Former President Trump’s social media posts have landed him in hot water, with prosecutors arguing that they violate a gag order issued by a judge in his New York criminal trial.
The judge had barred Trump from publicly criticizing witnesses, but he posted anyway, lashing out at his former lawyer Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels.
During a hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors argued that the judge should fine Trump over the posts. After the hearing, the former president railed against the gag order, calling it “unconstitutional” and “very, very unfair.”
Georgetown Law professor David Super said that Trump’s posts are a clear violation of the gag order. “If you or I were subject to this gag order and we tweeted like that we’d be locked up in a flash, but you and I are not Mr. Trump,” Super said.
Super said that the judge is unlikely to put Trump in jail over this. Instead, he expects him to fine the former president. Although that may not have much of an impact on Trump’s behavior.
“From his perspective, jail is off the table, the fines are irrelevant, so he’s going to do what he wants to do,” Super said.
The judge is expected to make a decision about that issue in the coming days. In the meantime, the trial continued with testimony. Later in the day, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, told the jury that Donald Trump was directly involved in a scheme to buy then bury negative stories about him during the 2016 election.
“The gag order material is frankly a bit of a sideshow. The testimony is what really matters,” Super said.
The trial is set to resume with more testimony on Thursday.
