Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Week two of former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial took an interesting turn, as the presiding judge threatened him with jail time if he continues to violate his gag order.
According to court documents, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan accused Trump of making several posts on his Truth social platform questioning the validity of his case related to payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.
The gag order was initially issued by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman and prohibits Trump and other parties involved in the case from making public statements that could impact the trial’s impartiality. However, during a recent speech at a Michigan rally, Trump reportedly referred to the hush money payments as “a simple private transaction,” leading to accusations of trying to influence public opinion and undermine the trial’s integrity.
Trump’s legal team has argued that the former president’s comments were taken out of context, and he was simply defending himself and expressing his opinions. However, Judge Merchan ruled that Trump violated his gag order at least nine times, and forced him to delete them, as well as fined him $1,000 for each, totaling $9,000.
