The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has filed a motion on Tuesday to show cause that Donald Trump violated the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan.
“This Court should again admonish defendant to comply with his obligations under the order. And finally, this Court should warn defendant that future violations of this Court’s restrictions on his extrajudicial statements can be punished not only with additional fines but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days. It is absolutely critical that defendant immediately halt any conduct that would violate the April 1 order’s narrow restrictions to protect the integrity of the ongoing trial,” prosecutors wrote in their filing.
The prosecutors are asking the court to fine Trump $1,000 per violation. Merchan scheduled a hearing on the district attorney’s motion on April 23 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
On Monday, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass brought up some of Trump’s recent Truth Social posts and said they violated the gag order to not make statements about potential witnesses. Among the posts, prosecutors cited one from last Wednesday when Trump references “two sleazebags,” which, in the context, are Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.
More: Earlier this month, Merchan expanded a gag order on the former president ahead of his hush money trial, following searing social media attacks by Trump against the case, prosecutors, the legal system and even the judge’s daughter.
The judge warned that Trump’s behavior represented a threat to anyone involved in the case and was even tantamount to an attack on the rule of law.
CNN’s Stephen Collinson contributed to this report.
Sumber: www.cnn.com
