Donald Trump returns to New York court on Tuesday where he faces the threat of being found in contempt for his attacks on witnesses and jurors on the sidelines of his criminal trial for hidden payments to a former porn star in 2016 .
The trial itself exposes the Republican candidate for the November presidential election to the risk of a criminal conviction, in the middle of the electoral campaign.
Donald Trump is on trial for 34 falsifications of accounting documents from his group of companies, the Trump Organization, to conceal the payment of $130,000 to former porn star Stormy Daniels in the home stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign.
The money was used to buy the silence of the actress who claims to have had a sexual relationship in 2006 with the Republican billionaire – which he denies -, when he was already married to Melania Trump.
After jury selection last week, the trial got to the heart of the matter on Monday.
In presenting the charges to the jury, Manhattan prosecutors accused Donald Trump of having “orchestrated a criminal conspiracy” to distort the judgment of voters before the 2016 election and his narrow victory against Hillary Clinton, then of having “lied in accounting documents” to “conceal” this stratagem.
False, retorted the defense, who assured that Donald Trump was “totally innocent” and that the payments were not illegal.
“Liar”
But the debates have barely begun before the court examines on Tuesday the unbridled speech of Donald Trump on his Truth Social network and possible violations of the ban set by Judge Juan Merchan on attacking witnesses or jurors.
From the first day of the trial, April 15, the prosecution asked the judge to sanction Donald Trump with a fine of $3,000, in particular for virulent invectives against Stormy Daniels and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who became his sworn enemy and a key witness for the prosecution.
Donald Trump in the Manhattan courtroom, April 22, 2024 / POOL / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
The prosecution returned to the charge three days later, with seven new publications on Truth Social or its campaign site.
The Republican candidate once again attacks Michael Cohen, described as a “serial liar”. But he also echoes the comments of Jesse Watters, a prominent host on the conservatives’ favorite channel Fox News, assuring without proof that “they are choosing undercover progressive activists who lie to the judge to be part of the jury”.
The day after this publication, a juror threw in the towel, saying she feared being recognized. To avoid intimidation and pressure, the judge imposed anonymity on the jurors. It is also for this reason and in the face of Donald Trump’s sometimes violent rhetoric that he forbade him from attacking jurors, witnesses, court staff and representatives of the public prosecutor’s office, with the exception of the magistrate himself and Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg.
Donald Trump contests these bans, which he considers to be attacks on his freedom to campaign and describes as unfair because Michael Cohen does not hesitate to criticize him.
To punish possible contempt of court, the judge can order fines but also imprisonment not exceeding 30 days.
“If this charlatan, completely partisan, wants to put me in jail for having told the most obvious truth (…) that would be a great honor,” challenged Donald Trump during a meeting.
After hearing the arguments of the parties, the judge will make his decision or put it under advisement.
Proceedings in the trial itself are scheduled to resume at 11:00 a.m. (3:00 p.m. GMT).
