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Michael Cohen should stop attacking Trump before his testimony, judge says

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Judge Juan Merchan on Friday ordered former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to stop commenting publicly on former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial – but rejected a request to impose a gag order on him – as Trump’s former “fixer” on Monday The central witness in the process should appear as a witness.

Important facts

Cohen — whose $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels on Trump’s behalf is at the center of the ex-president’s trial — has become an outspoken Trump critic, posting frequently on social media and in his Podcast “Mea Culpa” attacked, among other things, as The trial has begun.

Trump’s lawyers asked Merchan to file an order banning Cohen from making public comments about the case, citing recent comments the ex-lawyer made on TikTok livestreams about the trial.

Merchan declined to issue an official order, but asked prosecutors to tell Cohen that “the judge is asking him to stop making any further statements,” and that is coming “from the bench,” according to CNN and the New York Times quote.

Prosecutors said they had no control over what Cohen said outside the courtroom, according to the Times, which caused Trump to break out into a “broad grin,” according to publication reports.

Cohen has before said On tweet Referring to Trump as “VonShitzInPantz” was met with criticism – but he has continued to speak about the case on TikTok livestreams, according to ABC News.

Cohen’s attorney, E. Danya Perry, has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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What you should pay attention to

Cohen is expected to take the stand on Monday and testify in the trial for several days. He is expected to be one of the final prosecution witnesses as prosecutors said Friday they could rest their case as early as the end of next week.

Cons

While Merchan rejected a gag order against Cohen, he has issued one against Trump, prohibiting the ex-president from speaking out against Cohen and other witnesses. This has already resulted in Trump violating the order 10 times and being fined $1,000 for each violation. One of Trump’s main arguments for lifting the gag order is his desire to respond to Cohen’s attacks on him, and although the judge punished Trump for several social media posts that mentioned Cohen, he declined to censure him for one Trump’s post about Cohen Lawyers claimed Trump was trying to defend himself against Cohen’s “political attacks.”

Surprising fact

While Trump’s lawyers were the ones who urged Cohen to seek a gag order, legal experts told ABC News that the ex-lawyer’s comments could potentially further harm the prosecution. “I have no doubt that Team Trump is watching, listening and observing whatever they can, and they will rightly use it as a weapon in court to destroy his credibility,” defense attorney Jeremy Saland told ABC about Cohen’s comments to TikTok. “If I’m the prosecutor, I’m on the phone right now saying, ‘Stop what you’re doing – now’… I can’t force you to do it, but you have to stop for your own sake, because that’s how it’s going to be Things will get worse for you in this courtroom. And you are jeopardizing the case.” (Cohen has criticized ABC’s article was described as “bad tabloid reporting.”)

Important background

Trump is on trial on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records based on his reimbursement to Cohen of the money his then-lawyer paid to Daniels. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 election to silence her allegations of an affair with Trump, and Trump then compensated Cohen through a series of checks throughout 2017. Prosecutors allege those checks were mislabeled as payments for legitimate payments, which Trump denies. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Cohen was a longtime Trump supporter when he served as the ex-president’s lawyer – he became known as Trump’s “fixer” and even said he would take a bullet for him – before turning against Trump after the Daniels Payment became public in 2018. Cohen pleaded guilty to crimes, including campaign finance violations, as a result of the Daniels payment and said he regretted his actions while working for Trump. “I am ashamed that I chose to cover up Mr. Trump’s illegal actions rather than listen to my own conscience,” Cohen testified before Congress in 2019, describing Trump as a “fraud” and a “fraud.”

further reading

ForbesHow Michael Cohen went from being the Trump lawyer who would “take a bullet” for Trump to becoming the prosecution’s star witness against himFrom Brian Bushard
ForbesTrump’s first criminal trial begins today with opening statements – here’s who might testify and what to watch out forFrom Alison Durkee
ForbesTrump and Stormy Daniels: What to know about the hush money saga as an adult film star takes the standFrom Alison Durkee
ForbesTrump’s “hush money” payment isn’t inherently illegal – here’s why he’s actually on trialFrom Alison Durkee

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