The thirteenth day of Donald Trump’s hush money trial gets underway Tuesday after the judge gave the former president a clear ultimatum: stop violating the court’s gag order or risk being thrown in jail.
The final warning Monday came as Judge Juan Merchan found Trump in criminal contempt for the tenth time over breaches of an order meant to prevent the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee from intimidating jurors, potential witnesses, and others associated with the proceedings in Manhattan. After hitting Trump with yet another $1,000 penalty, Merchan said it “appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent.”
“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” Merchan told Trump. “You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well.” The judge added that while the “magnitude” of possibly jailing Trump isn’t lost on him, he ultimately has “a job to do.”
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After the court adjourned Monday, Trump indicated that he would be ready to serve potential jail time in order to defend his right to free speech.
“Our Constitution is much more important than jail,” he told reporters. “It’s not even close. I’ll do that sacrifice any day.” He also claimed the trial constituted “election interference” by interrupting his campaign efforts and alleged “they want to keep me off the trail.” Gag order violations are individually punishable by a $1,000 fine, a 30-day jail term, or both.
The ongoing drama around Trump’s apparent refusal to comply with the order came as jurors heard testimony from former Trump Organization corporate controller Jeffrey McConney about how the business reimbursed a $130,000 payment Trump’s then-attorney and fixer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels which, according to prosecutors, was intended to stop her from speaking about a one-night-stand with Trump.
Trump denies that the tryst took place and has also pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the case. Prosecutors claim monthly reimbursements to Cohen for the hush money payment to Daniels were mislabeled as legal fees to hide their true purpose.
Jurors were shown checks and other parts of the paper trail surrounding the payments Monday while McConney also spoke about conversations he’d had with Allen Weisselberg, the former Trump Organization finance chief. McConney said Weisselberg had told him “we had to get some money to Michael” in 2017, and a plan was hatched to pay Cohen $420,000—a total which included a bonus as well as money to offset taxes.
Deborah Tarasoff, a Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor, also testified Monday about the checks to Cohen—some of which came from Trump’s personal bank account. Tarasoff explained that all of those from his personal account required his signature even after he became president. For those, the checks were sent via FedEx to the White House for him to sign.
The details about the paper trail at the heart of the prosecution’s case came ahead of the expected testimony of Cohen himself, who will act as a key witness in the trial. It’s not yet clear when he or Daniels will take the stand, but their testimony will likely draw intense public attention—and grueling cross-examination from Trump’s defense team.
