Judge Issues Gag Order on Trump Ahead of Hush Money Trial
United States Former President, Donald Trump has been issued a judge’s gag order on Tuesday, prohibiting him from publicly commenting about witnesses and court staff ahead of his April 15 criminal trial involving hush money paid to a porn star.
The order was granted by Justice Juan Merchan in response to a request from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is prosecuting Trump, now a Republican candidate for the White House, in the upcoming election challenge against President Joe Biden.
In his ruling, Justice Merchan cited Trump’s previous statements as “threatening, inflammatory, [and] denigrating,” which could potentially impede the orderly administration of the court.
Excel Magazine International reports that Trump faces 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records to conceal reimbursements to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep silent about a purported sexual encounter before the 2016 election, which Trump denies.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung criticized the gag order as unconstitutional, arguing that American voters have the right to hear the uncensored voice of the leading candidate for the presidency.
Trump’s legal team had previously expressed concerns that a gag order would leave him vulnerable to attacks by political opponents.
The gag order prohibits Trump from discussing witnesses’ roles in the case, commenting on court staff, prosecutors other than Bragg, and their family members if such remarks are intended to interfere with the proceedings.
This order follows a previous ruling by Justice Merchan to keep jurors anonymous due to concerns about Trump’s history of publicly criticizing trial jurors and grand jurors.
The hush money trial is one of four criminal cases Trump faces before the November election, with this potentially being the only one to go to trial before then.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges, dismissing them as politically motivated.
This gag order mirrors restrictions imposed last year by a federal judge in a criminal case related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Additionally, Trump was fined $15,000 last year by another state judge for violating a gag order in a separate civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
In addition to the New York cases, Trump is also facing state criminal charges in Georgia over his attempts to reverse the 2020 election results and federal criminal charges in Florida related to his handling of government documents after leaving office in 2021.
Trump is currently appealing a $454.2 million judgment in the civil fraud case, with a mid-level state appeals court recently pausing the judgment pending a $175 million bond payment within 10 days.
