If the judge finds that Trump broke the gag order, he might be held in contempt of court.
In a Tuesday morning hearing, the Manhattan district attorney's attorneys will try to persuade the court supervising Donald Trump's criminal hush money case to find the former president in contempt for persistently breaking the case's restrictive gag order.
Prosecutors contend that Trump broke the restricted gag order at least ten times this month, which forbids him from making remarks about any of the case's witnesses, jurors, or attorneys save Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. They requested that Judge Juan Merchan fine Trump $10,000 and find him in contempt of court.
"The defendant has shown that he is prepared to disobey the order. "He has previously attacked witnesses in this case," Merchan was informed by prosecutor Christopher Conroy last week. "We're asking the court to remind the defendant that further violations of the court's order could result in jail time."
The former president is on trial in New York on felony counts of fabricating business documents to conceal the return of a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels by his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to enhance his chances of winning the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors cited seven occasions this month in which Trump mentioned Cohen or Daniels in a social media post, two occasions in which his campaign website repeated information about Cohen, and one in which Trump implied that "undercover liberal activists" were attempting to infiltrate the jury in the case.
Five of the ten alleged violations include incidents where Trump or his campaign republished a New York Post piece suggesting that Michael Cohen's testimony—a self-described "serial perjurer"—was the key component of the case.
"We think that it is important for the court to remind Mr. Trump that he is a criminal defendant, and like all criminal defendants, he is subject to court supervision and, in particular, this court's obligation to preserve the integrity of the Criminal Justice System," Conroy stated.
Prosecutors had asked for a $3,000 fine and a finding of contempt last Monday after identifying three of Trump's social media posts. Prosecutors found seven more infractions by Thursday, some of which Trump seemed to post from the courtroom while he was on trial.
"That is absurd. It must end," Conroy declared.
Prosecutors stated that they intend to ask for monetary fines during Tuesday's hearing, but they did not rule out harsher punishments, such as potential jail time. if Trump keeps disobeying the order on purpose.
Trump's attorneys have informed Merchan that the former president was protecting himself from the likely witnesses' attacks, claiming that the prosecution has not shown that the posts were deliberate breaches of the gag order.
"It's not like President Trump is going around berating people," Todd Blanche, the defense lawyer, stated last week. "He's responding to salacious, repeated attacks by these witnesses."
Additionally, defense attorneys claimed that the gag order, which forbids Trump from speaking in public about potential witnesses or their involvement in the case, is ambiguous and permits Trump to make "political" remarks. Additionally, he contended that since at least four of the alleged infractions are reposts of the same message, they ought to be dismissed.
Emil Bove, the defense counsel, stated last week that "the Gag Order did not prohibit President Trump from responding to political attacks, and we submit that's what he is doing in these posts."
In two distinct legal instances, Trump has been subject to gag orders: one was imposed by the judge supervising his federal election interference case, and the other was a restricted gag order in his New York civil fraud case, which he twice broke. The appellate courts have upheld the validity of the gag orders in both instances.
The stakes are high for today's hearing since Trump has compared himself to Nelson Mandela in recent weeks when discussing violations of the restricted gag order in his criminal case in New York. Prosecutors are hoping that this comparison would stop Trump from attacking witnesses.
Trump wrote on social media earlier this month, "I will gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela -- It will be my GREAT HONOR if this Partisan Hack wants to put me in the 'clink' for speaking the open and obvious TRUTH."
The first witness called by the Manhattan district attorney will testify during the hearing, which coincides with the criminal trial's increasing stakes. Some of Trump's posts on Cohen and Daniels, according to the prosecution, might be "interpreted as an effort to intimidate potential witnesses."
During last week's jury selection, Merchan also chastised Trump for what she saw to be intimidating audible "muttering" during a prospective juror's speech.
"He was addressing the juror directly. That is not going to happen to me. In this courtroom, I will not intimidate any jurors. "I want to be very clear about that," Judge Merchan stated.
Trump proceeded to criticize Cohen during his statements at the end of Monday's sessions, seemingly unfazed by the impending contempt hearing.
"When are they going to examine all of Cohen's falsehoods from the previous trial? At the last trial, he was found to have lied. "He was caught lying—absolutely lying," declared Trump.
