Former President Donald Trump was held in contempt on Monday by New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan over remarks the former president made on April 22 to radio and television host John Fredericks during an appearance on Outside the Beltway.
Merchan (pictured here) previously gagged Trump with an order preventing him from discussing prosecutors, witnesses, jurors or the judge, with the fines and potential jail time listed as potential repercussions.
In his latest, five-page ruling, Merchan falsely wrote as a finding of fact that Trump was interviewed on April 22 on Just The News No Noise (A Real America’s Voice program hosted by John Solomon) and made statements that violate the terms of Merchan’s gag order.
In reality, the remarks by Trump that Merchan highlighted were made to Fredericks by the former president during his April 22 appearance on Outside the Beltway, which was broadcast on the Real America’s Voice (RAV) television network during the time slot normally assigned to Just The News No Noise and simulcast to the John Fredericks Media Network.
Merchan wrote, “Among other things, Defendant stated ‘You know [the judge is] rushing the trial like crazy. Nobody’s ever seen a thing go like this. That jury was picked so fast – 95 [percent] democrats. The area’s mostly all democrat. You think of it as a – just a purely democrat area. It’s a very unfair situation that I can tell you.”
Trump’s full April 22 interview with Fredericks reveals the former president also declared Merchan “a totally conflicted person” who “should not be the judge of this case.”
Trump’s remarks cited by the judge beginning at the 6:56 mark of the interview.
Of the latest ruling of contempt against Trump, Fredericks told The Tennessee Star, “President Trump is the front runner in the middle of a campaign to get reelected. How can a live interview with a national radio and TV host be censored or subject to a gag order?”
Fredericks added, “He’s talking to voters across the country about an election. This is the political process, to communicate with voters and communicate with Americans. How does that turn into a gag order? Where are we going in this country, when the leading presidential candidate is not allowed to talk directly to potential voters about his policies on a national radio and TV interview?”
The radio and television host declared, “This is election interference beyond the pale. It’s a disgrace. We’re a banana republic, this whole thing is a scam, it’s a joke, and Trump needs to be able to bring his message to the people without kangaroo courts interfering.”
Merchan also highlighted Trump’s remarks outside the courtroom on April 22, remarks he made to a Pennsylvania radio station and remarks made at a press event in Manhattan as violations of the gag order he placed.
The judge ultimately fined Trump $1,000 for the alleged violation, but claimed that monetary fines seem insufficient to dissuade the former president and noted a harsher punishment was not requested by prosecutors.
Merchan wrote, “because the People are seeking only a monetary fine, the Court will, one again, fine Defendant $1,000,” then asserted, “it is apparent that monetary fines have not, and will not, suffice to deter Defendant from violating this Court’s lawful orders.”
Trump told Fredericks last year that a conviction would not dissuade him from his decision to seek another term in the White House.
Fredericks is the publisher of The Pennsylvania Daily Star, The Virginia Star, and The Georgia Star News, which are owned and operated by Star News Digital Media, Inc.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Pennsylvania Daily Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Donald Trump Outside Court” by Donald Trump.
