A onetime attorney to former President Trump said Wednesday that Trump’s latest attacks on Michael Cohen are a “direct violation” of the gag order placed on him during his criminal hush money trial.
On Tuesday, Trump went after Cohen, his former fixer, in an interview just minutes before Judge Juan Merchan opened discussions over whether Trump already violated the gag order with previous social media posts.
“Michael Cohen is a convicted liar, and he’s got no credibility whatsoever,” Trump told 6ABC Philadelphia in an interview. “He was a lawyer, and you rely on your lawyers. But Michael Cohen was a convicted liar. He was a lawyer for many people, not just me. Then he got in trouble because of things outside of what he did for me.”
Former Trump attorney Tim Parlatore told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Wednesday that those comments are likely to get him in trouble with Merchan.
“This interview to me does seem to be a direct violation of the order as it is written,” Parlatore said. “And so I think it is problematic for them, especially that this airs, you know, while the judge is currently sitting and trying to decide the issue.”
Parlatore explained that Merchan’s decision over whether Trump has violated the gag order relies on what Trump’s attorneys told the former president.
“Because if he’s, complying with his lawyer’s interpretation, then maybe the wrong person is my target,” Parlatore said, characterizing Merchan. “And so, you know, is [Trump attorney] Todd Blanche trying to take fire away from his client? I don’t know, but it is definitely a situation that I wouldn’t want to be in.”
“I mean, I look at this and I think the only really legitimate defense as I see it is to — something that won’t work with this judge — to attack the breadth of the order itself,” he continued. “And I think that there is an argument to be made there, but it’s not going to work until you get up on appeal.”
Prosecutors alleged Tuesday that Trump has violated the order 10 times, demanding a $1,000 fine for each violation.
Trump has been very critical of the gag order, claiming it muzzles his free speech rights and impacts his reelection campaign. Appeals courts have upheld similar gag orders in his other legal cases.
The former president has repeatedly attacked Cohen, who was at the center of the alleged hush money scheme the trial focuses on. Prosecutors claim Trump falsified business documents while illegally covering up hush money payments made to hide previous affairs, just before the 2016 election.
The trial, the first criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president, is expected to last about six weeks.