Manhattan Judge Issues Thursday Ruling That’s Certain To Enrage Donald Trump

Indicted sex offender/former president Donald Trump was told Thursday by a Manhattan judge that he will have to appear via video on May 23 for a hearing in which he will be instructed on the penalties he’ll face if he uses evidence in his criminal fraud case to attack witnesses who are cooperating with District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The Associated Press reports, “Judge Juan Manuel Merchan scheduled the hybrid hearing — the former president on a TV screen, his lawyers and prosecutors in court — to go over the restrictions with Trump and to make clear that he risks being held in contempt if he violates them.”

On Monday, Marchan issued a protective order in which he encouraged prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s and Trump’s lawyers to compromise on accessing and using evidence that has been gathered by DA Bragg’s office. The process is known as “discovery” and is intended to guarantee that defendants receive a fair trial.

The video hearing later this month is deemed necessary by prosecutors who cited the disgraced ex-president’s habit of making “harassing, embarrassing, and threatening statements” against people who are pursuing legal remedies against him and his business, the Trump Organization.

The AP also notes, “Merchan added Trump’s virtual hearing to the court calendar a day after Trump appeared on a CNN forum and offered up a barrage of falsehoods, excuses and insults on a variety of topics, including what he deemed the ‘fake charge’ of his criminal case.”

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Merchan’s protective order bars Trump and his lawyers from disseminating evidence to third parties or posting it to social media, and it requires that certain, sensitive material shared by prosecutors be kept only by Trump’s lawyers, not Trump himself. Trump can review that material with his lawyers, but can’t copy or photograph it, the order said.

Trump is facing 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records in order to hide hush money payments he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with whom he had an extramarital affair.