NEW YORK (AP) — The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money trial sanctioned him Monday morning for violating his gag order for a second time.
Judge Juan M. Merchan fined the former president $1,000 and warned that going forward, additional violations could result in jail time. Prosecutors had accused Trump of four violations, but the judge only concurred with one.
Witness testimony resumed following Merchan’s ruling, with former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney taking the stand — setting the stage for an even deeper dive into the events and people involved in what prosecutors have said was a scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election by buying and burying negative stories about the then-candidate.
The trial is in its 12th day.
Former Trump adviser Hope Hicks took the stand last week, recounting how Trump’s campaign was turned upside-down following the leak of a video wherein he bragged about grabbing women without their permission.
Keith Davidson, who represented porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in hush money negotiations, also took the stand. Davidson spent hours detailing his role in securing payouts for Daniels and McDougal in exchange for their silence about previous sexual encounters they said they had with Trump.
Overall, prosecutors are setting the stage for pivotal testimony from Michael Cohen, who paid Daniels $130,000 for her silence before he went to prison for the hush money scheme.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments — including the payment to Daniels — recording them instead as legal expenses.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.
Currently:
— Read the judge’s ruling on Trump’s most recent gag order violation
— Hush money, catch and kill and more: Terms to know in Trump trial
— What Trump’s gag order means in his hush money case
— Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial
— The hush money case is just one of Trump’s legal cases. See the others here
Here’s the latest:
MCCONNEY SPEAKS ABOUT MICHAEL COHEN
As prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial shifted their questions to the subject of Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, Jeffrey McConney, like multiple witnesses before him, didn’t seem to be a fan.
Asked if he was familiar with the former Trump fixer, McConney paused briefly, before adding: “I’ve had conversations with him by the coffee machine.”
In response to a question about Cohen’s position within the Trump Organization, McConney responded dryly: “He said he was a lawyer.”
FORMER EXEC RECALLS EARLY LESSON FROM TRUMP
In an anecdote from early in his career, former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney testified in court about Donald Trump’s close attention to his cash and hardball approach to bills.
When he went to drop off a report on Trump’s desk one day in the late 1980s, he said, the then-real estate mogul looked up while on the phone and said, “Jeff, you’re fired.”
McConney was taken aback. Then Trump added, according to the ex-controller: “You’re not fired, but my cash balances went down from last week.”
McConney said he explained that various expenses had come up. Trump responded that he should “focus on my bills, negotiate my bills.”
“It was a teaching moment,” McConney recalled. “If someone’s asking for money, negotiate with them,” rather than just paying.
From the defense table, the former president appeared to enjoy hearing the story, lifting his chin and smiling broadly in McConney’s direction.
STUDENTS WATCH TRIAL FROM OVERFLOW ROOM
People watching Donald Trump’s hush money trial from the courthouse were joined in the overflow room Monday morning by a group of students from a Manhattan private school, who said they were given the morning off to attend.
“That’s him!” one of the high schoolers yelped earlier in the morning as Trump appeared on the video monitor. She was promptly shushed by one of her classmates.
FORMER TRUMP ORGANIZATION CONTROLLER TAKES STAND
Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney took the stand Monday morning in Donald Trump’s hush money case.
McConney worked for the company for more than three decades, retiring last year after he was granted immunity in exchange for testifying for the prosecution at the Trump Organization’s New York criminal tax fraud trial. During that trial, he admitted breaking the law to help fellow executives avoid taxes on company-paid perks. The company was convicted and is appealing.
McConney, who left with $500,000 in severance, went on to testify tearfully last fall at the civil fraud trial of Trump, the company and key executives. The ex-controller said he’d been worn out by his entanglement in a litany of Trump-related investigations and legal proceedings.
“I just wanted to relax and stop being accused of misrepresenting assets for the company that I loved working for,” he said at the time.
THE COMMENT THAT VIOLATED THE GAG ORDER
The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money case found on Monday that Donald Trump had violated his gag order with comments he gave to a program called “Just the News No Noise” on April 22, which is broadcast on Real America’s Voice.
On the program, the former president criticized the speed at which the jury was picked and claimed it was stacked with Democrats. “The jury was picked so fast. 95 percent Democrats. The area’s mostly all Democrat,” he is quoted as saying.
In his ruling, Judge Juan M. Merchan said the comments “not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings, but again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.”
“Defendant is hereby put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration,” the judge wrote in the order.
The gag order bars Trump from making comments about the jurors, key witnesses and some others connected to the criminal trial.
JUDGE FINES TRUMP AGAIN FOR CONTEMPT, THREATENS JAIL TIME
The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial has fined him an additional $1,000 for again violating a gag order barring him from making inflammatory comments about witnesses and jurors.
Judge Juan M. Merchan warned on Monday that additional gag order violations could potentially result in jail time.
“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well,” Merchan said. “There are many reasons why incarceration is truly a last resort for me. To take that step would be disruptive to these proceedings.”
Trump sat forward in his seat, glowering at the judge as he handed down the ruling. Once the judge finished speaking, Trump shook his head twice and crossed his arms.
Prosecutors had accused Trump of four violations, but the judge only concurred with one.
The judge had previously fined Trump $9,000 for nine earlier violations in posts on Truth Social and his website.
TRUMP TALKS COLUMBIA COMMENCEMENT CANCELLATION BEFORE COURT
Before heading into the courtroom Monday morning, Donald Trump spoke to reporters, relaying familiar complaints about the fairness of the trial, the judge and the gag order that stops him commenting on witnesses and jurors.
He also noted the breaking news that Columbia University canceled its main commencement following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests.
“That shouldn’t happen,” he said.
TRUMP ARRIVES AT COURT
Donald Trump has arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan as witness testimony in his hush money trial enters its third week.
WHO’S BEEN ONTHE STAND SO FAR
Witness testimony in Donald Trump’s criminal trial is entering its third week on Monday and it remains to be seen who will take the stand next.
Over the past couple weeks, jurors have heard from a host of different people.
Following a weeklong jury selection process that began mid-April, jurors heard first from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who among other things explained his pledge to be the “eyes and ears” of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in hush money negotiations, also took the stand. And jurors heard from others such as a forensic analyst who examined Michael Cohen’s phones and a paralegal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Former White House press secretary and ex-Trump adviser Hope Hicks on Friday painted a vivid picture of the chaos that unfolded after the “Access Hollywood” tape leaked and the Wall Street Journal ran a story about McDougal’s hush money deal.
The defense cross-examined Hicks for roughly 20 minutes before court adjourned early last Friday.
THE WITNESS HEARD, BUT NOT YET SEEN
Although an ensemble of different people have testified in Donald Trump’s hush money case over the past two weeks, one pivotal witness has been frequently heard but not yet seen: Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer.
Jurors last week began hearing Cohen’s words on audio recordings as prosecutors worked to directly tie Trump to payments to silence women with damaging claims about him before the 2016 election.
Jurors heard, in particular, a potentially crucial piece of evidence: a recording of Trump and Cohen, then his attorney, discussing a plan to pay off an ex-Playboy model who claimed to have an affair with Trump. The former president denies the affair.
They also heard a few witnesses recount their interactions with Cohen — some pleasant and others far less so.
It’s unclear when the prosecution’s star witness will take the stand.
TRUMP EXPECTED IN COURT AS TRIAL ENTERS 12TH DAY
Donald Trump is expected to return to Manhattan court as his hush money trial enters its 12th day.
Last week’s proceedings saw a frenzy of witnesses take the stand, including former Trump adviser Hope Hicks and Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in hush money negotiations with Cohen and the National Enquirer.
The week also saw Trump fined $9,000 by Judge Juan M. Merchan for violating a gag order that bars the former president from speaking publicly about key witnesses, jurors and others in the case. A second contempt hearing was held on Thursday over four more prospective violations, but Merchan did not immediately issue a decision.
