Stormy Daniels: Trump bags contempt for violating gag order

Former United States President Donald Trump has been slammed with contempt of court for violating a gag order imposed by the court in the ongoing criminal hush money case involving Ms. Stormy Daniels.

The presiding judge, Juan Merchan, made the pronouncement Tuesday morning as testimony continues in the trial.

Merchan held that Trump violated his gag order and warned against further violations.

He stated categorically that such further violations could lead to the incarceration of the former president.

Why was Trump held in contempt?

Trump was held in contempt on 9 of 10 alleged violations of the gag order, bagging a $1,000 fine for each violation.

This means that he must pay a total of $9,000 even before the trial gets majorly underway.

The order prevented him from making public statements about jurors, witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and their family members.

In the meantime, Trump is charged with 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in the first degree.

He is accused of falsifying business records to conceal the hush money he paid to adult film actress, Stormy Daniels.

She alleged she had an extramarital affair with the billionaire former president.

The charges relate to the $130,000 hush money paid to prevent her from talking about a 2007 affair with Trump.

Trump reportedly paid the money ahead of the United States 2016 presidential election which he won.

What is the relationship between Trump and Stormy Daniels?

Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is a Louisiana-born former Playboy star and director.

She also appeared in some Hollywood films and comedies, such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.

She claimed that she and Trump had sex but that he paid her $130,000 to keep her silent about the encounter.

Since the allegations surfaced in 2018, the former president denied any sexual involvement with Daniels.

The adult film star said during interviews that she and Trump met at a charity golf tournament in July 2006.

According to her, they had sex once in his hotel room at Lake Tahoe, a resort area between California and Nevada.

Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, however, “vehemently” denied this at the time.

He was later jailed on multiple charges in August 2018, including tax evasion and breaking campaign finance rules.

Cohen also testified under oath that he made the $130,000 hush payment to Stormy Daniels at Trump’s directive.

He further admitted making more payment to another Trump’s lover, after initially absolving him of involvement.

Finally, he admitted that the president had reimbursed him, according to reports.

Stormy Daniels threatened and paid to remain silent

Stormy Daniels further insisted that Cohen paid her $130,000 in hush money to keep her quiet about the affair.

She said she was compelled to accept the money over concerns for the safety of her family, claiming she was legally and physically threatened by Trump’s goons.

According to her, it worsened after she agreed to give an interview to In Touch magazine about the alleged affair.

She recalled how in 2011, a stranger had approached her in a Las Vegas parking lot and told her to steer off Trump.

In an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, Daniels recalled the stranger gesturing to her little daughter.

The stranger said: “That’s a beautiful little girl. “It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom.”

Meanwhile, before the episode was aired, a shell company linked to Cohen threatened her with a $20m lawsuit.

The company had warned her against breaking their non-disclosure deal (NDA), or “hush agreement”.

What are legal implications of hush money?

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) learnt that in American law, it’s not illegal to pay someone in exchange for NDA.

The trouble for Trump, however, is that Cohen’s reimbursement was not documented in Trump’s account records.

He was also indicted in falsifying his business records, categorising the payment to Daniels, which came few days before the presidential election, as “legal fees”.

Prosecutors held that Trump tried “to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public”.

On his part, Trump pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan criminal court to the felony charges.

He described the judge presiding over his case as a Democrat-led “witch hunt”.

The judge convicted him of contempt as prosecutors prepared to resume presenting their case against him.

The trial is expected to last six weeks.

More testimonies are expected from bank officials, employees and anyone who knew of the $130,000 payment.

On Friday, Gary Farro, a First Republic Bank’s former senior managing director, testified.

He admitted working with Trump’s former lawyer to set up an account for a limited liability company used to pay Daniels.

Cohen will also be called as a witness in the case.

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