Eat & Drink
Prosecutors stop short of seeking jail time for Trump — but say he’s ‘angling’ for it
Prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial said the former president violated a gag order 10 times, but they did not seek jail time as a sanction.
During a Tuesday morning hearing, Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy explained how Trump had attacked jurors, prospective jurors, and potential witnesses.
“What happened here is precisely what this order was designed to prevent, and the defendant doesn't care,” Conroy explained. “We are not yet seeking an incarceratory penalty, yet the defendant seems to be angling for that."
ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different
Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, appeared to be defiant.
"Just to set the record very straight and clear: Pres. Trump does, in fact, know what the gag order allows him to do and not allow him to do," Blanche told New York Justice Juan Merchan.
It was not clear when Merchan would rule on the violations.
‘You’re not giving me an answer’: Judge loses his patience with Trump lawyer
From inside the courtroom on Tuesday, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin revealed that Judge Juan Merchan was "losing his patience" with Donald Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche.
In a testy morning hearing into whether Trump has violated a gag order put in place to stop him attacking members of the jury and witnesses, the judge reamed off examples of attacks — with likely witnesses in his targets including Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, among others.
Blanche, meanwhile, tried to explain away Trump's actions.
Rubin explained from the courtroom that the judge asked Blanche to give him an example of Trump's intentions in one of his posts, and he consistently failed to do so, leading Merchan to react.
"Judge Merchan is losing his patience," MSNBC's Vaughn Hillyard said, reading text messages from Rubin. Merchan is "accusing Blanche of not answering his questions. So we're just three social media posts through the ten, and Judge Merchan is clearly frustrated with the attorney for Donald Trump's lack of ability to articulate on behalf of his own client his intention with those social media statements."
ALSO READ: A neuroscientist explains how Trump is using existential fear to win the election
"I am asking a question," Merchan said, according to Rubin. "I keep asking you over and over to give me an example, and I'm not getting an answer."
Merchan went on to say that it was 10:30 a.m., and they'd been debating "for an hour now, and he's looking for an answer."
See the report below or at the link here.
'You’re not giving me an answer': Judge loses his patience with Trump lawyer youtu.be
‘Coming for them’: Ex-prosecutor says Trump is promoting ‘fake allegations about jurors’
Donald Trump is already sharing "fake allegations about jurors" in his criminal hush money case, a former federal prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Trump made history this week when he became the first former president to face criminal trial after jury selection began in the case accusing the ex-president of falsifying business records to hide an affair from the public ahead of the election. Before the fog has even settled on the jury selection, the former president is now coming directly for those jurors, according to MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance.
For his part, Trump quoted Fox News host Jess Watters.
ALSO READ: 15 worthless things Trump will give you for your money
"'They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,' Jesse Watters," Trump wrote on his own social media network, Truth Social, Wednesday. He didn't add further context.
But Vance thought that was inappropriate behavior coming from a criminal defendant.
"Trump is now 're-truthing' fake allegations about jurors," she wrote on Wednesday. "A fully jury isn't even sworn in and he's already coming for them."
Democrat Harry Sisson called it "jury intimidation."
"This is absolutely jury intimidation," he said. "This is against the rules of the court and Donald Trump should be held accountable for it. No more playing games."
