Judge reprimands Trump lawyer but holds off on gag order ruling

Juan Merchan reserves judgment on prosecutors' request for maximum fine but tells Todd Blanche you're losing all credibility'

The New York judge presiding in Donald Trump's criminal trial held off on deciding whether he should be fined $10,000 for attacking expected trial witnesses in direct violation of the gag order designed to protect trial participants from being the target of Trump's abuse.

The judge, Juan Merchan, reserved ruling from the bench. But he appeared deeply unconvinced by arguments from Trump's lead lawyer Todd Blanche that a series of social media posts were just responses to political attacks on Trump and therefore permitted.