‘Losing All Credibility’: Judge Torches Team Trump’s Gag-Order Defense

Nikki McCann Ramirez and Catherina Gioino
·4 min read
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Donald Trump’s alleged violations of a gag order restricting him from attacking witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, and court staff during his ongoing criminal hush money trial got their own day in court on Tuesday.

During a tense hearing, Judge Juan Merchan heard arguments from Manhattan prosecutors requesting that Trump be sanctioned for “willful” violations of the gag order — and sparred with Trump’s attorneys over claims of ignorance by the president. No decision was handed down Tuesday, but prosecutors have requested that Trump be fined $1,000 for each violation, and reminded that future violations of the order “can be punished not only with additional fines but also with a term of incarceration of up to 30 days.”

Judge Merchan did not seem very sympathetic to Trump’s defense.

Trump’s attorneys argued that, as a political candidate, the former president needed the freedom to respond to attacks by his critics. Merchan grilled this defense, pressing Trump’s team to back up their argument that witnesses in the case had directly attacked Trump. “I keep asking you over and over again for a specific answer, and I’m not getting an answer,” Merchan said to Trump attorney Todd Blanche.

Merchan also threw out the defense’s argument that Trump’s reposts on Truth Social did not constitute violations of the gag order, as the former president had several people helping run his account. “Your client can wash your hands of it,” Merchan said of reposts, telling Blanche that content doesn’t just “magically” appear on Trump’s account. “It’s not passive […] someone had to do something.”

Blanche at one point insisted to Merchan that Trump was aware of the gag order and trying to comply with it. Merchan wasn’t having it. “You’re losing all credibility,” Merchan responded. “I have to tell you right now, you’re losing all credibility with the court.”

Trump was furious after the hearing concluded. “HIGHLY CONFLICTED, TO PUT IT MILDLY, JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN, HAS TAKEN AWAY MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH,” he wrote on Truth Social. “EVERYBODY IS ALLOWED TO TALK AND LIE ABOUT ME, BUT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DEFEND MYSELF. THIS IS A KANGAROO COURT, AND THE JUDGE SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF!”

Prosecutors accused Trump of violating the restrictions placed upon him by Merchan no less than 10 times.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy called the alleged violations “willful beyond a reasonable doubt,” in his arguments before Merchan on Tuesday. “It’s clear he knows about the order, he knows what he’s not allowed to do, and he does it anyway,” Conroy added. The prosecution pointed to various social media posts and public statements the president made that potentially constitute jury intimidation and witness harassment.

In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump quoted Fox News host Jesse Watters’ claim that the court is “catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge,” adding that they were doing this “in order to get on the Trump jury.”

The former president has also repeatedly attacked his former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, a key witness in the case. On Monday, the day before the hearing, Trump delivered a lengthy rant to reporters gathered outside the courtroom impugning Cohen’s background and attempting to distance himself from his ex-employee.

“The things he got in trouble for were things that had nothing to do with me,” Trump said. “He got in trouble. He went to jail. This has nothing to do with me. This had to do with the taxicab company that he owned, which is just something he owned — and medallions and borrowing money and a lot of things — but it had nothing to do with me.”

Prosecutors submitted those comments, as well as, several social media reposts on Trump’s accounts, for review by Merchan in Tuesday’s hearing. “Defendant violated the order again on camera,” Conroy said. “He did it right here, in the hallway outside.

Last month, Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump after the former president attacked the judge’s daughter following an unfavorable ruling.

Merchan wrote in his decision — which bars the former president from publicly commenting on witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and jurors — that Trump’s “pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose.” He continued: “The average observer, must now, after hearing [Trump’s] recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitute … a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself.”

The former president was incensed. “Maybe the Judge is such a hater because his daughter makes money by working to ‘Get Trump,’ and when he rules against me over and over again, he is making her company, and her, richer and richer,” Trump responded on Truth Social. “How can this be allowed?”

While Merchan did not hand down a ruling on Tuesday, it doesn’t seem like Trump with find much sympathy with his Judge.

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