Former President Trump lambasted the judge overseeing his Manhattan trial on Friday after he had informed prosecutors to direct their star witness, Michael Cohen, not to speak publicly about the case before his testimony.
Trump questioned why Judge Merchan had placed him under a gag order but not Cohen, calling the decision a "joke" and a "disgrace." Cohen is expected to take the stand on Monday.
“There is no gag order for Michael Cohen. What the judge did was amazing, actually. Everybody can say whatever they want, but I’m not allowed to say anything about anybody. It’s a disgrace,” Trump told reports after the court adjourned for the day.
“It's all fake. The whole case is fake. The judge is corrupt. And the only thing he gives us is to make him look a little bit good. He gives us nothing. And what he just did now is a joke. It's a disgrace,” said Trump.
Given that the rules of Trump's gag order restrict the former president's ability to publicly respond to attacks against him, Trump’s lawyers argued that Cohen should receive the same restrictions since he has launched frequent public attacks against Trump and the former president has been unable to respond.
Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche requested on Friday that Cohen be barred from speaking "in the same way President Trump is" constrained, according to ABC News.
Judge Merchan did not agree to gag Cohen but told Trump’s lawyer, "I would direct the people to communicate to Mr. Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements about this case." The statement came nearly a month into the trial, with the case beginning in Manhattan on April 15 with jury selection.
Cohen, a former Trump lawyer, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday and has been identified by the district attorney's office as a key witness. Prosecutors claim he paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to cover up an alleged affair between Daniels and Trump in 2006. Trump has refuted her claims.
Trump is not allowed to speak publicly about witnesses, juries, prosecutors, court employees, or the judge's family as a condition of his gag order. However, It doesn't prohibit him from making comments about the judge or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Cohen has been seen selling anti-Trump merch, instructing his TikTok viewers where they can purchase a t-shirt he made of Trump in an orange jail jumpsuit behind bars.
"Trump 2024? More like Trump 20-24 years," he added in another livestream, according to ABC News.
In one stream in late April, Cohen said, "With the gag order -- the other day Donald once again, he comes out, comes out of the courtroom and goes right into that little cage, which is where he belongs, in a f*cking cage like an animal."
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