-
Trump just gave an angry speech after his conviction.
-
Trump called star witness Michael Cohen a “sleazebag” and “one of the worst people” to testify.
-
Trump remains under a gag order not to assault witnesses as he plans to appeal his 34 felony convictions.
It didn’t take long for Donald Trump’s press conference following his felony convictions to go off the rails.
Trump launched into a liberal speech on Friday, insulting President Joe Biden and spreading conspiracy theories about terrorists crossing the US border.
But most notably, Trump railed against the prosecution’s key witness and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, once again putting him at risk of violating the judge’s orders in his hush-money case.
During a meandering news conference at Trump Tower on Friday, the former president denounced the “rigged trial” that ended with a conviction on 34 crimes.
He also lambasted “sleazebag” Michael Cohen, whose testimony helped seal his fate.
“This was a highly qualified lawyer, now I can’t use his name because of the gag order, but you know, he’s a sleazebag,” Trump told reporters, referring to Cohen without naming him. ‘Everyone knows that. It took me a while to figure that out.’
Trump then accused Cohen of throwing him under the bus in a plea deal so Cohen could “get out” himself.
Trump also attacked the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Braggfalsely accusing Bragg of believing Cohen would be a dishonest witness and taking the case anyway.
“When Bragg walked in, he said, ‘This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,’” Trump said, posing as Bragg.
Trump may be referring to a comment Bragg once made about not wanting to pursue a larger financial crimes case against Trump until it was “done,” NBC New York reported.
“And who wants a certain person – again, gag order – who wants a certain person like this to ever testify?” Trump continued, in an apparent reference to Cohen. “[Bragg] said, “This is basically one of the worst people I’ve ever seen testify.” “
There are no reports of Bragg ever saying that. But now that Trump has done that, he could be in trouble again.
Trump’s attacks on Cohen could amount to another violation of his gag order, which Judge Juan Merchan has not yet lifted.
Trump has violated the order — which bans him from witnesses, jurors and others involved in the case — 10 times since the trial began, each time netting him a $1,000 fine.
Merchan threatened earlier this month to consider a prison sentence for Trump if he violates the order again.
It’s not clear how long the silence order will last, but a legal expert told Forbes that the judge will likely hesitate to lift it anytime soon, with Trump promising to appeal.
On Thursday, the jury in the hush money trial convicted Trump on all charges of falsifying company records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from going public with allegations of an affair. 2016 elections.
The conviction was historic: no former president has ever been convicted of a crime.
While the impact of the convictions on the 2024 race is unclear, it will not deter Trump from running for office. Convicted criminals and even people in prison can run for president.
During his press conference on Friday, Trump — the presumptive Republican Party nominee — boasted about a recent poll that showed him with a lead over Biden if the election were held now.
Read the original article on Business Insider
