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Trump Facing Jail Time Over Gag Order 05/01 06:13
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) -- Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break
from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of
Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and
threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.
His remarks will be closely watched after he received a $9,000 fine for
making public statements about people connected to the case. In imposing the
fine for posts on Trump's Truth Social account and campaign website, Judge Juan
M. Merchan said that if Trump continued to violate his orders, he "will impose
an incarceratory punishment."
The former president is trying to achieve a balancing act unprecedented in
American history by running for a second term as the presumptive Republican
nominee while also fighting felony charges in New York. Trump frequently goes
after Merchan, prosecutors and potential witnesses at his rallies and on social
media, attack lines that play well with his supporters but that have
potentially put him in legal jeopardy.
Trump insists he is merely exercising his free speech rights, but the
offending posts from his Truth Social account and campaign website were taken
down. Merchan is weighing other alleged gag-order violations by Trump and will
hear arguments on Thursday.
Trump appeared frustrated after the ninth day of the trial came to an end,
saying he should be out in Georgia and New Hampshire instead of sitting in
court.
"They don't want me on the campaign trail," he told reporters.
Trump has often called this case and other criminal cases against him
"election interference," saying they keep him from campaigning for the
presidential election in November.
The gag order barred him from making public statements about witnesses,
jurors and some others connected to his hush money case.
Manhattan prosecutors have argued Trump and his associates took part in an
illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by purchasing and
then burying stories. He has pleaded not guilty.
Trump's visits to Wisconsin and Michigan mark his second trip to the swing
states in just a month. For the last rallies, the former president largely
focused on immigration referring to people who are in the U.S. illegally and
who are suspected of crimes as "animals."
Wisconsin and Michigan are among a handful of battleground states expected
to decide the 2024 election.
For Trump to win both states, he must do well in suburban areas like the
areas outside of Milwaukee and Saginaw, Michigan, where he will hold
Wednesday's rallies. He underperformed in suburban areas during this year's
primary even as he dominated the Republican field overall.
Trump has repeatedly falsely said that the 2020 election was stolen from
him. Trump's losses in battleground states in 2020 have withstood recounts,
audits and reviews by the Justice Department and outside observers.
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