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Tag: hush money trial

  • Trump requests judge to remove gag order following verdict

    Trump requests judge to remove gag order following verdict

    Attorneys representing former President Donald Trump have requested that the judge in his New York hush-money case lift the gag order now that the trial has ended.

    In a letter sent to Judge Juan Merchan on Monday, Trump’s legal team argued that the court’s previous concerns no longer warrant ongoing restrictions on Trump’s right to free speech.

    Last Thursday, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a payment intended to silence a pornographic actress who claims to have had a sexual encounter with him. The gag order, implemented on March 26, prohibited Trump from making public comments about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, and their families.


    Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in the letter to the judge that Trump should enjoy “unrestrained campaign advocacy”.


    They say his case is “made even stronger” after his political opponent, US President Joe Biden, spoke publicly about the case.
    They add that Trump is currently unable to defend himself against “continued public attacks” by witnesses for the prosecution, like his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen and the porn star, Stormy Daniels.

    The letter also mentions that on June 27, Trump will take part in the first presidential debate against Joe Biden.
    Judge Merchan will sentence Trump on July 11, which is four days before he is formally nominated by the Republican Party for president.

    The judge has turned down his team’s several attempts in the past to have the gag order lifted.
    Judge Merchan threatened to put Trump in jail if he continued to break the gag order and fined him $10,000 (£7,800) during the trial.

    “The last thing I want to consider is jail,” Judge Merchan told him in court. “You are [the] former president and possibly the next president.”

    “Your continued willful violation of the court’s order…constitutes a direct attack…and will not be allowed to continue,” he said.The order still permits Trump to criticise District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case against Trump, and Judge Merchan.


    Prosecutors had argued that the gag order was needed to “protect the integrity of this criminal proceeding and avoid prejudice to the jury”.

    On Friday, Trump told reporters that he believed the gag order should have expired at the conclusion of the trial, and that his lawyers were seeking clarity from Judge Merchan.

    “I’m under a gag order, nasty gag order,” he said at Trump Tower after the verdict.
    Referring to Cohen, a star witness for the prosecution, he said: “I’m not allowed to use his name because of the gag order.”
    Also on Friday, Mr Biden referred to Trump as a “convicted felon”, telling reporters at the White House, “it’s literally driving him crazy.”

  • Key witness gave misleading testimony during hush money trial – Trump’s lawyer

    Key witness gave misleading testimony during hush money trial – Trump’s lawyer

    Donald Trump is on trial for paying money to keep something secret. However, Trump’s lawyer says that the person accusing Trump of doing this is lying and cannot be trusted. He is asking the jury to find Trump not guilty in this big and important trial.

    The lawyers have a full day to make their last arguments to the Manhattan jury before they decide what will happen to Trump. They want to make a big impression and persuade the jury members.

    “President Trump did not do anything wrong. ” “He didn’t do anything wrong, and the district attorney hasn’t proven their case,” said Todd Blanche, the defense lawyer. He thinks the evidence isn’t convincing.

    Blanche said that it’s simple if there’s no evidence you heard anything in the last five weeks, there will be consequences. The person was found not guilty. That’s

    After a long time of people talking in court, the jury has an important decision to make. They have to decide if the likely Republican presidential nominee is guilty of making payments to a porn actor to keep her from talking about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump during the 2016 election.

    Because prosecutors have to prove their case, they will speak last.

    The lawyers trying to prove that Trump is guilty say they have enough evidence, while the lawyers trying to prove him innocent are saying that they don’t believe the evidence and are trying to show that Michael Cohen isn’t a reliable witness. Trump’s ex-lawyer admitted to breaking the law and helping make secret payments. He also testified against Trump in court.

    Blanche said that you can’t prove President Trump did anything wrong based on what Michael Cohen said. She also said that Cohen lied about many things.

    After the lawyers finish talking, the judge will tell the jury about the rules they must follow and what they can think about when they talk and decide the final outcome.

    Trump is accused of committing 34 crimes of faking business documents. He could go to prison for up to four years if found guilty. He said he did not do it and is not guilty. It’s not clear if the prosecutors will ask for jail time if the person is found guilty, or if the judge will decide to give jail time if asked.

    The case is about a $130,000 payment that Cohen gave to a porn actor named Stormy Daniels. He did this just before the 2016 election to stop her from telling everyone about her story of having sex with Trump 10 years earlier in a Lake Tahoe hotel room. Trump says Daniels is lying, and his lawyer accused her of making it all up during the trial.

    When Trump paid back Cohen, he said it was for legal services, but prosecutors think it was to hide the real reason for the payment to Daniels and to illegally affect the election that Trump won against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

    Trump’s lawyers say the payments were for real legal work and his fame made him a target for extortion during the campaign.

    Blanche showed the jurors emails and testimony proving that Cohen worked on legal issues for Trump that year during a PowerPoint presentation. Cohen said the work was not much, but Blanche disagreed.

    “Cohen did not tell you the truth. ” Blanche said Cohen lied to you and he sounded more serious.

    Blanche said that Trump was too busy with being president in 2017 to know about the checks that were signed to pay Cohen back.

    He mentioned what a person who used to work for Trump’s company said in court. The person said they never discussed with Trump how to describe the money sent to a staff member. Blanche also said that another person who works for Trump mentioned that Trump would sign checks while talking to people or on the phone, without knowing what they were for.

    Almost 20 people gave information, including Daniels, who talked in detail about her encounter with Trump. David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, said he used his company to protect Trump by stopping stories that could hurt his campaign, and paying $150,000 to a former Playboy model to keep her quiet about her affair with Trump. Cohen also said Trump was involved in the discussions about paying hush money. He quoted Trump as saying, “Just pay it. ”

    The lawyers will remind the jury about the papers, emails, and other evidence they saw. They will also talk about a recording of Cohen and Trump talking about a deal with a model. Trump said he did not have a relationship with McDougal.

    The lawyers who are trying to help Trump in court brought in two people to testify, but neither of them were Trump. They spent a lot of time trying to make Cohen look bad by asking him about his criminal past, past lies, and how well he remembered important things.

    During questioning, Cohen confessed to taking a lot of money from Trump’s company by asking to be paid back for expenses he didn’t actually have. Cohen admitted that he told a prosecutor he thought Daniels and her lawyer were forcing Trump to give them money.

    Donald Trump has four criminal cases against him in New York as he tries to become president again.

    The three other court cases are about the person keeping secret documents at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, and trying to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. But it’s not clear if any of them will go to trial before the November election.