The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial has said that a gag order preventing him from commenting about witnesses and jurors does not bar him from testifying in court on his own behalf.
“I want to stress to Mr Trump: you have an absolute right to testify at trial,” Justice Juan Merchan said to start the 11th day in Mr Trump’s hush money trial.
Mr Trump asserted after yesterday’s session that the gag order would prevent him from testifying. He said today that was not actually the case.
“It won’t stop me from testifying,” he told reporters before entering the courtroom.
Mr Trump said his legal team would try to overturn the gag order, which bars him from making public comments about jurors, witnesses, and families of the judge and prosecutors if those statements are meant to interfere with the case.
Judge Merchan fined Mr Trump $9,000 on Tuesday for violating the order and signaled yesterday that he may impose more fines for what prosecutors say are further violations. The judge has said that Mr Trump could be potentially jailed if he does not change his ways.
The judge declined a request yesterday by Trump’s legal team to vet commentary about the trial before Mr Trump posts it online.
“When in doubt, steer clear,” Judge Merchan said, prompting Mr Trump to shake his head and sigh.
Witnesses today were expected to offer more details of a hush money payment to a adult film actress that prevented voters in the 2016 election from learning about a sexual encounter she alleged to have had with the then-Republican presidential candidate.
The 12 jurors and six alternates hearing the first criminal trial of a former US president have yet to hear from the main players in the case.
These include Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress who got $130,000 to keep quiet about the alleged sexual liaison, and Mr Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who arranged the payment in the weeks before Mr Trump’s 2016 victory.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records to cover up the payment to Ms Daniels and denies having had a sexual encounter with her. It was unclear whether Ms Daniels or Mr Cohen would take the witness stand today.
Prosecutors are not saying who will testify in advance out of concern the witnesses will be targeted by Mr Trump, who owns his own social media network and speaks regularly to enthusiastic crowds as he mounts a 2024 White House comeback bid.
Jurors so far have heard from lawyer Keith Davidson, who testified that he arranged the payment with Mr Cohen. Under questioning from Mr Trump’s defense team, he acknowledged pursuing similar cash-for-dirt deals with other high-profile people.
The defense argues the hush money payment was made to spare Mr Trump’s family embarrassment, not to protect his presidential campaign.
The jury has also heard former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testify that he agreed to keep an eye out for damaging stories on Mr Trump’s behalf.
The tabloid paid $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal for her story of an affair with Mr Trump, but did not publish it, according to evidence presented at trial. Mr Trump denies that affair as well.
Mr Trump has said that the case is an attempt by Democrats to undercut his chances of defeating Democratic President Joe Biden in the coming 5 November presidential election.
The case features sordid allegations of adultery and secret payoffs, but it is widely seen as less consequential than three other criminal prosecutions Trump faces.
The others charge him with trying to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat and mishandling classified documents after leaving office. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of those also.
Still, a guilty verdict could hurt Mr Trump’s presidential bid, Reuters/Ipsos polling has found.
