Trump faces consequences for gag order violations in NY trial

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial judge provided both positive and negative feedback.

Judge Juan Merchan granted Trump permission to pause court on May 17 so that he could attend his youngest son’s high school graduation — if he’s not sitting in jail. Trump was also informed that he must pay a fine of $9,000 by the end of the week and warned that if he does not abide by the laws of the gag order set in place, he could potentially face jail time.

“The court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders,” Merchan said Tuesday, per The New York Times . Adding that he is “keenly aware of, and protective of, defendant’s First Amendment rights.”

Trump was fined for using his social media platforms and campaign website to criticize jurors and other court staff and was ordered to delete the posts. He posted on Truth Social following the judge’s ruling:

“This Judge has taken away my Constitutional Right to FREE SPEECH. I am the only Presidential Candidate in History to be GAGGED. This whole “Trial” is RIGGED, and by taking away my FREEDOM OF SPEECH, THIS HIGHLY CONFLICTED JUDGE IS RIGGING THE PRESIDENTIAL OF 2024 ELECTION. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!”

The presumptive Republican nominee was accused of 34 felony counts, including spending $130,000 in “hush money” payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels through his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, before the 2016 presidential election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who leads the case, accused Trump of falsifying business records to cover up the payments.

Key witness: Stormy Daniel’s attorney takes the stand

Following the gag order business, jurors heard from Keith Davidson, an attorney who handled negotiations for Daniels and Karen McDougal with the National Enquirer and Cohen. A former Playboy model, McDougal alleged a 10-month affair with Trump and asked to be paid for stories in 2016. Trump has claimed all accusations against him are false.

“Davidson told the jurors that he was playing the Enquirer and ABC News against each other to get the best deal for McDougal,” according to the Associated Press . The Enquirer bought the story for $150,000, and Davidson said he was aware that they would never publish it after getting the rights to it for two possible reasons.

“One explanation I was given is they were trying to build Karen into a brand and didn’t want to diminish her brand,” he added, per AP News. “And the second was an unspoken understanding that there was an affiliation between David Pecker and Donald Trump and that AMI wouldn’t run this story, any story related to Karen, because it would hurt Donald Trump.”

Matthew Colangelo, senior counsel to Braggs, argued last week in court that Pecker, former CEO of American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, and Dylan Howard, who was the editor of the Enquirer at the time, employed the “ catch and kill ” method before the presidential election to suppress negative stories about Trump, making him more favorable compared to his political opponents.

“I don’t know if I had a clear understanding at that time, but I knew that Dylan’s boss at that time, David Pecker, and Mr. Trump were longtime friends and had a business relationship,” Davidson said in court Tuesday, per CBS News . “And AMI had announced explicitly that they endorsed Mr. Trump’s candidacy.”