A judge in New York has issued a new warning to lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in criminal case involving alleged hush money payments.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan on Tuesday filed a court document warning Trump's lawyers that they must obey a previous ruling forcing them to ask permission before filing any further motions in the case involving payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
"This Court advises counsel that it expects and welcome zealous advocacy and creative lawyering," the document says. "As such, "a court of record has power to punish for a criminal contempt, a person guilty of . . . [w]illful disobedience to its lawful mandate."
"This Court emphasizes that it hopes for and fully expects zealous advocacy from counsel as well as spirited contribution from witnesses and parties alike. Nonetheless, the Court expects that the line between zealous advocacy and willful disregard of its orders will not be crossed," the document added.
Adam Klasfeld of Just Security reported on X, formerly Twitter, that the document explains that Trump's lawyers could be held in criminal contempt if they refuse to follow the order regarding how to go about filing of motions in the case.
The filing on Tuesday comes a day after Merchan set a trial date of April 15 in the hush money criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Last April, Bragg's office filed a 34-count felony indictment against Trump, alleging that the former president "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."
Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing in the case and said on Tuesday that he "would have no problem testifying," in the case.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Trump said, adding that his lawyers will likely appeal the trial date. The former president also said that he's unsure if there will even be a trial following his appeals.
"This is a witch hunt. This is a hoax," Trump said before entering the court room on Monday afternoon.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
