(UnitedHeadlines.com) – Former President Donald Trump‘s post on Truth Social about the jury selection in his hush money trial could violate a gag order imposed in March by Judge Juan Merchan.
In an April 17 post on Truth Social, Trump posted a quote from Fox News commentator Jesse Watters about “undercover liberal activists” that were caught lying to Merchan “to get on the Trump jury.”
Seven jurors were seated in the case on April 16. However, although two of the seven jurors were excused on April 18, all 12 jurors in the hush money trial were seated by the end of the day.
The post has some legal experts weighing in that Trump’s post could violate Merchan’s gag order, which prohibits Trump from publicly commenting about prosecutors, witnesses, or jurors in the case or their families. In April, Merchan expended the gag order to prevent Trump from publicly making statements about Merchan’s family or the family of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
On the anti-Trump Meidas Touch Legal AF podcast, legal analyst and former Manhattan chief assistant district attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said Trump’s post violates the gag order, adding that it would “intimidate a prospective juror.”
On Twitter, former special counsel to the general counsel of the Department of Defense Ryan Goodman said the post was Trump making a public comment “about prospective jurors,” which violates the gag order.
According to prosecutors, Trump violated the gag order three times already, with posts made on social media before the start of the trial about witnesses Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen. Prosecutors requested that the judge fine Trump $3,000 for violating the gag order, with Merchan saying he will hold a hearing about the potential violation on April 23.
A New York University School of Law professor, Stephen Gillers, noted that if the judge says Trump violated the gag order, he could be tried for criminal contempt of court, which carries a maximum imprisonment of 30 days and a maximum fine of $1,000 if Trump is convicted.
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