NSFW Nickname For Donald Trump Graces Courtroom In Criminal Trial
Donald Trump's first criminal trial, the hush-money case playing out in a Manhattan courtroom, has brought us all kinds of things we never expected to see or hear regarding a former president. That now includes him being referred to, by his own lawyer, as "Von S***zInPantz." Admittedly , Todd Blanche, the lead lawyer on Trump's hush-money case, was quoting a post on X, formerly Twitter, by Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and fixer. Though Blanche wasn't calling his client that directly, it is now in the official court record.
The derogatory reference came up in the trial's second hearing over whether or not Trump violated Judge Juan Merchan's gag order again. Cohen has used the demeaning reference to Trump multiple times, including on April 22, when Cohen posted on X, "Hey Von S***zInPantz...your attacks of me stink of desperation. We are all hoping that you take the stand in your defense." He repeated the name in an April 23 post. Blanche was using the social media posts from Cohen, who has not yet testified in the trial but is expected to, as an example of the kind of statements that Trump should be allowed to defend himself against online without being seen as going against the judge's order.
Some of Trump's previous statements have violated the gag order
Broadly speaking, Judge Juan Merchan's gag order prevents Donald Trump from talking or writing publicly about any witnesses, jurors, and some court employees (and their families) in a threatening way, which could be seen as trying to influence the outcome of the trial. In the second gag order hearing, where Michael Cohen's NSFW posts were used as examples, Todd Blanche argued that "Everybody can say anything they want except for President Trump" (via Business Insider).
In reporting on the second gag order hearing, some news outlets, including CNN, repeated the mean name Cohen used to refer to Trump. That CNN coverage seemed to have annoyed Laura Ingraham of Fox News, who brought it up in her show.
The first gag order hearing was about eight of Trump's Truth Social posts and two of his campaign website posts. Judge Merchan found nine to have been in violation of the order, and Trump was fined $9,000. The second gag order hearing was about statements that Trump had made to the press, including calling Cohen a liar on multiple occasions. At this time, the judge has not yet ruled on the four statements that came up in the second hearing.
Michael Cohen may not need gag order protection
Judge Juan Merchan could potentially be seen as inclined toward allowing Trump to talk about Cohen; in his ruling on the initial gag order hearing, he wrote that one of the posts in question was a response to political attacks, which would be allowed. He also wrote in the decision that the gag order was in place to protect "those fearful of reprisal by the Defendant so that they may take part in these proceedings." Merchan didn't mention Cohen directly, but he went on to write that "if a protected party turns that underlying purpose on its head, it becomes apparent that the protected party likely does not need to be protected by the Expanded Order."
However, Cohen may not say much more about Trump until he shows up in court. On April 24, Cohen posted on X that he would stop mentioning Trump on his podcast or social media until he'd finished testifying in the trial.
Trump has been advised that he could face jail time if he continues to violate the gag order. The judge also reminded him on May 3 that the gag order didn't stop him from testifying in the trial, as Trump had incorrectly told the press on May 2 that it would prevent him from taking the stand in his own defense.