NEW YORK (AP) — Days after a New York judge expanded a gag order on Donald Trump to restrict “inflammatory” speech, the former president tested his limits by belittling two key witnesses in his upcoming criminal trial to hide the money as liars.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump called his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, and adult film actor Stormy Daniels “two despicable people who, with their lies and misrepresentations, have cost our country dearly!” ”
In an order first made in March and later revised April 1Judge Juan Merchan prohibited Trump from making public statements about likely trial witnesses “relating to their potential participation in the investigation or this criminal proceeding.”
Merchan’s order did not give specific examples of what types of statements about witnesses were prohibited. He noted that the order was not intended to prevent the former president from responding to political attacks.
The gag order also prohibited Trump from making public statements of any kind about jurors, court staff, lawyers in the case or relatives of prosecutors or the judge. Trump is allowed to make critical comments about the judge himself and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
It was unclear whether the judge could consider Trump’s criticism of Cohen and Daniels a violation of the gag order.
Both are expected to testify at the trial, which involves allegations that Trump falsified business records at his company to disguise the true nature of payments made to Cohen to reimburse him for a $130,000 payment made to Daniels. The payment, Cohen says, was intended to prevent Daniels from speaking publicly about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump that the Republican says never happened.
Gregory Germain, a professor at Syracuse University School of Law, described the latest post as a “settling of scores” that is unlikely to result in Trump being held in contempt.
“I suspect he would argue that he criticized their general character and was not commenting on their ‘potential participation’ in the investigation or prosecution,” Germain said.
But Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University School of Law, said Trump’s comment “brands both witnesses as liars, which goes to the heart of what the order prohibits.”
“That’s exactly what a gag order doesn’t want you to do before trial, when a potential jury could be influenced,” he said.
Trump and his lawyers have said the gag order violates his free speech rights and prevents him from responding to public attacks while running for president.
Daniels spoke about the harassment she received from the former president’s supporters, who she said were “encouraged and praised” by Trump.
In a text message on Thursday, Cohen said the attacks were aimed at damaging the jury’s opinion of him.
