Former President Donald Trump has issued a fundraising call after a New York judge’s ruling that he was in contempt of court over a gag order violation.
Judge Juan Merchan last week fined President Trump a total of $9,000 for multiple social media and other online posts, accusing the former president of violating his gag order that prohibits the presumptive Republican presidential nominee from commenting on witnesses, jury members, or other individuals connected to his current criminal trial in New York City.
“A Democrat judge JUST HELD ME IN CONTEMPT OF COURT!” one email sent out by his campaign reads, according to an The Epoch Times review. “THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME!” another wrote, asking supporters to “stand with Trump” by contributing funds.
The 45th president has used the New York trial and several other indictments to fundraise, arguing that the cases are politicized attempts to harm his 2024 reelection chances. His lawyers, meanwhile, have argued that the gag order issued by Judge Merchan—which was later expanded to include his daughter, a Democratic Party consultant—is in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Prosecutors last week have sought to penalize the former president for other alleged violations, namely for comments that he made to reporters outside the courthouse in April. Both he and his lawyers have argued that two witnesses in the case, former lawyer Michael Cohen and adult performer Stephanie Clifford, also known by her stage name Stormy Daniels, have publicly attacked him and that he’s just responding to their attacks.
The former president has said that the case should never have been brought in the first place. On Saturday, he made a similar comment and targeted the judge.
Other Fundraising Efforts
It comes as the Republican National Committee (RNC) on Saturday reported a major fundraising haul in April. Some $76 million was raised for the month, particularly for President Trump’s reelection, the RNC said.
A statement issued by RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and co-chair Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, stated that it’s because the believe the “American people are fed up with weak Joe Biden’s failed economy, border crisis, and unacceptable responses to anti-Semitic violence spreading across college campuses nationwide.”
In March, according to the Democratic National Committee, President Biden and Democrats raised some $90 million. The party hasn’t yet issued its fundraising numbers for April.
“The money we are raising is historic, and it’s going to the critical work of building a winning operation, focused solely on the voters who will decide this election — offices across the country, staff in our battleground states, and a paid media program meeting voters where they are,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement at the time.
President Trump is facing four separate criminal indictments. He and the RNC reported raising $65.5 million in March and having $93.1 million on hand. As the incumbent in 2020, the former president had a huge campaign treasury during that election.
His campaign officials have said they do not expect to raise as much as the Democrats, but will have the money they need. The Biden campaign claimed that, despite his low approval ratings and polls showing that many Democratic voters would rather not have him as the nominee, its strong fundraising shows enthusiasm for the president.
