At a court hearing this Tuesday over a dispute around former President Donald Trump’s compliance — or lack thereof — with a gag order imposed on him amid a New York City criminal case, prosecutors suggested that the former White House occupant was “angling” for a stint in detention.
“We are not yet seeking an incarceratory penalty; the defendant seems to be angling for that,” a member of the prosecution said. The local team contended that Trump had violated the judge’s order numerous times, including with a series of posts to his personal account on Truth Social, a Trump-backed social media site. The posts invoked expected trial witnesses Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, both of whom were involved in the hush money arrangements that set up the backdrop for the present criminal case against Trump, which accuses him of falsifying business records in connection with ambitions of impacting the 2016 presidential election.
The idea is that the money, which went to Daniels to counter the allegation that she had an affair with Trump, stood to benefit Trump’s campaign. The case hinges on Trump allegedly falsifying records related to the repayments for ex-Trump “fixer” Cohen, who provided the money.
Overall, the hearing seemed to go poorly for Trump’s defense team, with the proceedings culminating in the judge telling Trump lawyer Todd Blanche that he was shredding his own credibility with an argument that Trump/his team were actually trying to comply with the gag order. The order blocks public attacks from Trump on witnesses, jurors, and others — and Trump was even posting recently about the assembling of the jury, clearly (to some) flouting the restrictions.
