Donald Trump tested the limits of his gag order after New York justice Juan Merchan put him on notice that jail could be next.
The former president is prohibited by court order from publicly commenting on witnesses and jurors in his hush money trial, and the judge is not requiring prosecutors to provide advance notice of witnesses because Trump's lawyers could not guarantee he would not post about them on social media – which he did Tuesday morning.
"I have just recently been told who the witness is today," Trump posted on Truth Social, but did not indicate who that would be. "This is unprecedented, no time for lawyers to prepare. No Judge has ever run a trial in such a biased and partisan way. He is CROOKED & HIGHLY CONFLICTED, even taking away my First Amendment Rights. Now he’s threatening me with JAIL, & THEY HAVE NO CASE - This according to virtually all Legal Scholars & Experts! Why isn’t the Fake News Media reporting his Conflict?"
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However, the post was deleted about 10 minutes later – right about the time the Associated Press reported that porn actress Stormy Daniels, who's at the center of the case, would "likely" be called to testify later that day.
The former president has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up his reimbursements to then-attorney Michael Cohen, who paid $130,000 to Daniels to keep her quiet about her alleged affair with Trump, who was already concerned at the time about the impact of the "Access Hollywood" tape on his 2016 election chances.
Multiple witnesses have testified that those concerns drove Trump and his team to pay Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal to ensure their silence, and Trump Organization employees have told the jury they helped falsify financial statements to make reimbursements to Cohen appear to be legal fees to avoid possible violations of New York campaign laws.
