The judge overseeing the criminal trial of Donald Trump, the first of the four faced by the former US president, imposed this Tuesday in New York a contempt fine of $9,000 on the accused for some statements that, in his opinion, violated a gag order – to prevent him from criticizing witnesses and judicial officials – and has threatened him with a prison sentence if he continues to violate it.
In a written order, Judge Juan Merchan has said he is “well aware of First Amendment rights.” [que consagra la libertad de expresión] of the defendant and [que] “I protected them.” But he has nonetheless warned that he would not tolerate continued violations of his orders and that he would “impose a prison sentence” if necessary. Merchan imposed the order on Trump in March and expanded it on April 1, two weeks before the trial began. The former president has been forced to remain silent in other trials and fined twice for ignoring the order.
In the first week of the trial alone, which is being held in Manhattan criminal court, Trump violated, according to prosecutors, on ten occasions the order imposed by Merchan to prevent the verbal incontinence of the presumptive Republican candidate for re-election from reaching witnesses and members of the jury, as well as relatives of the judge and the prosecutor who investigated the case, Alvin Bragg. Only Merchan and Bragg are left out of the order, whom Trump will be able to freely criticize, as he has been doing almost daily.
In the third week of the trial, Judge Juan Merchán’s order was announced minutes before a banker familiar with Trump’s accounts and alleged knowledge of the accounting entry for the payment of a bribe of $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels testified. to buy her silence about an extramarital affair. The purpose of the payment was to prevent the sexual scandal from coming to light in the last stretch of the 2016 election campaign, compromising his chances at the polls. Trump was then elected president of the United States and the prosecution considers that the bribery was later a violation of electoral financing laws. In the definition of one of the prosecutors during the presentation of arguments, it was all “a criminal plot to adulterate” the 2016 elections.
The historic criminal trial is the first of a former president of the United States and began on April 22, after a week dedicated to jury selection and constitution. This Tuesday, around twenty of his supporters gathered in front of the court, chanting his name and waving banners that read “TRUMP 2024″. They had been summoned by a local Republican organization – Republicans are a clear minority in New York, a Democratic stronghold – after the former president openly complained about the few protests against the trial.
In addition to banker Garry Farro, who is not accused of any crime and already testified on Friday about the financial records presented by former lawyer and Trump fixer Michael Cohen, the executing arm of the payment to Daniels, the main testimony to date has been that of David Pecker, editor of the National Enquirer, a sensational tabloid. Pecker, a personal friend of Trump, orchestrated in 2015 when Trump was preparing to make the leap into politics a system to buy and put in a drawer all the news that could harm him in his race for the White House. Not only does he find him with Daniels in 2006, which the Republican has always denied; also other relationships with models.
Join Morning Express to follow all the news and read without limits.
Subscribe
Every day of the trial, Monday through Friday except Wednesday, Trump complains that he should be campaigning instead of being forced to sit for hours, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., so as not to miss opportunities in his rematch against President Joe Biden in the November 5 elections. As has been customary since his legal problems began, he also complains of being subjected to political persecution orchestrated by his Democratic rivals. The New York criminal case is one of four pending against Trump, but it could be the only one that goes to trial and concludes with a verdict before November.
Follow all the international information on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter.
