Donald Trump just can’t help himself.
Moments after a contentious hearing about whether Trump should be held in contempt for violating his narrowly worded gag order, the former president took to his favorite social media platform to trash the judge who holds his fate.
“HIGHLY CONFLICTED, TO PUT IT MILDLY, JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN, HAS TAKEN AWAY MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH. EVERYBODY IS ALLOWED TO TALK AND LIE ABOUT ME, BUT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DEFEND MYSELF,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
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“THIS IS A KANGAROO COURT, AND THE JUDGE SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF!”
Trump’s gag order bars him from attacking court staff, jurors, witnesses, and their families. On Tuesday, prosecutors argued that Trump should be fined $1,000 per violation, noting that he has allegedly breached the order at least 10 times.
“The defendant has violated this order repeatedly and hasn’t stopped,” prosecutor Christopher Conroy said.
Conroy cited Trump’s attacks on Truth Social, where he has called star witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels “sleaze bags.”
Defense attorney Todd Blanche has argued that Trump was “extremely frustrated” by what he believes is an unfair prosecution and that he is not trying to intimidate witnesses or jurors in his trial.
He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts for allegedly conspiring to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels to hide their alleged affair during the 2016 presidential election.
