Trump Cited for Gag Order Violation as Evidence Mounts of Hush Money
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump’s 12th day in a New York court Monday on criminal charges started with a threat of imprisonment and continued badly for him with prosecutors’ evidence he hid hush money payments to two women with whom he had sexual relations.
Shortly after he took his seat, Judge Juan Merchan held the former president in contempt for violating his March 26 court order prohibiting him from public criticisms of witnesses, jurors and the court staff.
The judge said he was trying to avoid risks that persons involved in the trial might be intimidated by Trump’s criticisms, possibly leading to a verdict reflecting their fear of reprisal.
Last week, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for violating the court order.
On Monday, he ruled Trump violated the gag order again, this time during an April 22 phone interview with a TV program called, “Just the News, No Noise.”
Trump said during the interview, “But this judge, uh, said that I can’t get away from the trial. You know he’s rushing the trial like crazy. Nobody’s ever seen a thing go like this. That jury was picked so fast — 95% Democrats. The area’s mostly all Democrat. You think of it as a — just a purely Democrat area. It’s a very unfair situation, that I can tell you.”
Merchan tacked on another $1,000 fine but said fines alone did not appear to be a deterrent. As a result, “Going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction,” he said.
After discussion of the gag order, witness testimony continued with the trial in which Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a former Playboy playmate and a former adult film actress.
Previous witnesses testified about their knowledge that a $130,000 payment was made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both women acknowledge they signed nondisclosure agreements to not discuss their relationships with Trump.
On Monday, prosecution witnesses described accounting procedures that allegedly were used to cover up the payments.
Trump denies the sexual affairs and the payments. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His denials were contradicted by accountant Jeffrey McConney as he discussed a business ledger that showed Trump appeared to list the hush money as “legal fees.” McConney cut checks and hand delivered Trump’s weekly cash reports to his boss while he worked as a financial controller for the Trump Organization.
“He ran the organization,” McConney said about Trump. “He was the brains behind it.”
A prosecutor asked McConney about a document labeled “ACCOUNT ACTIVITY.”
One line in the document indicates former Trump attorney Michael Cohen wired $130,000 to Daniels’ attorney. Accompanying handwritten notes mentioned repayment to Cohen for arranging the payment.
McConney’s testimony implied Cohen was submitting invoices for the hush money to Trump for his signature but hiding the source of the funds by making it seem Cohen was acting alone.
The evidence included copies of $35,000 reimbursement checks paid to Cohen that were signed by Trump.
Further implication that Trump knew about checks used for payoffs came from Deborah Tarasoff, a 24-year employee of the Trump Organization who said her job title is “accounts payable supervisor.”
Tarasoff testified that only Trump could sign checks from his personal “DJT” account, which was used for several $35,000 payments to Cohen.
Prosecutors ended the day of testimony by telling the judge they need about two more weeks to present their case. Then it will be the defense team’s turn.
You can reach us at [email protected] and follow us on Facebook and X.
