Trump Gagged in the New York Hush-Money Case as the Judge Prohibits Statements About Witnesses

Former President Donald Trump recently got a gag order issued against him by a New York judge in the hush money case. The judge barred Trump from commenting on the witnesses, court workers, and jurors in the criminal trial. Referencing the former president's track record of making "threatening, inflammatory, denigrating" comments regarding individuals implicated in his legal matters, Judge Juan M. Merchan's ruling mirrored a gag order implemented in Trump's Washington, D.C. case concerning election interference.

 After dismissing the defense's plea to delay the Manhattan trial until summer, the judge ordered that proceedings must begin on April 15th. Should this schedule remain intact, it will mark the inaugural criminal trial involving a former president according to Businessi Insider. "Given that the eve of trial is upon us, it is without question that the imminency of the risk of harm is now paramount," Merchan wrote in the four-page order. Despite Trump's legal team opposing a gag order, arguing it would violate his constitutional rights to free speech, Judge Merchan, who had previously been hesitant to impose such an order, emphasized his duty to uphold the trial's integrity, prioritizing this obligation over First Amendment considerations.

Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles defended the ex-POTUS in a recent court filing stating, "President Trump’s political opponents have, and will continue to, attack him based on this case. The voters have the right to listen to President Trump’s unfettered responses to those attacks — not just one side of that debate." Trump is barred from publicly commenting on potential witnesses and jurors involved in the hush-money trial, as well as from making statements that disrupt or harass the court's staff, the prosecution team, or their families. Trump is also forbidden from publicly discussing prosecutors, except for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Furthermore, he cannot make statements about court personnel or their families if the intent is to significantly disrupt their work on the case. Although Judge Merchan did not specifically address Trump's past criticisms of the judge's family, any future attacks on Merchan's family would also be prohibited. 

Sharing his disagreement the business mogul turned politician wrote, "Judge Juan Merchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democratic firm that works for Adam "Shifty" Schiff, the Democratic National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden," he attacked Merchan's daughter.

Meanwhile, Michael Cohen, a prosecution witness against Trump said, "I want to thank Judge Merchan for imposing the gag order as I have been under relentless assault from Donald’s MAGA supporters. Nevertheless, knowing Donald as well as I do, he will seek to defy the gag order by employing others within his circle to do his bidding, regardless of consequence," supporting the judge's decision.