Trump’s hush money trial: Violation of gag order can lead to fines, jail time, say New York prosecutors

Former United States president Donald Trump, on Monday (Apr 15) headed to the court for his historic criminal trial where the New York prosecutors asked the judge to fine him after he allegedly violated the gag order about potential witnesses and introduced a motion to sanction the Republican frontrunner.

On Monday, Trump, 77, set yet another record by becoming the first-ever former US president to go on trial for criminal charges.

The charges are related to the case where Trump has been accused of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and falsifying business records to cover the payments.

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Potential gag order violation

The historic trial was set to begin with the selection of the jury, with Trump sitting on the defence table with his legal team in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan as prosecutors cited his criticism of witnesses, court officials and others over the years.

Also Read |Trump lashes out at ex-lawyer Cohen ahead of hush money trial despite gag order

“The defendant has demonstrated his willingness to flout the order. He has attacked witnesses in the case, in the past he has attacked grand jurors in the case,” said prosecutor Christopher Conroy.

The New York prosecutors have asked Justice Juan Merchan to fine Trump $1,000 each for each of three social media reports about Daniels and his former lawyer and potential key witness in the trial Michael Cohen.

In a series of posts, on April 13, on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump called his former lawyer a “disgraced attorney and felon” and questioned how he hasn’t been “prosecuted for LYING.”

Last week, he also called both Cohen and Daniels “sleaze bags.” In March, Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, imposed a gag order on Trump on the prosecutors’ request to block him from speaking about the witnesses.

It was later expanded to include his own family members and those of the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges against the former president.

Also Read |'I will be fighting for our country,' says Trump on eve of hush money criminal trial

Merchan said he will hold a hearing on the DA’s motion to sanction Trump for his social media posts next week, on April 24, reported the American media.

Historic trial begins

After a string of defeats in various courts to get the trial delayed, Trump showed up at the Manhattan courthouse, on Monday.

In a very short speech to the reporters gathered outside, the former president said a case “has never happened before, there has been never anything like this”.

He also claimed that “every legal scholar said this case is nonsense, it should have never been brought, there is no case” and went on to call it an “assault on America and that's why I'm very proud to be here.”

WATCH |Trump on trial: Donald Trump's hush-money trial begins

It is “an attack on a political opponent. I am very honoured to be here,” Trump said.

The 12-member jury, along with six alternates, will be chosen from hundreds of New Yorkers. Merchan noted that there are a total of 200 jurors in the courthouse, with some 500 potential jurors waiting while the legal arguments took place earlier.

Notably, the task of choosing a jury from the pool of people in heavily Democratic Manhattan could take several days.

(With inputs from agencies)