New York prosecutors handling the criminal hush money trial against Donald Trump expect to call additional witnesses to testify for at least two more weeks. Despite the judge’s threats of jail time for violating the gag order, Trump openly criticized the restrictions, stating he is willing to go to jail to speak out against his case. The gag order prohibits Trump from commenting on witnesses, the jury, and the family members of prosecutors and Judge Juan Merchan.
After being found in contempt and fined $1,000 for violating the gag order, Trump expressed his willingness to prioritize the Constitution over jail time. The prosecution indicated that they are proceeding ahead of schedule, estimating that they may not need to call any more witnesses in two weeks.
During the trial, two witnesses from the Trump Organization’s accounting department, Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarasoff, testified about the payments made to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. The prosecution argues that Trump falsified business records by listing the payments as retainer fees.
Trump’s defense attorney challenged the prosecution’s narrative by questioning McConney about whether Trump or former CFO Allen Weisselberg instructed him to log the payments to Cohen as legal expenses. McConney denied receiving any directives from Trump or Weisselberg regarding the payments.
The trial is ongoing, with the next witness expected to be questioned from Tuesday to Thursday. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsification of business records.
