Donald Trump wants everyone to know that he thinks it’s deeply unfair that a gag order is preventing him from making incendiary comments attacking witnesses, jurors, and court staff in his ongoing hush money trial.
The former president took to Truth Social on Wednesday to lament the gag order, which he violated earlier this week resulting in a $1000 fine from Judge Juan Merchan, the 10th such infraction Trump has had to pay for since the trial began.
“It is a really bad feeling to have your Constitutional Right to Free Speech, such a big part of life in our Country, so unfairly taken from you, especially when all of the sleazebags, lowlifes, and grifters that you oppose are allowed to say absolutely anything that they want,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
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“It is hard to sit back and listen to lies and false statements be made against you knowing that if you respond, even in the most modest fashion, you are told by a Corrupt and Highly Conflicted Judge that you will be PUT IN PRISON, maybe for a long period of time,” he added. “This Fascist mindset is all coming from D.C. It is a sophisticated hit job on Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME!”
Later on Wednesday, lawyers for the former president filed a request under seal asking a New York appeals court to expedite their decision, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office filed a response, which is also under seal.
An appellate panel last month denied Trump’s request to halt the trial while the appeal of the gag order—which prevents him from speaking about witnesses, jurors, and most other people associated with his case—is underway.
Judge Merchan had warned on Monday that further violations of his gag order could earn Trump a stint in jail.
When speaking with reporters on Monday, Trump promised that if it came to it he would go to jail, as opposed to refrain from needlessly attacking those involved in the ongoing case.
“This judge has given me a gag order and said you’ll go to jail if you violate it,” he said. “And frankly, you know what, our Constitution is much more important than jail. It’s not even close. I’ll do that sacrifice any day.”
