Before key witness David Pecker — the former publisher of the National Enquirer — could take the stand this morning, prosecutors once again brought up Donald Trump's alleged violations of the gag order, this time arguing that the former president violated the order four times over the past three days.
These are the comments prosecutors pointed to:
- Trump's interview with a Philadelphia TV station during which he said, "Michael Cohen is a convicted liar and he’s got no credibility whatsoever," according to Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy.
- Trump speaking about how fast the jury was picked and saying the jury pool was 95% Democrats during a Monday night news interview.
- Trump said during an event in New York City Thursday morning that Pecker was "nice," which prosecutors say is a message to Pecker and other witnesses to "be nice."
Judge Juan Merchan did not react to Conroy’s presentation and did not say when he would rule on the alleged gag order violations.
Remember: Under the gag order, Trump is barred from publicly discussing witnesses or jurors in the case.
Prosecutors previously argued Tuesday that Trump “knows about the order” and “knows what he’s not allowed to do” but violates it anyway. They pointed to eight social media posts and two campaign website posts where Trump was primarily sharing commentary about expected trial witness Michael Cohen. Conroy is seeking a $1,000 fine for each post — the max fine.
However, the defense has argued that specific attacks from Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, and adult film star Stormy Daniels prompted the former president to respond, though attorney Todd Blanche has yet to point to specific attacks by them despite several requests to do so from Merchan. Blanche also tried to make the case that Trump has been "very careful" with the order.
