Prosecutors Seek Punishment for Gag Order Violation

Donald Trump has been in court plenty of times in the last few months, but on Monday he became the first American president to stand trial for an alleged criminal offense. Day One of the former president’s trial on charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels kicked off in Manhattan — and tensions are already running high. 

State prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys kicked things off by arguing over what evidence will be admissible during the proceedings, and it quickly became clear that the jury selection process might take quite a while. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s team is also pushing to have Trump punished for allegedly violating a gag order, while Judge Juan Merchan threatened to punish the former president separately, should he disrupt the court or fail to attend even a single day of the trial.

Merchan said that Trump could be “committed to jail” should he cause a commotion during the trial. “If you do not show up there will be an arrest,” he added of the requirement that the defendant attend every day of the proceedings.

Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor on Bragg’s team, indicated that the state would submit a request “seeking an order to show cause why Defendant should not be held in contempt” after flaunting an order from the court barring him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and jurors involved in the case. Steinglass argued that — among several other instances — Trump attacked two key witnesses in the case, Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, in a Wednesday Truth Social post referring to the pair as “sleazebags.”

The prosecution later requested that Trump be fined $1,000 for each gag order and at least $3,000 in total. 

Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump last month as the former president leveled a series of attacks against those involved in the case — and also Merchan’s daughter. Trump has continued to rail against those involved in the case, while sharing articles about the judge’s daughter rather than explicitly attacking her himself. Trump has also been railing at length about the gag order itself, calling it “unconstitutional’ and “un-American.”

Trump leveled the same accusations against the trial itself while ranting to the media outside of court on Monday. “This is an assault on America. Nothing like this has ever happened before. There has never been anything like it,” the former president said.

Tension built in the courtroom as the prosecution previewed their case, as well. Bragg’s team submitted several evidentiary requests that indicate they are setting up to argue that in the aftermath of the infamous Access Hollywood tape — in which Trump declared he could grab women “by the pussy” with no consequence — his campaign fell into disaster mode, prompting efforts to buy Daniels silence regarding her alleged affair with the former president. 

Merchan determined that the Access Hollywood tape could not be played before a jury, but that prosecutors would be allowed to use relevant transcripts from the video. The judge further determined that the prosecution could introduce articles from the National Enquirer supporting their allegations that Trump coordinated with the publication’s then-owner, David Pecker, to approve and plant stories trashing his 2016 opponents. 

As prosecutors and the defense debated various last-minute decisions, Merchan seemed to grow exasperated, telling the court that “we have about 500 jurors waiting on us. And to be honest with you I really am not interested in getting into this minutia.” 

Trump didn’t seem to care too much. Maggie Haberman of The New York Times reported that he appeared “to be sleeping” during the proceedings, with his head bobbing and mouth going slack. He was reportedly “jolted awake” to notice notes his lawyer passed him minutes earlier.