Judge in Trump hush money case issues gag order
4 Min Read
After Trump verbally attacked Judge Merchan and his daughter, the judge issued a gag order against Trump, making him the third judge to issue such an order against the former president.
-
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on March 9, 2024, in Rome, Georgia, United States. (AP)
Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Donald Trump's trial for allegedly making pre-election hush money payments to an adult film actress, issued a partial gag order on Trump on March 26, making him the third judge so far in charge of Trump's case to issue such an order.
After Trump slammed the judge and his daughter in a series of posts on Truth Social, the New York judge issued an order for Trump to not publicly attack potential witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, their families, or prospective jurors.
The order
Merchan stressed in his order, issued on March 26, that Trump had a history of making public statements that were "threatening, inflammatory, denigrating."
"The uncontested record reflecting the defendant's prior extrajudicial statements establishes a sufficient risk to the administration of justice," he added.
Merchan further emphasized that "there exists no less restrictive means to prevent such risk" other than implementing a gag order.
This came only one day following the date Merchan set for the start of the criminal trial of Trump, the first of its kind for a former US president, on April 15.
What did Trump do before to trigger this?
On Truth Social, hours before the order issued by the judge, Trump labeled Merchan as a "true and certified Trump hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome."
"In other words, he hates me," Trump explained, "Judge Merchan should recuse himself, he cannot give me a fair trial."
Expanding his attack to reach Merchan's daughter, Trump called her "a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm."
Last month, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who initiated the hush money case against Trump, requested Merchan to issue a "narrowly tailored" gag order to "protect the integrity of this criminal proceeding."
However, back then, Merchan said that Trump was free to make comments about the judge himself and Bragg, but not the other prosecutors involved.
Another limited gag order was previously issued against Trump by Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw a business fraud case in New York that led to a $454 million fine for Trump.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, who is presiding over the federal case against Trump on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, also issued such an order.
Trump's spokesperson reacts
A Trump spokesperson, Steven Cheung, condemned the gag order as he stated "Judge Merchan's unconstitutional gag order prevents President Trump -- the leading candidate for President of the United States -- from engaging in core political speech."
"American voters have a fundamental right to hear the uncensored voice of the leading candidate for the highest office in the land," Cheung added.
Previously on Trump in court
Prosecutors in Manhattan asserted on March 14 their willingness to postpone former US President Donald Trump's hush money trial for up to 30 days to review newly obtained records from federal authorities.
The proceedings, which were set to kick off with jury selection on March 25 in New York, would be the first of the four criminal charges as District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office revealed to the court their decision to postpone having received around 31,000 pages of records.
Trump’s lawyers asked for a 90-day delay or for the charges to be dropped, citing violations of the discovery process, during which the defense and prosecution share evidence. However, prosecutors argued that the suggested length of delay was unnecessary.
The main focus is a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who claimed she had an affair with Trump. He has denied the relationship.
Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer and fixer, is a major witness in the case. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges concerning offering Daniels $130,000 in hush money.
