Here’s All the Gag Order Violations Trump Has Been Accused of Making

Trump’s Continued Violations of His Gag Orders

The team of former President Donald Trump is awaiting word on whether he will be found in contempt for breaking his gag order. Judge Juan Merchan imposed a limited gag order just before Trump's hush money trial started, which forbids him from discussing prospective witnesses, jurors, attorneys, court employees, and their families in public. Trump is still permitted to talk about Merchan and District Attorney Alvin Bragg, but he is not permitted to discuss their families. Initially, the accusations were restricted to his remarks on social media and his campaign website, per ABC News. But the most recent accusations, which were filed on April 25, focus on remarks made by Trump during interviews or live speeches, some of which were given in the corridor just outside the courthouse. Here's a list of these violations: 

1. ‘Thank You to Michael Avenatti’

In a post on TruthSocial on April 10, Trump expressed gratitude to convicted lawyer Michael Avenatti for opposing Trump's gag order by criticizing prospective witnesses Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, his former attorney. In his reply, Trump disparaged two important witnesses in the case, saying, "Thank you to Michael Avenatti for revealing the truth about two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly." Avenatti had initially posted, "We can't be hypocrites when it comes to the 1st Amendment. It is outrageous that Cohen and Daniels can do countless TV interviews, post on social, & make $$ on bogus documentaries - all by talking shit about Trump - but he's gagged and threatened with jail if he responds."

2. Daniels’ Recanted Statement

On April 10, Trump published a photograph of a declaration signed by Stormi Daniels from 2018, in which she denied ever having an affair with him on TruthSocial. "LOOK WHAT WAS JUST FOUND! WILL THE FAKE NEWS REPORT IT?" Trump wrote. Trump claimed that the statement had been "just found," but in reality, it was made public in January 2018 and at the time, it was extensively covered by the media. Later on, Daniels took back her testimony, claiming that a nondisclosure agreement had forced her to sign it.

3. Attacking Witness ‘Disgraced Attorney and Felon’ Cohen

In a post on TruthSocial on April 13, Trump attacked his former attorney and the federal prosecutor who oversaw the Trump probe, Mark Pomerantz. "Has Mark POMERANTZ been prosecuted for his terrible acts in and out of the D.A.'s Office. Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING?" Trump wrote. "Only TRUMP people get prosecuted by this Judge and these thugs! A dark day for our Country. MAGA2024!!!" Cohen is an important witness to the case since he's the one who made the payment to Daniels and can be instrumental in establishing the prosecution's catch-and-kill election interference case.

4. Attacks on Cohen by Resharing Critiques

Five times on April 15 and 16, Trump and his campaign website shared an opinion piece from the New York Post characterizing Cohen as a "serial perjurer." The headline reads, "A serial perjurer will try to prove an old misdemeanor against Trump in an embarrassment for the New York legal system." Trump shared the content three times on TruthSocial and twice on his campaign website. Each of the five posts, according to the prosecution, represents five distinct breaches of the gag order. On April 16, Trump posted a piece from the conservative journal National Review that said Cohen's guilty plea should not be seen as evidence that he would be found guilty of any charges against Trump. "No, Cohen's Guilty Plea Does Not Prove Trump Committed Campaign-Finance Crimes," the headline states.

5. Attacking Jurors as ‘Undercover Liberal Activists'

On April 17, with jury selection well underway, Trump posted on TruthSocial a quote from Fox News pundit Jesse Watters, demeaning potential jurors as "undercover liberal activists." Quoting Watters, Trump wrote, "They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury." At the contempt hearing on Tuesday, the prosecution referred to this specific tweet as "very troubling," claiming it might have had a role in one of the jurors' decisions to withdraw from the case because of the heavy attention. "What happened here is precisely what this order was designed to prevent," Conroy said, "and this defendant doesn't care."

6. Courthouse Remarks on Cohen

Trump tried to portray Cohen as an untrustworthy witness in public statements he made shortly after the courtroom session on Monday. Furthermore, according to Trump, Cohen "wasn't very good in a lot of ways, in terms of his representation," as a lawyer. He said outside the courthouse, "And also, the things he got in trouble for were things that had nothing to do with me. He got in trouble and went to jail." He then said, "And when are they going to look at all the lies that Cohen -- did -- in the last trial. He got caught lying in the last trial. So he got caught lying -- pure lying. And when are they going to look at that?"

7. Interview Disparaging Jury

Prosecutors alleged on April 25 that Trump stated in an interview on April 22 that the jury was "95 percent Democrats." It seems like they were talking about an interview the former president had with the Outside the Beltway radio program. "That jury was picked so fast -- 95 percent Democrats," Trump said, with no fact to back it up, in the interview. "The area is mostly all Democrats. You think of it as just a purely Democrat area. It's a very unfair situation, that I can tell you," he added.

8. Called Cohen ‘A Convicted Liar’

Prosecutors also cited Trump's interview with Philadelphia ABC station WPVI on April 23 morning, during which he referred to Cohen as a "convicted liar." The business mogul said of his former employee, "Michael Cohen is a convicted liar, and he's got no credibility whatsoever. He was a lawyer and you rely on your lawyers. But Michael Cohen was a convicted liar. He was a lawyer for many people, not just me. Then he got in trouble because of things outside of what he did for me."

9. David Pecker, Be a ‘Nice Guy’ or Else

Early on April 25 morning, Trump addressed David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, in a public speech at a building site. Pecker would go on to provide shocking evidence later that day. Regarding Pecker's testimony thus far, Trump responded, "David's been very nice, a nice guy," to a reporter's question. This statement, according to the prosecution, also violated the gag order. "This is a message to Pecker -- be nice. It is a message to others. I have a platform and I will talk about you," Conroy said. "It is a message to everyone involved in this proceeding and this court."