Manhattan prosecutors preserve Trump trial witness listing secret so ex-president can’t lash out on Truth Social | EUROtoday

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Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s historic hush cash trial have refused handy over a listing of witnesses within the case in a bid to save lots of them from Truth Social assaults by the previous president.

Mr Trump is dealing with 34 counts of falsifying enterprise information associated to hush cash funds made to grownup movie star Stormy Daniels earlier than the 2016 presidential election, in change for her silence over an alleged affair again in 2006.

On Thursday 18 April – earlier than the primary witness, David Pecker, took the stand on Monday – Mr Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheles requested for the identify of at the least one witness that prosecutors supposed on introducing the next week.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass defined that his workplace would usually hand over such data to the defence, however that they have been reluctant to take action on this high-profile case due to Mr Trump’s penchant for lashing out on-line at witnesses and others concerned within the case.

“Mr Trump has been tweeting about the witnesses,” he mentioned. “We’re not telling him who the witnesses are.”

After the defence voiced some disappointment, Judge Merchan responded: “I can’t fault them for that.”

“Whether you get the name or not, you’re not going to delay the trial. You won’t,” he added mentioned, promising that he wouldn’t order the prosecution to show over the listing.

Prosecutors did, nonetheless, agree to supply the identify of a witness the day earlier than that particular person is prone to testify. But this promise got here with a caveat: if the previous president publicly discusses that particular person, prosecutors wouldn’t proceed to share the witnesses forward of time.

Even with out the witness listing, Mr Trump has already publicly disparaged his former “fixer” Michael Cohen and Ms Daniels, each of whom are thought of probably, if not star, witnesses within the felony case.

During the trial’s first week, the previous president referred to the 2 as “two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!”

On Tuesday, Judge Merchan held a listening to to find out whether or not Mr Trump violated a gag order at the least 10 occasions by posting on his Truth Social platform and marketing campaign web site, attacking the likes of Cohen and Ms Daniels.

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy accused Mr Trump of “knowingly and willfully breaching the crystal clear, unequivocal lines drawn up by the court”. Prosecutors have requested for a $10,000 advantageous, stressing they haven’t requested for jail time “yet”.

On the opposite hand, defence lawyer Todd Blanche argued that there was “absolutely no willful violation” of the gag order within the offending posts.

“The witnesses themselves can constantly comment on whatever they want … and Trump, in theory, cannot respond,” Mr Blanche instructed the courtroom.

He added that his consumer was responding to a “barrage” of political assaults — nonetheless he did not cite the posts that Mr Trump was allegedly reacting to.

Eventually, Judge Merchan appeared to turn into annoyed, telling the Trump lawyer that he was “losing all credibility.”

The decide is but to problem a choice on the matter.

But the prosecution’s determination to maintain the listing non-public appears to have stayed related, given Mr Trump continues to put up relentlessly on Truth Social all through the trial.

On Tuesday, simply minutes after the listening to over potential gag order violations, the previous president took to his favorite social media platform to bash Judge Merchan.

He claimed the decide was “HIGHLY CONFLICTED, TO PUT IT MILDLY” and was working a “KANGAROO COURT”.