising if the DA points to Trump’s recent social media activity as more evidence that he knowingly and willfully violated the gag order.
It's important to note that when Trump’s defense lawyers opposed the gag order initially, they argued that the former president’s criticisms of the judge’s daughter and her political work for Democrats were only intended to support the argument that Merchan should recuse himself. It’s not clear how the defense would justify the post focused on the jurors'.
On the day his trial started, Trump demanded regained his ability to speak out and referred to the judge as “Crooked.” On Tuesday, he labeled Merchan a Trump hater for not allowing him to “respond to people that are on TV lying,” maybe a mention of Michael Cohen.
“Remove the Gag Order,” Trump said, with three exclamation points.
On Thursday morning, prosecutors reportedly described the Truth Social post quoting Jesse Watters as the “most disturbing post” among several others breaking the gag order.
The prosecutor calls the “most disturbing post” the one amplifying Jesse Waters’ remark “undercover liberal activists” at Trump’s trial. https://t.co/OLdmsUIjQX
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 18, 2024
Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy proposes a new order to show cause, telling the judge that Trump “violated the order seven more times.”
“It’s ridiculous. It’s got to stop.”
He wants to add seven more violations to next week’s contempt hearing.
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 18, 2024
“It’s ridiculous. It’s got to stop,” Assistant DA Christopher Conroy said, according to Just Security’s Adam Klasfeld.