In a surprising turn of events, former President Donald Trump received a correction from Judge Merchan about his false statement regarding the gag order in his ongoing criminal trial. Trump had previously claimed that the order prohibited him from testifying, but the judge clarified on Friday that this was not the case.

On Thursday, as he left the courtroom, Trump spoke to reporters, stating, "I'm not allowed to testify. I'm under a gag order. I guess, right? I'm not allowed to testify because this judge, who's totally conflicted, has me under an unconstitutional gag order."

However, Guardian reporter Hugo Lowell later revealed on social media that Judge Merchan set the record straight on Friday morning. Lowell wrote, "Judge Merchan starts Day 11 of Trump's criminal trial by correcting his false statements from yesterday that the gag order prevents him from testifying. 'The order restricting extrajudicial statements does not prevent you from testifying in any way,' Merchan tells Trump."

To his credit, Trump retracted his previous comment as he entered the courtroom on Friday, confirming, "No. It won't stop me from testifying. The gag order is not for testifying."

The gag order in question actually prohibits Trump from making public comments about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and jurors. It aims to avoid any potential interference with the trial proceedings.

Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, to which he has pleaded not guilty. These charges revolve around $130,000 payments his company made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. The payments were allegedly intended to prevent porn actor Stormy Daniels from publicly disclosing her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump.

Prosecutors argue that the payments made to Cohen were falsely recorded as legal fees, suggesting a scheme to suppress damaging stories that could have impacted Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Trump denies the alleged encounter with Daniels ever took place and has maintained that the payment had no connection to his campaign.

As the trial continues, all eyes are on Trump and the unfolding legal proceedings. The clarification from Judge Merchan has now clarified that the gag order will not impede Trump from taking the stand to testify, bringing more anticipation and interest to the case.