Former President Trump accused the judge presiding over his trial in Manhattan of “rigging” the 2024 election after ruling the 45th president violated a gag order stemming from the case.
“This Judge has taken away my Constitutional Right to FREE SPEECH. I am the only Presidential Candidate in History to be GAGGED,” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
“This whole ‘Trial’ is RIGGED, and by taking away my FREEDOM OF SPEECH, THIS HIGHLY CONFLICTED JUDGE IS RIGGING THE PRESIDENTIAL OF 2024 ELECTION. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!” Trump continued.
Earlier Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan ruled Trump violated a gag order that bans him from speaking publicly about witnesses and family members of court officials. The judge ruled Trump violated the order on nine separate occasions in social media posts, with each violation resulting in a $1,000 fine. Trump was ordered to pay $9,000 for violating the gag order.
LIVE UPDATES: NEW YORK V TRUMP TRIAL ENTERS 3RD WEEK AS JUDGE FINES TRUMP FOR GAG ORDER VIOLATIONS
Former President Trump sits in a Manhattan courtroom in New York City on April 22, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid/Pool)
Following the ruling, Trump removed the social media posts found in violation of the order from his Truth Social account. Merchan’s ruling comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office accused Trump of violating the order 14 times since it was imposed last month.
Merchan detailed in the order that if Trump carries out “continued willful violations” of the gag order, he could face “incarceratory punishment” if “necessary and appropriate.”
NY V TRUMP: JUDGE REGRETS HE ‘UNFORTUNATELY’ CAN’T FINE 45TH PRESIDENT MORE IN GAG ORDER RULING
Trump has repeatedly railed against the gag order, calling the case overall a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration and saying the gag order has stripped him of the ability to defend himself against accusations in the case.
A court sketch depicts the third day of former President Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 18, 2024. (Christine Cornell)
“We have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional. I’m not allowed to talk, but people are allowed to talk about me. So, they can talk about me,” Trump said outside the New York City courtroom last week. “They can say whatever they want, they can lie, but I’m not allowed to say anything. I just have to sit back and look at why a conflicted judge has ordered me to have [a] gag order,” Trump said in comments outside the courtroom last week.
Trump on Tuesday morning called on Merchan to recuse himself from the case, citing again that he’s “conflicted.”
“This is a hoax. This is a judge who is conflicted – badly, badly, badly conflicted. I’ve never seen a judge so conflicted and giving us virtually no rulings,” Trump said outside the courtroom before the trial kicked off its ninth day.
“I’m going to sit in the freezing cold icebox for eight hours, nine hours or so. They took me off the campaign trail. But the good news is my poll numbers are the highest it’s ever been. So, at least we’re getting the word out. And everybody knows this trial is a scam. It’s a scam. The judge should be recused; that he should recuse himself today, he should recuse himself today. And maybe he will,” Trump said.
The former president had previously cited Merchan’s daughter and her work as a political consultant for Democrat politicians as a reason the judge is “conflicted.”
JUDGE FINES TRUMP THOUSANDS OVER VIOLATING GAG ORDER, WARNS ‘INCARCERATORY PUNISHMENT’ COULD BE NEXT
Judge Juan Merchan (AP Photo/Seth Wenig/File)
In Merchan’s ruling regarding the gag order on Tuesday, the judge lamented not being able to fine Trump more than $1,000 per violation. He wrote in the order that it would be “preferable” if the court “could impose a fine more commensurate with the wealth of the contemnor.”
Former President Trump attends the first day of his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP Pool)
“In some cases that might be a $2,500 fine, in other cases it might be a fine of $150,000. Because this Court is not cloaked with such discretion, it must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment,” he wrote, highlighting again that Trump could face time behind bars if he continues violating the order.
Trump is on trial for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He has pleaded not guilty to each charge and slammed the case as a “witch hunt” and “scam.”
A court sketch depicts the second day of former President Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 16, 2024. (Christine Cornell)
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The NY v. Trump case focuses on Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with the then-real estate tycoon in 2006. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.
Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony, in violation of a New York law called “conspiracy to promote or prevent election.”