Achi news desk-
About an hour after day one of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan ended, the former president published the first of what would be a series of posts on Truth Social about his disdain for the case, specifically his required attendance .
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg filed a motion in papers published Tuesday to hold Trump in contempt of court for violating a partial gag order in the case.
Prosecutors said Trump had already violated his gag order three times, posting about witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels on social media. They asked the judge to fine Trump $3,000 for the crime. Merchan said he will hold a hearing on the alleged offenses on 23 April.
In his posts, Trump blasted Judge Juan Merchan for requiring Trump to attend the case every day during the session. The trial, which centers on hush money payments made by Trump to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, is expected to last at least six weeks. Daniels said she and Trump had a brief relationship in 2006.
Attending the trial, Trump said, would mean he would have to miss his son, Barron Trump’s high school graduation.
“Who will explain to me, to my wonderful son, Barron, who is a GREAT Student at a great School, that it is likely that his Dad will not be allowed to attend his Graduation Ceremony, something we have been talking about since years,” Trump wrote Monday afternoon after court adjourned for the day. Trump called Merchan a “Conflicted and Corrupt New York State Judge” overseeing the bogus “Biden Case.”
Trump said he would also not be able to attend the US supreme court hearing arguments over his claims of presidential immunity over the January 6 uprising.
“This shows so much contempt and disrespect for our Nation’s Supreme Court, especially for a subject as important as Presidential Immunity, without which our country would never be the same!” Trump wrote on Social Truth.
Although Merchan forced Trump to order a gag order before the trial began, it only applies to prosecutors other than Bragg, witnesses, court employees, jurors and their families. Trump is free to criticize Merchan himself, although it probably won’t help Trump win favor over the judge, who will decide Trump’s sentence if the jury finds him guilty.
Before the trial, Merchan extended the gag order to cover his family and Bragg’s family after Trump posted about Merchan’s daughter, who worked for a company that helped Democratic candidates with digital campaigns. Trump and his lawyers have tried to get Merchan excused from the case twice, to no avail.
Trump’s lawyers argued in court that the posts were not included in the gag order because Trump was responding to allegations made by the witnesses. In another post Tuesday morning, Trump called Merchan a “Trump Hating Critic” who “won’t let me respond to people who are on TV lying and spewing hate all day long.
“He is running roughshod over my lawyers and legal team,” Trump wrote. “I want to talk, or at least be able to respond. Election Intervention! RIGGED, UNCONSTITUTIONAL TRIAL! Remove the Gag Order!!!”
Jury selection continues Tuesday and could take up much of the first week of the trial.
Trump’s criminal hush money trial: what to know
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