NEW YORK — Prosecutors with the Manhattan DA’s Office accused Donald Trump of violating his gag order seven more times on Thursday morning amid a series of new developments in the trial which resulted in two already-seated jurors being dismissed.
Trump Accused of Violating Gag Order
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said that several social media posts Trump had made about Michael Cohen had crossed the line, and added that another post — in which Trump quoted Fox News host Jesse Watters as accusing “liberal activists” of trying to sneak onto the jury — was “disturbing.”
It’s a pattern of behavior for Trump, who Judge Juan Merchan accused on Tuesday of muttering at a juror 12 feet in front of him.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche defended the posts as “responding to political attacks,” and feigned confusion over whether the gag order applied to social media posts that repost comments made by others.
A contempt hearing over the violation will be held next week. Steinglass said that while the DA’s Office is currently seeking financial penalties, it may open the door to tougher measures at the hearing.
One Juror Asks To Be Excused
Thursday morning also saw one already-selected juror be dismissed, with another likely headed the same way.
The first juror, an oncology nurse, appeared in court to say that she did not believe she could be fair and impartial.
“Yesterday alone I had friends, colleagues, and family push things at my phone regarding, questioning my identity as a juror,” the juror said.
Merchan agreed to excuse her.
Merchan Removes Another Juror
Later, Steinglass said that the DA’s Office had found information suggesting that another juror had misled the court during selection.
That juror had told the court that neither himself nor anyone close to him had faced criminal charges or investigation. But Steinglass said that prosecutors had identified an article from the 1990s in which a person with the same name as the juror had been arrested “in Westchester for tearing down political advertisements.” Separately, Steinglass said that the juror’s wife had been “accused or involved in a corruption inquiry” in the 1990s before entering into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Manhattan DA’s Office.
Steinglass told Merchan that the juror had removed posters “on the political right.”
The juror appeared at court late. After two lengthy bench conferences, Merchan excused the juror.
It’s not clear what the substance of the bench conference was: after the first one concluded, Merchan made it clear that the juror “expressed annoyance” at having his information published in the media but suggested that the matter was resolved.
Jury selection had been moving apace on Tuesday afternoon, giving Merchan visible optimism that opening arguments in the trial could commence as soon as Monday morning.
