Donald Trump is now attempting to involve New York’s highest court in his ongoing battle regarding a gag order. This order has resulted in a $10,000 fine and the threat of imprisonment for Trump, as he violated the prohibition on making comments about witnesses, jurors, and other individuals associated with his hush money criminal trial.
The lawyers representing the former president have taken action by filing a notice of appeal on Wednesday. This comes after the state’s mid-level appellate court denied their request to lift or modify the restrictions. Although the filing was listed on the court’s docket, the actual document remains sealed and inaccessible.
Key details about Trump’s hush money trial:
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- Follow the AP’s live coverage as Trump’s former lawyer returns to the stand.
- A guide to terms used in the Trump trial.
- Trump is the first ex-president on criminal trial. Here’s what to know about the hush money case.
- Trump is facing four criminal indictments, and a civil lawsuit. You can track all of the cases here.
According to Steven Cheung, spokesperson for the Trump presidential campaign, the request is for the state’s Court of Appeals to address the issue.
In a statement, Cheung announced that President Trump has taken action to challenge the unconstitutional and un-American gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan in the Manhattan DA case.
“The attempt to imprison the 45th President of the United States and the front-runner for the 2024 presidential election for exercising his First Amendment rights is reminiscent of dictatorial tactics commonly seen in Third World countries. It is a clear display of the authoritarian nature of Crooked Joe Biden and his cohorts,” Cheung asserted.
The Appellate Division of the state’s trial court, a five-judge panel, declared on Tuesday that Merchan had made the correct decision. They found that Trump’s public statements were a substantial danger to the credibility of witnesses and potential witnesses in the case.
The gag order imposed on Trump by the state’s intermediate appeals court has been challenged by him, with a request to lift or modify it. This order restricts him from making any statements or directing others to do so regarding witnesses such as Michael Cohen, his former associate turned adversary, who is set to testify for the third day on Thursday. Additionally, the order prohibits Trump from making comments about court staff, the judge’s family, and other prosecutors apart from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Bragg’s office has chosen not to provide any comment on the matter. We reached out to a spokesperson for the state court system for their input, but they did not respond.
“The gag order needs to be lifted,” Trump expressed to reporters as he made his way into the courtroom on Tuesday. He later expressed his frustration, saying, “I’m unable to answer those straightforward questions you’re asking me due to the imposed gag order.”
After being held in contempt of court and fined $10,000 for repeatedly violating the gag order, Trump has become noticeably more cautious in his remarks. Judge Merchan warned Trump that any further violations could result in jail time.
Trump committed several violations, including his various attacks on Cohen. On April 13, he took to social media and asked, “Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING? Only TRUMP people get prosecuted by this Judge and these thugs!”
Merchan also pointed out that Trump shared posts regarding Cohen being labeled as a “serial perjurer” in a New York Post article, as well as a post quoting Fox News host Jesse Watters’ assertion that liberal activists were deceiving the jury.
Judge Merchan issued a stern warning to Trump, stating that he had once again violated the gag order. This violation occurred during an interview with Real America’s Voice, where Trump criticized the jury selection process and baselessly claimed that it was biased towards Democrats.
Merchan imposed a gag order on March 26 due to concerns raised by prosecutors regarding Trump’s tendency to criticize individuals involved in his cases. On April 1, he further extended the order to include a prohibition on making comments about his own family. This decision came after Trump launched a social media attack on the judge’s daughter, who happens to be a Democratic political consultant, and made false allegations about her.
Just days before the start of jury selection, Trump made an appeal against the gag order on April 8. During an emergency hearing before a single judge of the Appellate Division, Trump’s lawyers contended that the order infringed upon the Republican presidential nominee’s free speech rights as he campaigns and fights criminal charges. They argued that the order was unconstitutional.
According to court documents, Trump objected to the limitations placed on his ability to discuss Matthew Colangelo, a former Justice Department official involved in the prosecution team, as well as Merchan’s daughter, whose firm has provided services to Trump’s political opponent, President Joe Biden, and other Democrats.
The Appellate Division highlighted in its ruling on Tuesday that Trump’s argument did not revolve around the infringement of his fair trial rights due to the gag order. Instead, his legal team contended that the restriction on commenting about Colangelo and Loren Merchan impeded his ability to exercise his protected political speech and potentially had negative implications for his campaign.
According to the appeals court, Judge Merchan correctly balanced President Trump’s right to free speech with the longstanding commitment to ensuring fair administration of justice in criminal cases and the rights of individuals associated with or connected to the proceedings to be protected from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm.
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