Trump’s latest attempt to lift the gag order restricting his public statements following his conviction was met with a stern “no” this past Thursday. The former president and current presidential candidate’s main argument was that the order was unnecessary.
The gag order has been somewhat changed since Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. With Judge Juan Merchan lifting some parts of it, Trump can discuss trial witnesses, but everything else regarding the case is off-limits.
NBC News states that the order keeps Trump “from going after court staff members, individual prosecutors, family members of any counsel, staff member, the Court, or the District Attorney”. The extra measures were added after Trump repeatedly criticized Merchan’s daughter and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s wife.
A panel of five judges from the Appellate Division First Department, a midlevel appeals court, was responsible for deciding the gag order’s fate. Ultimately, they maintained that it should be kept in place. Their final ruling noted that Judge Merchan had:
“Properly weighed petitioner’s First Amendment Rights against the court’s historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the rights of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm”.
Bragg submitted evidence showing “threats received by District Attorney Staff” and the panel rejected the idea that the gag order violates the First Amendment.
Trump’s campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, is unhappy with these results. Calling Merchan’s order “blatantly un-American”, NBC News quotes him as saying, “President Trump continues to forcefully challenge Acting Justice Merchan’s decision…which is meant to prevent Trump from speaking freely about Judge Merchan’s disqualifying conflicts”.
With the judges’ decision, the gag order will likely be kept in place until Trump’s sentencing, reportedly scheduled for September 18th. Originally scheduled for July 11th, the sentencing hearing was postponed so Merchan could consider arguments made by Trump’s lawyers regarding the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity.
Judge Merchan’s final decision on the immunity issue is expected by September 6th. If he rules in Trump’s favor, the gag order will be lifted.
