Judge Juan Merchan found former President Donald Trump in contempt on nine out of ten alleged violations of the gag order preventing him from making public statements about jurors, witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and their families. Each violation carries a $1,000 fine, totaling $9,000. Further violations could result in incarceratory punishment, Merchan warned. The trial against Trump, who faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, is in its third week and expected to last six weeks. More testimony from bank officials and individuals with firsthand knowledge of the payment is anticipated.
First Republic Bank’s former senior managing director, Gary Farro, testified about setting up an account for a limited liability corporation with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000. Farro helped Cohen open the account with home equity line credit, unaware that it would be used for the hush money payment. The account was created urgently at Cohen’s direction. Cohen, convicted of tax fraud and lying to Congress while working for Trump, is expected to testify in the case as a witness.
Trump was ordered to take down nine posts from his Truth Social account and campaign website by a certain time to comply with the gag order. Failure to comply with the order could result in jail time. Merchan also said that the trial won’t be held on May 17 to allow Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation. Trump criticized the case as a disgrace and a case that should never have been brought, emphasizing his desire to campaign in states that are in play.
Trump has been found in contempt for nine violations of the gag order, with fines totaling $9,000. A hearing to decide on the last four alleged violations is scheduled for Thursday, although the results won’t be read from the bench. The gag order prohibits Trump from making public statements about potential witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, and their family members if the statements are intended to interfere with the case. The trial also includes testimony from witnesses like Farro, and Cohen and Daniels are expected to testify for the prosecution.
Trump rarely makes eye contact with the jurors, and the jurors reciprocate, indicating that they are upholding their oath to judge the case solely on the evidence provided. Trump has been voicing concerns behind closed doors about his lead defense attorney not being aggressive enough in attacking witnesses, the judge, and the perceived hostile jury pool. The trial is entering its third week, with expectations of more testimony from witnesses directly involved in the hush money payment to Daniels.
The trial is set to resume with Farro expected to continue his testimony about setting up the account used to pay Daniels. Merchan has yet to rule on holding Trump in contempt for violating the gag order, with prosecutors seeking fines for 14 violations and a potential warning of jail time if violations continue. Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with his legal representation, desiring a more aggressive approach in attacking witnesses, the jury pool, and the judge. The outcome of this trial could impact Trump’s potential candidacy for the presidency again and could risk his imprisonment if convicted.
