Former President Trump said Friday he would be “very proud” to go to jail for violating a gag order imposed by a New York judge in a hush-money case.
After court adjourned for the day, President Trump said, “If something is mentioned against specific people, and we know who they are, even specific people, If that’s mentioned, he wants to put me in jail.”
“And that may happen someday,” he added. “And I’m very proud to go to prison for the Constitution, because what he’s doing is unconstitutional.”
Judge Juan Melchan on Monday found President Trump in violation of the gag order for the 10th time and ordered him to pay $1,000 for assaulting a juror in a hush money criminal trial. This comes just days after a judge ruled on a series of previous gag order violations.
Marchand warned President Trump that future violations could result in jail time.
“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” Marchan told Trump, “but at the end of the day, I have a job to do.”
The gag order prohibits President Trump from attacking witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or judges’ families. It does not prevent Trump from going after judges and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), which he has done almost daily.
Trump has argued that the restrictions violate his First Amendment right to respond to political attacks, which he says is his right as a potential Republican candidate for November’s presidential election.
On Friday, he complained that a gag order limits what he can say, while others, including former lawyer and key witness Michael Cohen, face no restrictions.
But Mr. Marchand on Friday directed Manhattan prosecutors to notify Mr. Cohen, the star witness, to stop speaking publicly about the case as his testimony nears.
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly criticized Cohen’s public attacks on Trump, given the former president’s limited ability to respond under the gag order. Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, asked that Cohen be barred from speaking “in the same way that President Trump is being restricted.”
“The judge will instruct Mr. Cohen to inform the public that he is asking him to refrain from making any further comments on this matter,” Machan said in court.
Mr. Trump responded to this action:
“There is no gag order against Michael Cohen. In fact, what the judge did was amazing. It was amazing. Everybody can say whatever they want to say. But I’m not sure about anyone. You’re not allowed to say anything. It’s shameful.
“What he just did was a joke. It’s a disgrace.”
Contributed by Zach Schoenfeld.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
