Former President Donald Trump may have violated a gag order in an interview on Tuesday, prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office told Judge Juan Merchan. Prosecutors argue that Trump made ten posts on his Truth Social platform that violated the order, which bars him from commenting on potential witnesses or jurors in his upcoming criminal trial.
Judge Merchan has yet to rule on the matter but did not appear moved by the prosecution’s arguments. Trump’s attorneys are expected to provide a detailed timeline of Trump’s Truth Social posts to prove he did not violate the order.
Also on Tuesday, Trump appeared to violate the gag order again in an interview with a local television station, where he called a witness in his case a “convicted liar.” Prosecutors are expected to bring this interview to Judge Merchan’s attention.
Trump is facing a total of 88 felony charges in four separate criminal cases, including the New York criminal trial for alleged falsification of business records to hide payments of “hush money” to an adult film actress and one other woman, in an alleged effort to suppress their stories and protect his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the gag order was issued by a “rigged judge” working in tandem with “crooked” Joe Biden’s White House to silence him during the election. However, CNN reported that Trump’s claims do not match up with reality, and that the proceedings in his criminal trial have been far more mundane than he has described.
Despite the gag order, Trump has continued to speak out about his case on social media and in fundraising pitches, but his remarks have been less dramatic than he has described. Judge Merchan has admonished Trump for gesturing and speaking toward a juror, and his attorneys have frequently clashed with the judge, but these moments have also been far less dramatic than Trump has described.
Trump has also called on supporters to protest his trial outside the courthouse but warned them to expect police to attempt to block them and shunt them into “holding areas,” suggesting violent clashes might even be possible. However, the streets around the courthouse were open to traffic and saw few protesters or police.
In other news, former GOP lawmaker and current Trump Media & Technology Group CEO, Devin Nunes, is turning to his former colleagues on Capitol Hill to help fight against Wall Street traders dealing in the company’s stock who he says are participating in “anomalous trading” — a practice in which they bet on the stock declining.
Nunes wrote a letter to his former colleagues, including House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO), and Oversight and Reform Chair James Comer (R-KY), warning that there are “strong indications of unlawful manipulation of DJT stock.” Nunes is worried about an illegal type of short-selling activity known as “naked short selling.”
Finally, the Black Dog pub in Vauxhall, south London, has become a pilgrimage site for Taylor Swift fans who identified it from a song on the U.S. megastar’s latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department”/”The Anthology”. In the song, Swift sings about being able to still track an ex-boyfriend’s location on her phone and mentions a bar called “The Black Dog.” “Swifties,” the nickname for members of the American singer’s army of fans, quickly concluded that the pub was the Black Dog and have been flocking to the bar in growing numbers to pose for photos and sing Swift songs.
The sudden attention is a huge stroke of luck for the owners, coming at a time when the emblematic English pub is going through a difficult period. Over the past two years, pubs have seen their costs explode amid rampant inflation and are struggling to attract customers who are themselves affected by the cost-of-living crisis. “The Black Dog” pub has, unsurprisingly, decided to cash in on its good fortune by adding “Taylor’s Version” burgers and cocktails to its menu.
