John,

Donald Trump has clearly violated his gag order in the New York case and he should be held in contempt of court.

Judge Merchan could make his decision any day now, and if he holds Trump in contempt, he should also impose the same consequences on Trump as he would on any other criminal defendant. That includes fines or jail time.

Failing to enforce the gag order and impose real consequences would risk conveying to the public—and to Trump—the message that Trump is above the law.

After Thursday’s Supreme Court arguments, this point bears repeating: Trump is not above the law.

So, how has Trump violated the gag order?

• Trump attacked Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, referring to them in one post as, “two sleaze bags [whose] lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly[.]”
• Trump published an additional FIVE posts on Truth Social and one on his campaign website attacking Cohen’s credibility as a “serial perjurer” and with Cohen’s picture.
• Trump published a post on Truth Social including allegations that “Liberal Activists” were lying to Judge Merchan in order to become jurors.

Trump’s violations of Judge Merchan’s gag order come as no surprise. During our Colorado 14th Amendment case, Trump attacked CREW by name at campaign rallies and gave an interview in which he directed his followers to “check [CREW] out, individually, every one of them.” That was despite a protective order, which is like a gag order, in the case.

Gag orders are critical tools to ensure the integrity of trials and our whole judicial system. But gag orders only work if they are enforced.

Trump will continue to attack potential witnesses and even the jury—threatening their safety and the fairness of the trial—unless he is stopped. That’s why he needs to face real consequences, and soon. You can read our new analysis here.

Thanks for reading,

Adam Rappaport
General Counsel
CREW