'The guy is losing it': Internet mocks Trump for lashing out at Judge Juan Merchan over partial gag order

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former President Donald Trump is employing all possible measures to delay the commencement of his first criminal trial. However, Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case in New York, seems to be losing his patience with the proceedings.

The judge recently refused to sideline the hush money case over alleged discovery violations, issued a gag order to the former president, and even threatened his lawyers with criminal contempt, all of which came in separate court rulings, according to The Hill.

The contentious nature of the proceedings was evident in the courtroom on Monday, March 25, and in other written filings. On multiple occasions, the judge accused Trump's legal team of attempting to circumvent the court's rulings and questioned their lack of evidence.

Despite the judge's irritation, Trump's lawyers are still pressing ahead with multiple pending motions to postpone the trial date, but they have a shrinking list of options to do so, as the trial is currently scheduled for April 15.

Merchan highlighted the Trump team's legal approach in a ruling on Tuesday, writing, "Defendant, either directly or through counsel, has repeatedly stated publicly that the defense goal is to delay these proceedings, if possible, past the 2024 presidential election."

What transpired on and off courtroom this week in Trump’s hush-money criminal case?

During the court proceedings on Monday, former US President Donald Trump sought a significant delay in the trial or complete dismissal of all charges against him.

This was primarily due to the sudden emergence of thousands of pages of documents, which had been newly submitted by the federal prosecutors.

Despite the longstanding resistance of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office to Trump's delay efforts, a 30-day postponement was granted in the aftermath of the unexpected development.

However, Judge Merchan refused to grant such a lengthy extension. Instead, he granted a three-week deferment of the schedule.

During the hearing, the judge criticized Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, for his accusations that the case should be further postponed or dismissed altogether because the new documents revealed discovery violations.

“You’re literally accusing the Manhattan DA’s office and the people assigned to this case of prosecutorial misconduct and trying to make me complicit in it. And you don’t have a single cite to support that position?” Merchan reprimanded Blanche.

The judge decided to maintain the April 15 trial start date for the hush money case, which visibly frustrated the former president, as he walked out of the courtroom more quickly than usual to address the reporters.

“They’re dying to get this thing started. The judge cannot go faster. He wants to get it started so badly. And there’s tremendous corruption,” Trump told the reporters in waiting.

Trump is charged in the case with 34 counts of fabricating business documents relating to payments to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, who paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 soon before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Trump entered a not-guilty plea.

Legal experts generally concur that the hush money case may be the only one of Trump's indictments to reach a jury before November. Trump has attempted to postpone all four of his criminal cases to terminate or stall them if he first retakes the White House.

On Tuesday, March 26, Judge Merchan issued a written ruling in which he accused the attorneys representing former President Trump of attempting to circumvent his requirement that they seek permission before filing any new motions.

The judge had implemented this step earlier in the month, arguing that it was necessary to save time given Trump's tendency to file last-minute delay attempts.

In the same ruling, Judge Merchan also reminded Trump's attorneys that he possesses the authority to issue punishment for criminal contempt.

It is worth noting that this power can be exercised in cases where an attorney or party violates a court order or behaves in a manner that undermines the integrity of the court.

“The Court advises counsel that it expects and welcomes zealous advocacy and creative lawyering. … However, the Court also expects those advocates to demonstrate the proper respect and decorum that is owed to the courts and its judicial officers and to never forget that they are officers of the court,” Merchan cautioned, adding. “As such, counsel is expected to follow this Court’s orders.”

All hell broke loose when Trump was sentenced to a partial gag order

Moreover, Judge Merchan granted a request by DA Alvin Bragg to gag the former president, which came as a shock to Trump, who had argued that such a restriction would be a violation of his First Amendment rights.

At the onset of the case, the judge had expressed the view that a gag order was not required.

However, he appears to have changed his mind following Trump's repeated attacks on those involved in his legal proceedings.

In his order, the judge also referred to Trump's press conference on Monday, during which he attacked Matthew Colangelo, a top hush money prosecutor who was previously a senior official in the Biden-era Justice Department.

Trump characterized Colangelo as “a radical left from the DOJ” and claimed, sans evidence, that the prosecution was being coordinated with the White House.

Notably, the judge mentioned this comment, despite it not being brought to his attention in any public court filing.

The gag order now prohibits Trump from making public statements about witnesses, jurors, court staff, and prosecutors, other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D).

Trump denounced Judge Juan Merchan as politically biased and branded the order—the third of its kind he has faced in his numerous legal cases—as "illegal, un-American," and "unConstitutional."

“This Judge, by issuing a vicious ‘Gag Order,’ is wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement,” the 77-year-old presumptive GOP nominee wrote in a Truth Social post, “including the fact that Crooked Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and their Hacks and Thugs are tracking and following me all across the Country, obsessively trying to persecute me, while everyone knows I have done nothing wrong!”

Trump has already been subject to two gag orders: one from his civil fraud trial in New York and another from his current election interference case in Washington, DC. He criticized and contested the two earlier orders, even though they were both upheld.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung slammed the decision on Tuesday, saying it prevents the former president from "engaging in core political speech."

“Worst of all, the gag order violates the civil rights of over 100 million Americans who follow President Trump and have a First Amendment right to receive and listen to his speech,” Cheung argued.

“American voters have a fundamental right to hear the uncensored voice of the leading candidate for the highest office in the land. President Trump will keep fighting for our country and our Constitution,” he stated in conclusion.

Internet trolls Donald Trump for attacking New York judge overseeing hush money criminal case

People on X lambasted the former POTUS for lashing out at Judge Juan Merchan who issued a partial gag order on him on Tuesday.

One X user remarked: "He’s absolutely melting down."

Another user wrote: "The guy is losing it."

Another user said: "Donald Trump is a criminal. Can such garbage still run for president? What's wrong with the United States? Donald Trump is an anti-American traitor. Pro-Russia and CCP How can any decent human being support Trump?"

One user claimed: "For the hard of thinking : Gag orders aren't uncommon, are limited, and are only issued for demonstrable cause, as is the case in this instance."

Another X user quipped: "In the name of everything Holy, I mean trump does own the copyright to the Bible, please find him guilty of trashing the judge and throw his a** in jail."

Finally, this user tweeted: "Can dish it but can’t take it. He’s a fragile weakling."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.