Judge finds Trump in contempt for violating his gag order, fines him $9,000
Judge Juan Merchan says that Donald Trump is fined $9,000 for violating prohibitions on commenting on witnesses.
Prosecutors had accused the former president of violating his gag order multiple times, asking the judge to fine him $1,000 per violation.
Under the gag order, Trump cannot make, or direct others to make, public statements about trial witnesses concerning their roles in the investigation and at trial, prosecutors other than the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, and members of the court staff or the district attorney’s staff.
Trump is free to criticize Merchan himself, though it will probably not help Trump win the favor over the judge, who will decide on Trump’s sentence if the jury finds him guilty.
Before the trial, Merchan extended the gag order to cover his family and Bragg’s family after Trump posted about Merchan’s daughter, who worked for a company that helped Democratic candidates with digital campaigns.
Key events
Victoria Bekiempis
Prosecutors played some of the videos that C-SPAN produced while Dr Robert Browning was still on the stand.
In some of the videos that ran before the election, Trump denied allegations of inappropriate conduct with women, saying in one 14 October 2016 rally from Greensboro, North Carolina:
As you have seen right now, I have been viciously attacked with lies and smears… I have no idea who these women are, I have no idea, no idea,…
At another event on 22 October 2016 in Gettysburg, PA, Trump can be said on video saying:
They’re trying to poison the mind of the American public. Every one of those woman lied when they came forward…total fabrication, the events never happened, never. all of these lies will be sued after the election is over.
Phillip Thompson takes the stand
Robert Browning is off the stand.
The prosecution calls its fifth witness: Phillip Thompson, a custodian of records testifying for Esquire Deposition Service.
Victoria Bekiempis
Prosecutor Rebecca Mangold is asking Robert Browning whether C-SPAN had been subpoenaed to provide prosecutors of video of events with Donald Trump.
She asked whether he complied. “Yes, we did.”
Mangold is now playing some of the videos that C-SPAN produced and in effect asking Browning to confirm whether they’re portions of videos produced by the network.
Victoria Bekiempis
“Are you nervous?” prosecutor Rebecca Mangold asks Robert Browning.
“A little bit,” he says, offering a friendly smile.
“I manage the collection of video that’s all aired on the network,” he later said of his work.
He’s basically being called in a custodial capacity, discussing facts surrounding media that prosecutors are admitting.
C-SPAN archivist Robert Browning takes the stand
The prosecution’s next witness is on the stand: Dr Robert Browning.
Browning says he is the executive director of C-SPAN archives and has worked there for 37 years.
Victoria Bekiempis
The jury has returned. Judge Juan Merchan is going over scheduling matters.
He informs them that they will not be working the Friday before Memorial Day, as one of the jurors had let a court officer know they had a flight; right before the jury entered the courtroom, Merchan had addressed this and neither side objected. He also told them that there would be no court on 17 May.
The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, is inside the Manhattan courthouse today to show his support for Donald Trump.
Posting to X this morning, Paxton wrote:
With President Trump in NYC to sit through this sham of a trial. This trial is a travesty of justice. I stand with Trump.
With President Trump in NYC to sit through this sham of a trial. This trial is a travesty of justice. I stand with Trump.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) April 30, 2024
Hugo Lowell
The New York judge presiding in Donald Trump’s criminal trial fined the former president $9,000 on Tuesday for violating a gag order designed to protect trial participants from his abuse.
Juan Merchan found Trump in contempt of the gag order in nine out of 10 instances identified by prosecutors, in which Trump assailed the credibility of his former lawyer Michael Cohen and the adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Merchan also warned Trump that he could be subject to jail time if he continued to violate the gag order. He wrote:
The Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.
The judge imposed the maximum $1,000 fine for each of the nine violations, but Trump may be subject to more penalties this week after Merchan scheduled another contempt hearing on Thursday for additional alleged violations.
Victoria Bekiempis
Donald Trump’s being held in contempt could well cause more issues for him at the trial.
As both sides are discussing housekeeping matters, the prosecution said that it wants to question Trump about this if he takes the stand.
The people wish to give supplemental Sandoval notice that if the defendant testifies in this trial, the people will seek to cross-examine him on those findings.
Gary Farro has completed his testimony and is off the stand.
The court is taking a short break.
Victoria Bekiempis
Prosecutor Rebecca Mangold conducted a brief redirect of Gary Farro. She asked why Michael Cohen’s accounts were closed by First Republican in 2017.
“When we saw negative press, we chose to close the accounts that we could,” Farro said, explaining that First Republic couldn’t close the mortgage account but could shutter “the bank ones”.
And what is the negative press you’re referring to here?”
“Stormy Daniels, when it came out.”
On a brief re-cross, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche tried to discredit Farro for Cohen’s questionable transaction. If Cohen had gotten away with misrepresenting his intent, was it possible “there wasn’t appropriate due diligence?” Blanche asked.
“I don’t know if that’s a fair statement,” Farro said. Once a transaction goes from one lawyer to another, as it did in Cohen’s case, Farro said he “can’t be expected to know” what happens after that.
Victoria Bekiempis
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche doubled down on his nothing-to-see-here approach at the end of his cross.
“In October of 2016, nothing about the way this account was opened, funded, or the wire was sent out at the time, raised any red flags for you, correct?” Blanche asked of Cohen’s Essential Consulting account opening. Gary Farro said:
Not based upon any answers to the questions I had.
“You never had any communications with him about Donald Trump, did you?”
“I did not,” Farro said.
“And you’ve never spoken with Donald Trump, have you?”
“I have not.”
Victoria Bekiempis
Wasn’t it true that when Farro was assigned to Cohen, it was because managers knew “you were firm with clients” – capable of talking them down? Trump lawyer Todd Blanche asked. Gary Farro said yes.
“And that you don’t accept any nonsense from clients?” Blanche pressed.
Farro said:
Not that I don’t accept any nonsense … I try to rationalize with clients that things aren’t as urgent as they seem.
Blanche asked whether Farro thought it was fair to describe Cohen as “an aggressive guy, a fast speaker”. Farro said: “I would.”
Blanche’s intent here is to try chipping away at prosecutors’ contention that Trump’s camp worried that the campaign would fall into a tailspin if additional damaging information surfaced.
By suggesting that Cohen was always worried and harried and hurried, Blanche is trying to undermine any claim that they took urgent steps to sweep Stormy Daniels’ account under the rug.
Victoria Bekiempis
Right now, Gary Farro is being cross-examined by defense lawyer Todd Blanche.
The attorney is trying to downplay Michael Cohen’s urgency after the Access Hollywood tape, suggesting that the ex-Trump lawyer was always neurotic – not hurried because of his efforts to sway the election for Trump.
Blanche asked Farro about direct testimony where he said “everything was urgent” with Cohen. Was that accurate? Farro said:
Ninety percent of the time, it was an urgent matter, yes.
Victoria Bekiempis
Gary Farro offered similar answers when it came to questions about media wire transfers.
“Did any of the wire transfer paperwork indicate that money was being transferred for a payment to an adult film star?” prosecutor Rebecca Mangold asked. “It did not,” Farro replied.
Under additional questioning, he said: “There would definitely be enhanced due diligence on that” because it related to the adult industry, delaying or even derailing the wire.
With something like that, we might have considered that a reputational risk and might not have accepted the wire.
Victoria Bekiempis
The prosecution’s direct testimony of Gary Farro has ended, with the prosecution drilling down that Michael Cohen’s paperwork requesting a wire transfer from this account, to Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, misrepresented the true purpose of his transaction.
Farro said the way Cohen had requested the loan and transfer seemed to be in keeping with a real estate transaction.
This is an important point, as Farro said transfers for things that weren’t routine business – involving politics or media or the adult industry, for example – had additional checks involved.
Did any of the wire transfer paperwork indicate that money was being transferred on behalf of a candidate?
Farro said no, and that “we would have additional due diligence”.
Would that have delayed the transaction? the prosecutor asked. “It certainly would.”
Victoria Bekiempis
Private banker Gary Farro, who is on the stand for a second day, last week described financial maneuvering related to Donald Trump’s alleged catch-and-kill scheme.
In 2015, Farro became then Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s contact at First Republic Bank. His testimony lifted the veil on Cohen’s financial chicanery to protect his then boss.
Prosecutors allege that Trump, Cohen and tabloid honcho David Pecker plotted in the summer of 2015 to bury stories that could harm Trump’s GOP presidential bid. Cohen, who allegedly shuttled a $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, sought to open accounts in October 2016 for two new LLCs.
Cohen plunked his own money into one of the LLCs, Essential Consultants, which wired money to Daniels’ lawyer, so she would not go public with her claim about an alleged extramarital liaison with Trump.
Cohen allegedly set up LLCs to facilitate hush-money payments without the candidate’s fingerprints, as Trump’s campaign feared that additional accounts of boorish behavior could sink his chances in the general election, prosecutors have said.
Victoria Bekiempis
Prosecutor Rebecca Mangold asked Gary Farro “why did it take five or six hours to open the account”. Farro replied:
Michael Cohen isn’t our only client, we do have other things that take precedence.
Moving things around and opening an account in a single day, he said, was “very quick”.
While Farro’s testimony is granular, it speaks to how prosecutors are trying to establish Donald Trump’s motive.
They have contended that Trump’s campaign was panicking after the Access Hollywood tape – in which he bragged about groping women – emerged on 7 October 2016.
Jurors are now seeing, through documents and testimony, that Cohen was working quickly in the days that followed, allegedly to silence Stormy Daniels.
Victoria Bekiempis
Gary Farro was asked about Essential Consultants’ incorporation documents in Delaware, which showed that Michael Cohen had set up the LLC on 17 October, 2016.
Farro was also shown email correspondence related to creation of a bank account for essential consultants. Cohen reached out on 26 October 2016 wanting to open a bank account for Essential Consultants.
Cohen’s demeanor in requesting the account was pressing, Farro testified. “Michael Cohen, everything is urgent with Michael Cohen,” Farro said, prompting laughter in the courtroom.