(TrueTrendNews.com) – A date has been set for a hearing that will determine if former president Donald Trump violated a gag order during his hush money trial.
Justice Juan Merchan of the New York Supreme Court has scheduled arguments in the hearing to occur on April 23. They will focus on accusations from prosecutors that the leading GOP candidate for the 2024 presidential nomination violated a gag order via social media posts.
The criminal case involves alleged payments made by the former president’s attorney to pornography actress Stormy Daniels to keep an affair she had with Trump a secret. The charges relate to payouts made just before the 2016 presidential election and have made the controversial Republican the first former president in American history to stand a criminal trial.
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, argued at the beginning of the trial—which started on April 15—that Trump knew about the gag order restricting communication about the case because of “various posts” he had shared on social media. Prosecutors are asking Merchan to sanction the defendant for violation of the gag order, imposed on April 1.
Specifically, Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy requested that a $1,000 fine be given to Trump for each post he made that violated the order, along with a reminder to the defendant that he could end up in prison if he continues such violations. The posts in question include mention of a former attorney for Daniels, who Trump said was “revealing the truth” about two people involved in the case and reference to a 2018 photo of Daniels, from when she denied her romantic fling with the former president.
Merchan’s gag order against Trump prohibits him from publicly speaking negatively about witnesses and attorneys. It also keeps the defendant from publicly commenting about court staff and the District Attorney, including their family members.
Copyright 2024, TrueTrendNews.com
