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What you need to know about Trump's gag order as judge considers whether the former president should be fined
From CNN staff
The judge overseeing Donald Trump's first criminal trial will consider this morning whether the former president should be fined for repeatedly violating the gag order barring Trump from publicly discussing witnesses or jurors in the criminal hush money case.
Here's what to know about the gag order imposed on Trump by Judge Juan Merchan in late March:
Why was it imposed? Merchan implemented the gag order because, he said, the former president has a history of making “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” statements against people at all levels of the justice system, including jurors. According to CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, the fundamental reason for the gag order is to protect members of the jury.
What does it do? The ruling limits the former president from making statements about potential witnesses in his hush money criminal trial. It prevents Trump from criticizing his former attorney, Michael Cohen, or adult film star Stormy Daniels, who will be witnesses at trial. But it does not prevent Trump from talking about New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a public figure, or Merchan himself.
Merchan also ruled that Trump can’t make statements about attorneys, court staff or the family members of prosecutors, lawyers, family members of the court and family members of the Manhattan district attorney. Trump is also barred from making statements about any potential or actual juror.
What does Trump say? Trump and his attorneys have argued that as the leading Republican candidate for president, Trump’s speech should not be restricted as he appeals to voters in the 2024 election. When Merchan expanded the original order to include family members of the court in early April, Trump's lawyers indicated they would appeal it, arguing it went too far.
Here's what the Trump team is expected to argue in court today in the gag order hearing
From CNN's Paula Reid
The argument from Donald Trump's legal team this morning in the gag order hearing is expected to cover the usual constitutional arguments against the order, and then focus specifically on three familiar targets:
- Judge Juan Merchan and allegations of conflict in the case due to his daughter's alleged Democratic ties.
- Michael Cohen and the unilateral nature of the gag order and how it allows Cohen to attack Trump.
- Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo and how the gag order prevents Trump's team from talking about Colangelo's time at the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden.
They are also expected to argue that republishing on Truth Social should not be covered in the order. Trump has been quoting others as a way to get around the gag order. It is not clear that will work, but that is part of the legal team's argument.
Here's which of Trump's past cases can be brought up in this trial based on Judge Merchan's rulings
Judge Juan Merchan determined on Monday that some of Donald Trump's past wrongdoings and legal matters can be brought up in his hush money trial, but others cannot.
Merchan issued his ruling from last Friday's Sandoval hearing — a routine process through which the court will determine to what extent Trump's past wrongdoing can be brought up in the current trial.
What is allowed:
- New York civil fraud verdict: Merchan said he would allow Trump to be cross-examined on the verdict in the New York civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James that found he violated the law by fraudulently inflating the value of his properties. Merchan said he would also allow prosecutors to ask Trump about the two violations of Judge Arthur Engoron's gag order during that trial last fall. Trump was fined $15,000 for those violations.
- E. Jean Carroll verdicts: Prosecutors will also be allowed to ask Trump about both E. Jean Carroll verdicts in federal court where juries found that Trump defamed Carroll by denying her allegations that he raped her. Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million for defaming Carroll.
- Settlement with New York attorney general: Merchan will also allow prosecutors to elect testimony from the former president about the settlement he reached with the New York attorney general that led to the dissolution of the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
What's not allowed:
- Hillary Clinton lawsuit: The judge won't allow prosecutors to ask Trump about the ruling in Florida that sanctioned Trump for filing a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton.
- Tax fraud conviction: The 2022 Trump Org tax fraud conviction is also off limits for prosecutors if Trump testifies, Merchan ruled.
Key things to know about Trump's legal team
From CNN Staff
Trump's legal team is led by Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, two former federal prosecutors from New York, and Susan Necheles, a veteran criminal defense lawyer with deep experience in New York and before Merchan.
- Necheles represented Trump’s business at itstax fraud trial in 2022. The company was convicted.
- Blanche has worked as a prosecutor and defense attorney at two large law firms, according to his website. He says, during his career as a defense attorney, he got the criminal indictment against Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort dismissed prior to trial and achieved an “unexpectedly positive result in the politically charged prosecution by the SDNY against Igor Fruman, an associate of Rudy Giuliani.” Fruman was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his role in a scheme to funnel Russian money into US elections.
- Bove was the co-chief of the national security unit at the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York. In a statement to CNN in September 2023, Blanche said that Bove is “an expert in white collar and CIPA-related litigation.”
- Kendra Wharton, a white collar defense lawyer who has experience practicing in Washington, DC, was also added to the former president’s legal team. She is a “brilliant lawyer and clients have trusted her for years,” Blanche said in the 2023 statement.
Trump's motorcade arrives at court
Donald Trump’s motorcade has arrived at the courthouse where the former president is expected to attend a second day of witness testimony in his historic criminal trial.
Before today's testimony, the judge will hold a gag order hearing at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Here's what prosecutors have to prove to make their case against Trump in the hush money trial
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
The prosecution in the hush money trial against Donald Trump will have to rely on documents that prove intent in order to make their case to the jury and judge.
"There are 34 business records counts," CNN's chief legal analyst Laura Coates noted.
Coates went through an argument checklist on what prosecutors will be aiming to prove:
- Intent to defraud
- Intent to commit another crime
- Aid to conceal the commission of that crime
- Made and caused a false entry in the business records — which Coates notes is a key argument because that's the idea that says that this was an illegal retainer, "in fact a non-existent one."
- Documents/evidence needed to show falsified records
And then the motive will need to be determined on whether this was a private or political act: Whether this was done to protect and prevent Trump's wife, Melania Trump, from finding out about the affair or done for political purposes.
"Even if it was half private, half political, it doesn't matter," Coates said.
Biden expected to keep robust public schedule while Trump is in court, Biden advisers say
From CNN's Kayla Tausche
During the first two weeks of Donald Trump’s criminal trial, President Joe Biden will have traveled to four states touting his policies on clean energy, reproductive rights and manufacturing. And Biden advisers – both at the campaign and the White House – say that robust schedule will continue over the course of the coming weeks as his predecessor's trial plays out in a lower Manhattan courtroom through mid-June.
A campaign official described the strategy as staying a course that Biden has been on for months now: pounding the pavement while his rival seethes on social media.
“We don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary,” the campaign official told CNN, comparing the differences in the candidates’ schedules in the month of March, before the trial began. “That implicit contrast is already there.”
While the White House has preferred to let the visual “split-screen,” in aides’ parlance, speak for itself, the campaign has been sending out sharply worded missives, needling Trump for being off the campaign trail and lagging his 2020 fundraising benchmarks. Behind the scenes, campaign staff are using the weeks-long trial to recalibrate, plan and strategize for the spring to November, one official says.
Pennsylvania his holding its presidential primary elections today.
Trump is on his way to the Manhattan courthouse
Donald Trump’s motorcade has departed Trump Tower and is headed downtown to the Manhattan criminal court where a jury is expected to hear from his longtime friend and former chief executive of American Media, David Pecker.
As Pecker returns to the stand Tuesday, prosecutors will seek to lay out the "catch and kill” scheme and his role in orchestrating two nondisclosure agreements for negative stories about Trump.
But first, the judge will consider whether to fine Trump for repeatedly violating the gag order barring the former president from publicly discussing witnesses or jurors in the criminal hush money case.
The gag order hearing kicks off at 9:30 a.m. ET — and if arguments are not completed by 11 a.m. ET — the judge indicated the arguments will continue another time, and the court will bring the jury back to resume direct questioning of Pecker, the Manhattan DA’s witness who is testifying under subpoena.
The court is expected to end at 2 p.m. ET due to the Passover holiday.
Here's what David Pecker said in his testimony as the first witness in Trump's hush money trial
From CNN's Elise Hammond
The first witness took the stand in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial on Monday after both sides laid out parts of their cases to the jury in opening statements.
During his testimony, David Pecker described his job at the time as the former chairman of the National Enquirer’s parent company. Pecker is set to return to the stand on Tuesday.
Here's a recap of what he said:
- Pecker told the jury about his role at National Enquirer’s parent company and said that any big stories involving celebrities had to go through him.
- He said editors could spend up to $10,000 to investigate and publish a story, but anything more than that would have to be vetted and approved by him.
- Pecker also testified that he had a private email for things he didn’t want his assistant to see.
- Remember: Pecker has beengranted immunityin exchange for his testimony and the parent company, American Media Inc., signed anon-prosecution agreementwith prosecutors.
During opening statements, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo focused on the case, telling the jury it is “about a criminal conspiracy and a cover-up.”
During his turn, Trump's attorney Todd Blanche told the jury, "President Trump is innocent” and that “none of this was a crime.” He said they will find “plenty of reasonable doubt” in the prosecution's case.
