By Daphne Moon
Former President Donald Trump went on the offensive against New York Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order, reading news reports critical of the “hush money” case being brought against him. Trump picked up a piece of paper outside the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday morning and read assessments of the trial from mostly left-leaning news outlets.
First, Trump cited the opinion of CNN legal analyst Michael Moore, who said, “The proof of falsifying records has not been accomplished.” The former president then continued, “On ‘Good Morning America,’ they said, ‘We heard that expense payments to lawyers are legal expenses.’” Trump went on to explain that they had listed the $130,000 non-disclosure agreement with Stormy Daniels as a legal expense payment to his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen. He argued that this is a common practice and that there was nothing fraudulent about it.
Trump also mentioned a report from NBC’s “Today” show, stating, “‘The challenge is that there is no smoking gun, no email or tape to prove the president’s intent. They don’t have a way to prove that.’ That’s NBC ‘Today’ show.” He then went on to argue that legal scholars are in agreement that there is no case against him.
According to Trump, the case should not have been brought in the first place. He believes that the previous district attorney and Bragg himself did not want to pursue this case, but Bragg brought it forward because Trump is currently running for office and is in the number one spot in the polls.
In March, Merchan issued a gag order, which prohibited Trump from publicly discussing any witnesses who might testify, members of Bragg’s staff, the court’s staff, or their family members, and from making statements about the jurors. Trump is allowed to criticize Bragg and Merchan personally, but last month, the judge expanded the order to include his family.
Trump has argued that Judge Merchan is conflicted and should recuse himself from the case. This is because Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is the president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that has used the Trump trial in email solicitations to raise millions of dollars for Democratic candidates. However, the judge has refused to recuse himself from the case.
On Monday, Judge Merchan ruled that Trump was in contempt of the gag order for the tenth time. He fined Trump $1,000 and warned him that if he continues to violate the order, he could face jail time.
Former President Trump used various news reports to argue that there is no case against him in the “hush money” trial. He believes that the payments made to Stormy Daniels were legal expenses and that there is no evidence of fraud. Trump also accuses Judge Merchan of being biased against him and has called for his recusal. However, the judge has denied this request and has threatened to jail Trump if he continues to violate the gag order. The case is ongoing, and a verdict has yet to be reached.
