Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial is now well underway with the prosecution and defence teams having presented their opening statements on Monday.
Tabloid media mogul David Pecker, who published The National Enquirer and was part of the “catch-and-kill” scheme at the heart of the case, also began giving testimony and will return to the witness stand on Tuesday.
Judge Juan Merchan will also rule today on complaints raised by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s team about numerous instances of Mr Trump allegedly violating the terms of his gag order by posting bitterly about the case and its key participants on his Truth Social platform.
The defendant continued to whine on social media on Monday evening, calling Mr Bragg “an election denier” as he otherwise looked ahead to the Supreme Court’s hearding on his presidential immunity defence against prosecution, which will take place on Thursday.
Elsewhere on the legal front, an agreement has been reached over Mr Trump’s $175m bond to appeal the civil fraud trial ruling against him and witness statements in the classified documents case have been made public.
Alex Woodward is providing live updates from the courthouse throughout the trial.
Watch: Trump again calls for protests of his trial… but no one has shown up
Oliver O’Connell23 April 2024 15:55
Judge to deliver gag order violation decision later
Judge Merchan is going to reserve a decision on the gag order violations until later.
For the prosecution, Conroy is back up to close things out, noting that Trump “knows exactly what he’s doing”.
The court will take a break before the jury comes in at 11am.
Oliver O’Connell23 April 2024 15:44
We’re on to the Truth Social post quoting Jesse Watters of Fox News, which Merchan notes is not a repost.
Trump or someone would’ve had to type it out, “hold down the shift key,” etc.
The post is not an attempt to “threaten or intimidate jurors,” Blanche says.
Emil Bove walks over to Blanche with a laptop that pulled up a post from Jesse Watters from 17 April, that he says “verbatim” what Trump posted.
But Trump posted “three hours later … There’s no relevance there,” Merchan says.
Merchan adds: “You’re losing all credibility”
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 15:40
Merchan: “When something is reposted, how does it get onto your client’s Truth Social account?”
Blanche: “There’s a group of folks that work with President Trump that when they see articles that they believe President Trump’s audience should read, there’s a mechanism…”
Merchan: “What is the mechanism?”
Merchan: “It requires some kind of action. It’s not passive.”
Merchan wants to understand whether it’s his “client’s position that his reposts, he did not believe he was violating the gag order.”
“Are you testifying under oath that’s his position?”
Blanche: “I expect you to look at the fact that there’s a history here of posting and reposting that have gone unchecked.”
“You presented… nothing,” he says. “I’ve asked you eight or nine times to show me the exact post and you’ve not been able to show me even once.”
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 15:37
Blanche says Trump was defending his belief there are two systems of justice – Merchan cuts him off, sounding pretty pissed off at this point.
“There’s two systems of justice in this courtroom, that’s what you’re saying?”
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 15:31
On this post, where Mr Trump framed the retracted statement by Stormy Daniels as if it had just been uncovered, Blanche argues that if Stormy can criticize him publicly, “He has to be able to respond to that.”
Merchan is getting impatient. Blanche can’t seem to give him any examples of what exactly Trump is responding to when he wages these attacks.
“I keep asking you over and over again for a specific example and I don’t get an answer,” he says. “It’s almost 10:30 and we’re only on exhibit 2.”
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 15:29
Blanche argues that Trump was responding “politically” to something from Cohen that was posted an hour before Trump’s post.
Cohen’s post references a pardon.
“When your client is violating a gag order, I expect more than one word,” Merchan says.
“I haven’t determined any thing yet … You’re suggesting that use of the word pardon is sufficient to violate a gag order.”
Blanche disagrees that’s what he’s arguing. It’s unclear what he is arguing.
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 15:18
Defence team responds
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche is now giving his response, arguing that there is “absolutely no willful violation” of the gag in the offending posts.
He is under a “barrage” of political attacks, and is responding appropriately, Blanche argues.
Trump is tilting his head to the side as if to listen closely to Blanche, who is speaking over his right shoulder at a podium slightly behind him.
Blanche: “The witnesses themselves can constantly comment on whatever they want … and Trump, in theory, cannot respond.”
[Michael Cohen was tweeting up a storm yesterday about his former boss]
Oliver O’Connell & Alex Woodward23 April 2024 15:13
Prosecutors ask for Trump to be fined and for offending posts removed — ‘not yet’ asking for jail time
The defence argues that Trump’s posts are political speech, but Conroy gets in ahead of that and says: “Throwing MAGA into a post doesn’t make it political. It could make it ominous.”
Conroy is arguing that Trump repeatedly flouts the orders against him, despite knowing all about the terms of them and sitting in multiple hearings about them, and he says “whatever he wants to say to get the results he wants.”
Here, he is “knowingly and willfully breaching the crystal clear, unequivocal lines drawn up by the court” in the protective order.
Trump’s attorneys have argued he is responding to political attacks, but by that logic, Trump can attack anyone who is not specifically protected by the order if they say something “mean,” Conroy says.
DA’s office wants a fine of $10,000 for violating the gag, and an order to remove all offending posts.
They’re “not yet” asking for jail time.
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 15:11
Watch: Might Trump lawyer Todd Blanche also get reprimanded by Judge Merchan?
Oliver O’Connell23 April 2024 15:08