Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial, expressed concerns about Trump’s lawyer’s arguments. The lawyer argued that Trump was not intimidating witnesses but responding to political attacks. However, Merchan dismissed these claims, stating that the defense had not provided any evidence to support their argument. Merchan emphasized that Trump had violated the gag order, which prohibits him from publicly criticizing witnesses, court officials, and their relatives. New York prosecutor Christopher Conroy pointed out an April 10 post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, where he referred to porn star Stormy Daniels and Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen as ‘sleazebags.’ Both individuals are expected to testify in the trial. Conroy argued that Trump’s posts led to media coverage that caused a juror to withdraw due to privacy concerns, demonstrating Trump’s willful disobedience of the court order. Conroy requested a $10,000 fine for Trump’s actions, but stated that he was not seeking jail time at this point, despite it being an option under New York law. Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, maintained that his client’s posts were responses to political attacks and not related to Cohen’s expected testimony. However, Merchan questioned the validity of this argument, stating that Blanche had not provided any evidence to support his claims. Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. The payment was allegedly made to silence Daniels about a sexual encounter she claims to have had with Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies the encounter. On Tuesday, the jury heard testimony from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who prosecutors allege participated in a ‘catch and kill’ scheme to suppress negative stories about Trump and help him get elected. Pecker testified that the decision to bury the stories was made during a 2015 meeting with Trump, where he agreed to publish favorable stories and watch for potentially damaging ones. He also revealed that the Enquirer paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal for her story about a sexual relationship with Trump, and bought the rights to the story after Trump refused to do so himself. The trial is set to resume on Thursday, where Pecker is expected to provide further testimony.
Trump Lawyer Loses Credibility in Hush Money Trial
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