Prosecutors claim Trump violated gag order again: 'This is a political persecution,' defense says

On Thursday morning, acting Justice Juan Merchan held another hearing regarding four additional alleged gag order violations made by Donald Trump. Earlier this week, the judge held Trump in contempt for prior alleged breaches of the order.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's (D) prosecutors accused Trump of "persistent and escalating rhetoric."

"He's already been found to have violated the court's order nine times and he's done it again here," prosecutor Chris Conroy stated.

The first alleged gag order violation presented by the prosecution during the Thursday hearing included comments Trump made during a news interview last week when he noted that the jury pool consisted of mostly Democrats.

"That jury was picked so fast. 95% Democrats," Trump said.

Conroy argued that the former president "used his platform here to criticize the seated jury in this case."

During a recent campaign stop, Trump called witness and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker "nice."

"The defendant knows what he's doing," Conroy contended. He added that Trump "talks about the testifying witness, says nice things, does it in front of the cameras," which he claimed were "deliberate shots across the bow" to witnesses.

Conroy also claimed that Trump violated the judge's order during an April 23 television interview. Trump called his former attorney Michael Cohen a "convicted liar." Conroy argued that Trump was attempting to discredit the witness' testimony.

The final alleged violation included statements Trump made to reporters outside of the New York trial on April 22.

He said, "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."

Conroy claimed that Trump is "doing everything he can to make this case" about politics, calling his comments "corrosive to this proceeding and the fair administration of justice."

The prosecution is requesting Merchan order Trump to pay $1,000 per violation. Conroy noted that they "are not yet seeking jail."

Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, argued that Cohen has repeatedly used his podcast to attack Trump.

"Cohen has been inviting and almost daring President Trump to respond to almost everything he's saying," he said. "Personal attacks on his character. Mocking him for being on trial. And also his candidacy for president of the United States."

Blanche stated that Cohen "has started going on TikTok nightly and literally making money" attacking his client.

He claimed that Trump's response to a question about Pecker's testimony was "very factual" and "neutral," noting that the former president "sidestepped" the inquiry to avoid violating the gag order.

"There's no threatening, menacing statements," Blanche added.

"He can't just say 'no comment' repeatedly. He's running for president," the attorney remarked.

Merchan told Blanche that Trump's statements are "about what the other witnesses see."

"It affects those witnesses as well," he said.

Blanche told Merchan, "We very much believe this is a political persecution."

The judge has not yet made a ruling on the new alleged violations.

Earlier this week, the judge held Trump in contempt for allegedly violating the gag order on nine occasions, Blaze News previously reported. The former president was ordered to pay $1,000 per violation and remove several social media posts and statements from his campaign website.

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