Former President Donald Trump criticized what he described as an “unconstitutional” gag order imposed on him during his trial in Manhattan, while blaming President Biden for the trial and the ongoing anti-Israel protests taking place on college campuses across the country.
“We have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional. I’m not allowed to talk, but people are allowed to talk about me. So they can talk about me,” Trump said outside the courtroom. “They can say what they want, they can lie, but I’m not allowed to say anything. I just have to sit back and see why a conflicted judge has ordered me to have a gag order,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone has seen anything like this. I would love to talk to you. I would love to say everything that’s on my mind, but I’m restricted because I have a gag order,” he continued. .
Trump returned to court on Tuesday, when Chief Judge Juan Merchán held a hearing on prosecutors’ request that Trump be found guilty of contempt for violating a gag order. Merchan placed the gag order on Trump before the trial began, ordering Trump to refrain from commenting (or directing others to comment) about the possible involvement of witnesses or the prosecution team. The gag order allows Trump to speak publicly about District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
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Former President Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings in Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial are about to begin. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Swimming Pool)
Prosecutors presented 10 cases in which Trump allegedly violated the gag order in social media posts during the hearing. The district attorney’s office argues he should pay a fine of $1,000 each for some of the cases.
Trump’s legal team rejected the claims that the posts in question were examples of the 45th president’s response to the attacks.
Merchan has not yet issued a decision on whether Trump is found guilty of contempt. He warned Trump’s defense team that they were “losing all credibility” during the hearing.
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“I’ve asked you 8 or 9 times, ‘Show me the exact post I was responding to,’ and you haven’t been able to do it even once,” Merchan told Trump attorney Todd Blanche.
A court sketch shows former President Donald Trump’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on Friday, April 19, 2024. Trump’s criminal trial is in its fourth day of jury selection. (Christine Cornell)
“I have to tell you right now that you are losing all credibility in court,” Merchan added.
President Joe Biden speaks at the Abbotts Creek Community Center during an event to promote his economic agenda in Raleigh, North Carolina, on January 18, 2024. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump continued his comments after the court concluded the day by saying that the anti-Israel demonstrations taking place on some of the country’s most elite college campuses are “Biden’s fault,” in addition to the trial itself.
“That’s Biden’s fault,” he said of the school protests. “And by the way, this trial is all Biden.”
“He can’t put two sentences together again, but he’s campaigning,” Trump continued of Biden. “He’s campaigning. And I’m here in a courtroom sitting here…sitting as upright as I can all day. Because, you know what? It’s a very unfair situation.”
New York vs. TRUMP: JUDGE WARNS TRUMP’S TEAM THEY ARE ‘LOSING ALL CREDIBILITY’ IN GAG ORDER HEARING
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo makes opening statements as former US President Donald Trump looks on with his lawyer Todd Blanche before Judge Juan Merchan during Trump’s criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records to hide money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court. in New York City, USA, on April 22, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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The trial centers on Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who paid former porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly silence her claims about an alleged extramarital affair she had with Trump in the early 2000s. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.
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Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently recorded the payments as legal expenses.
