The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial said Friday that a gag order preventing him from commenting about witnesses and jurors does not bar him from testifying in court on his own behalf.
“I want to stress to Mr. Trump: you have an absolute right to testify at trial,” Justice Juan Merchan said to start the 11th day in Trump’s trial.
Trump asserted after Thursday’s session that the gag order would prevent him from testifying.
He said on Friday that was not actually the case. “It won’t stop me from testifying,” he told reporters before entering the courtroom.
Trump said his legal team would try to overturn the gag order, which bars him from making public comments about jurors, witnesses, and families of the judge and prosecutors if those statements are meant to interfere with the case.
Merchan fined Trump $9,000 on Tuesday for violating the order and signaled on Thursday he may impose more fines for what prosecutors say are further violations. Merchan has said Trump could be jailed if he does not change his ways.
The judge declined a request Thursday from Trump’s legal team to vet commentary about the trial before Trump posts it online.
“When in doubt, steer clear,” Merchan said, prompting Trump to shake his head and sigh.
Witnesses on Friday were expected to offer more details of a payment made to a porn star to quash her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump prior to the 2016 presidential election, which he won.
The 12 jurors and six alternates hearing the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president have yet to hear from the main players in the case.
These include Stormy Daniels, the porn star who got $130,000 to keep quiet about the alleged sexual liaison, and Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who arranged the payment in the weeks before Trump’s 2016 victory.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records to cover up the payment to Daniels and denies having had a sexual encounter with her.
Jurors so far have heard from lawyer Keith Davidson, who testified that he arranged the payment with Cohen. Under questioning from Trump’s defense team, he acknowledged pursuing similar cash-for-dirt deals with other high-profile people.
The defense argues the payment was made to spare Trump’s family embarrassment, not to protect his presidential campaign.
The jury has also heard former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testify that he agreed to keep an eye out for damaging stories on Trump’s behalf. The tabloid paid $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal for her story of an affair with Trump, but did not publish it, according to evidence presented at trial. Trump denies that affair as well.
Trump says the case is an attempt by Democrats to undercut his chances of defeating Democrat President Joe Biden in the coming Nov. 5 presidential election.
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