In a recent episode of Fox News, host Howard Kurtz politely corrected a spokesperson for Donald Trump regarding the specifics of his gag order in the Manhattan “hush money” case.
Donald Trump, the expected Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, is currently prohibited from making public statements about the prosecutors, witnesses, jurors, and their families involved in his Manhattan criminal case. This gag order, initially implemented by Judge Juan Merchan, has been expanded to include Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and their respective families. The initial order was issued in response to a series of social media posts by the former president, in which he criticized Judge Juan Merchan and targeted his daughter, Loren Merchan, for her professional associations with influential Democratic politicians.
Trump has not stopped publicly attacking Merchan and his daughter even after the court order. In a recent post on Truth Social, he boldly stated that he would be willing to go to jail for his words against them.
Merchan, in violation of the Law and the Constitution, is preventing me from speaking. This is a grave offense – how was he even selected for this case? I heard he fought fiercely to obtain it, along with the others. If this biased individual intends to imprison me for boldly stating the undeniable TRUTH, I will proudly become a modern-day Nelson Mandela. It would be a tremendous honor for me.
Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 campaign, appeared on Fox News on Sunday. When asked about the gag order by Kurtz, she described it as an effort by Democratic political forces to silence him.
“The Democrats are determined to confine President Trump to a courtroom…And that’s precisely why we witness these gag orders being imposed,” Leavitt asserted. “They are not only prosecuting him, but also aiming to silence him. This constitutes a clear infringement on his First Amendment rights.”
Kurtz responded to her statement by clarifying the extent of the gag order. He pointed out, “Although he is still allowed to discuss the case, I appreciate your response regarding this matter.”
In the case concerning hush money, Bragg has accused Trump of dishonestly altering business records to hide unlawful payments made as “hush money” to adult film star Stormy Daniels. These payments were made to prevent her from revealing an alleged affair between the two in 2006. Trump has consistently denied the existence of this affair and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial for the case is set to commence on Monday, April 15th.
In a recent on-air correction, Kurtz acknowledged that he had misinterpreted remarks made by President Trump during an interview. Trump had wrongly claimed that Democrats supported abortions in the third trimester and even after the baby was born. Kurtz pointed out that Trump had cited misleading comments made by former Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam regarding late-term abortions.
According to Kurtz, former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam did mention that in situations where there is a severe deformity or a non-viable fetus, the decision on what to do would be made by the mother and doctors after the baby is born. However, he later retracted his statement, and his spokesperson clarified that he was not referring to the killing of babies, but rather addressing extremely rare and tragic cases. It is worth noting that a CDC survey indicates that fewer than 1 percent of all abortions occur at or after seven months of pregnancy.
