It would be impossible for a judge to silence Donald Trump with a gag order, Michael Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, has said.
Davis said that Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Trump’s hush money trial, is trying to ignore Trump’s social media outbursts, “just like all the other judges” in Trump’s legal cases.
Davis was reacting to Trump’s bitter attack on Cohen on Saturday, in which he called him a “disgraced attorney and felon.”
Cohen is expected to be one of the key witnesses in Trump’s trial, which started on April 15, for alleged hush money payments before the 2016 election.
Merchan had placed a gag order on Trump that prohibits him from commenting about witnesses in the case.
Angela Weiss/Getty Images
Speaking on Inside With Jen Psaki on MSNBC on Sunday, Davis said it would be very difficult for any judge to put Trump in jail.
“The judge has handled this like all the judges who have been attacked by Mr Trump—by virtually ignoring it and imposing a gag order, which is impossible,” Davis said.
He added that it would be “very difficult” to put Trump in jail for his social media outbursts.
He reminded people that Trump has a presumption of innocence but said that, if Trump is convicted, he would either face prison or house arrest.
Davis said he favored house arrest because Trump is a former president.
He said he believes Trump will be convicted and that it is the same set of facts that led to Cohen’s conviction.
Trump became the first former president in United States history to stand trial in a criminal case on Monday.
Following an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, Trump was indicted in March 2023 on charges of falsifying business records relating to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Daniels alleged that she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he has denied.
Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has said the case is politically motivated.
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump’s attorney on Monday.
Trump was accused of violating Merchan’s gag order two days before his Manhattan hush money trial began.
On Saturday, Trump complained about Cohen on Trump’s social media site, Truth Social. He also complained about attorney Mark Pomerantz, who wrote a book about prosecuting Trump.
“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? Only TRUMP people get prosecuted by this Judge and these thugs! A dark day for our Country. MAGA2024!!!” he wrote.
Pomerantz assisted then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. in an investigation into Trump’s business dealings until he resigned from the case in February 2022.
In March, Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump, barring him from making public statements about witnesses, including Cohen and Daniels, as well as lawyers and staff in the case and their families. The order excluded Merchan and Bragg. It was later expanded to include Merchan’s and Bragg’s families after Trump made blistering attacks toward the judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan.
Responding to Trump’s post, Cohen wrote on X: “When does enough become enough and the petulant man child gets a time out in lockup for his bad behavior?”
Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty to eight criminal counts in August 2018, including campaign finance violations related to an alleged hush money scheme involving adult film star Stormy Daniels.
In a separate case, he pleaded guilty in federal court in November 2018 to lying to Congress in relation to false statements he made to U.S. lawmakers about Trump’s reported business dealings with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.