By MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press)
Donald Trump criticized on Wednesday the New York judge who imposed a court order that prevents him from publicly discussing witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial. upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
The former president criticized the gag order on social media, labeling it as “illegal, un-American, unConstitutional” and accusing Judge Juan M. Merchan of unlawfully trying to prevent him from exercising his First Amendment Right. Trump also criticized Merchan’s daughter, a Democratic political consultant, for posting a picture of him behind bars on social media.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee also criticized Merchan’s daughter, a Democratic political consultant, for posting a photo on social media of him behind bars. An account apparently belonging to Loren Merchan on X, previously known as Twitter, has a photo illustration of an imprisoned Trump as its profile picture. Loren Merchan’s consulting firm had linked to that account in a previous social media post.
The gag order does not restrict comments about Merchan or his family, nor does it prevent Trump from criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the Democrat prosecuting him.
Messages seeking comment were left with Judge Merchan, Loren Merchan, and a court spokesperson. Bragg’s office declined to comment on the gag order.
Trump’s first response to the gag order was posted on Truth Social by Trump, following the order issued by Merchan on Tuesday, a day after he scheduled the trial to begin on April 15. Hours before the judge’s ruling, Trump had referred to Merchan in a Truth Social post as a “very distinguished looking man” and a “true and certified Trump Hater.”
Merchan’s order cited Trump’s history of “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” remarks about people involved in his legal cases in granting the prosecution’s request for what it deemed a “narrowly tailored” gag order.
Though not covered by the gag order, Merchan referenced Trump’s various comments about him as an example of his rhetoric. The restrictions mirror ones imposed and largely upheld by a federal appeals court panel in Trump’s Washington, D.C., election interference criminal case.
Trump’s lawyers had opposed a gag order, warning it would constitute unconstitutional and unlawful prior restraint on his free speech rights — an argument echoed by Trump in his Truth Social post.
Merchan had long resisted imposing a gag order, recognizing Trump’s “special” status as a former president and current candidate and not wishing to infringe on his ability to defend himself publicly. However, he stated that as the trial approaches, his obligation to ensure the integrity of the case outweighs First Amendment concerns. He said Trump’s statements have induced fear and necessitated added security measures to protect his targets and investigate threats.
“So, let me get this straight,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Judge’s daughter is allowed to post pictures of her ‘dream’ of putting me in jail, the Manhattan D.A. is able to say whatever lies about me he wants, the Judge can violate our Laws and Constitution at every turn, but I am not allowed to talk about the attacks against me, and the Lunatics trying to destroy my life and prevent me from winning the 2024 Presidential Election, which I am dominating?”
“Maybe the Judge is so opposed because his daughter earns money by working to ‘Get Trump’ and when he rules against me repeatedly, he is making her company, and her, wealthier and wealthier,” Trump continued. “How can this be allowed?”
Trump also accused President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland and their “Hacks and Thugs” of “tracking and following me all over the Country, obsessively trying to persecute me, while everyone knows I have done nothing wrong.”
The gag order prevents Trump from either making or directing others to make public statements on his behalf about hush-money trial jurors and potential witnesses, such as his lawyer turned nemesis Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels. It also prohibits any statements intended to interfere with or harass the court’s staff, prosecution team or their families.
A violation could lead to Trump being held in contempt of court, fined or even jailed.
Trump’s hush-money case revolves around allegations that he falsely recorded payments to Cohen, then his personal lawyer, as legal fees in his company’s books when they were for his work during the 2016 campaign covering up negative stories about Trump. That included $130,000 Cohen paid Daniels on Trump’s behalf so she wouldn’t publicize her claim of a sexual encounter with him years earlier.
Trump pleaded not guilty last April to 34 counts of falsifying business records, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, though there is no guarantee that a conviction would result in jail time. He denies having sex with Daniels and his lawyers have said that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses, not part of any coverup.
