As Donald Trump's hush money trial unfolds in New York, the former president risks facing a contempt of court ruling if Judge Juan Merchan determines that he has violated the limited gag order imposed on him. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has requested that the judge hold Trump in contempt and fine him $10,000 for at least 10 separate violations of the order this month.
"The defendant has demonstrated his willingness to flout the order. He has attacked witnesses in the case in the past," prosecutor Christopher Conroy told Judge Merchan last week. "We're asking the court to remind the defendant that further violations of the court's order could result in jail time."
The limited gag order prohibits Trump from making statements about witnesses, jurors, and lawyers in the case, with the exception of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Prosecutors have highlighted instances where Trump made social media posts mentioning likely witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, as well as suggesting that "undercover liberal activists" are attempting to infiltrate the jury.
Trump's lawyers have argued that the prosecutors have not proven the posts were willful violations of the gag order, claiming that the former president was defending himself from attacks by the likely witnesses. They also contend that the gag order is vague and allows Trump to make "political" statements.
Despite the looming contempt hearing, Trump called into a conservative radio show on Monday evening to complain about the trial, insisting it was "very unfair." He criticized the judge, claiming he was "totally conflicted" and should not be presiding over the case, and complained about the speed of the trial and the composition of the jury.
"You know he's rushing the trial. That jury was picked so fast - 95 percent Democrats. The area is mostly all Democrats. You think of it as just a purely Democrat area. It's a very unfair situation, that I can tell you," Trump moaned on the Real America's Voice show Outside the Beltway.
The contempt hearing comes amid rising stakes in the criminal trial, as jurors hear testimony from the first witness called by the Manhattan District Attorney, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. Prosecutors have argued that some of Trump's posts about Cohen and Daniels may be "interpreted as an effort to intimidate potential witnesses."
Trump's behavior in the courtroom has also raised concerns, with Judge Merchan reprimanding him during jury selection last week for audible "muttering" while a prospective juror was speaking, which the judge interpreted as intimidating.
"He was speaking in the direction of the juror. I will not tolerate that. I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear," said Judge Merchan.
The former president has been subject to two other gag orders in his legal cases, including a limited gag order in his New York civil fraud case that he violated on two occasions and a separate gag order imposed by the judge overseeing his federal election interference case. In both cases, appeals courts have affirmed the constitutionality of the gag orders.
In recent weeks, Trump has compared himself to Nelson Mandela when discussing violations of the limited gag order in his New York criminal case, raising the stakes of the contempt hearing. "If this Partisan Hack wants to put me in the 'clink' for speaking the open and obvious TRUTH, I will gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela -- It will be my GREAT HONOR," Trump said in a social media post earlier this month.
