LEE KRAMER'S ROOM: With Views

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Summary of Trump Contempt Hearing

Hearing held this morning on 4 new violations.
Ron FilipkowskiUpdated:1 hour agoOriginal:1 hour ago

https://www.meidastouch.com/news/summary-of-trump-contempt-hearing

Judge Merchan conducted a hearing for the second time for alleged violations by Trump of his gag order. Just like he did after the first hearing, he reserved ruling to issue an order later.

At the last contempt hearing, Merchan warned Trump that further violations could result in jail time. However, these most recent violations were committed before that warning was issued.

There were 4 new violations. The first was when Trump left court after the last hearing on the gag order and attacked Michael Cohen. The second is when he gave an interview where he claimed that the jury was 95% Democrats. The third was when he again attacked Cohen in an interview with a local TV station in Pennsylvania. The fourth was when he praised David Pecker in the middle of his testimony.

Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Trump's statements were political in nature and he was responding to attacks that against him that hurt him politically. He said that there have been "multiple and repeated attacks" against him from Cohen and he has a right to respond.


He also noted Biden's comment that Trump "had a few tough days" lately because of "stormy weather," and said that Biden was mocking him with a reference to Stormy Daniels. Merchan immediately interrupted and said that Trump was free to respond to Biden and that the subject of this hearing was not about that it was about him attacking witnesses.

Blanche also argued that Trump's comment about Pecker was simply him saying nice things about an old friend, and wasn't code to encourage him to testify in his favor. Merchan interjected to say that he had already expressed his concerns about Michael Cohen continuing to make negative comments about Trump in the media, which might negate some of Trump's violations against him if they were simply in response.

When Blanche echoed one of Trump's common complaints that witnesses and other people can talk about him but he can't respond, Merchan noted that they are not under a gag order because of their previous conduct and they are not the defendant in this case. Merchan then noted that Trump is not responding to reporters questions when he attacks the witnesses - he is seeking them out and going out of his way to make the disparaging comments.

Blanche then readdressed the statement about Pecker, and Merchan interrupted to note that he didn't really see a violation in that statement so he should just move on.

Blanche then complained about several of Cohen's social media posts about Trump, including one where he said that he wouldn't put any money in his prison commissary and one where he referred to Trump as "Vonshitzenpants," which resulted in laugher from the audience in the courtroom. He then argued that Cohen is going on TikTok every night disparaging Trump and making money off it. He closed by saying, "This is not a man who needs protection from a gag order."

Merchan then wanted Blanche to focus his arguments on the violation about the jury that he seemed most concerned about. Blanche argued that since Trump was talking about the jury as a whole instead of one particular juror, then it isn't a violation. Merchan seemed incredulous at that argument.

He then took a brief recess and will issue an order later.