Donald Trump tried—and failed—to lure the judge overseeing his New York criminal trial into the position of greenlighting his angry screeds to ensure they don’t violate a gag order that seeks to stop him from continuing to intimidate witnesses and jurors.
The move came after Trump got slapped with $9,000 in fines and a warning of a potential stay in the slammer on Tuesday, then had to fend off the risk of an additional $4,000 in penalties Thursday morning.
After a trial lunch break, the former president’s legal team approached New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan with a curious request: If Trump keeps getting into hot water for sharing news stories about the trial but still theoretically has a First Amendment right to speak about the case in general terms, would the judge be willing to review and OK posts before he makes them?
