By MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press)
In New York, the district attorney hinted that Donald Trump broke a rule by attacking the judge's daughter and sharing a false claim about her on social media, even though a gag order was in place for his hush-money criminal case.
The district attorney's office in Manhattan asked Judge Juan M. Merchan to clarify the scope of the gag order and to tell the former president to stop attacking family members.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass argued in a letter to Merchan that the gag order bans statements intended to interfere with or harass the court's staff or their families, making the judge's daughter off-limits from Trump's remarks. He said Trump should be punished for further violations.
Trump's lawyers argued that the district attorney's office is misinterpreting the order and said it doesn't stop Trump from talking about Loren Merchan, a political consultant who has worked on campaigns for Trump's rival, President Joe Biden, and other Democrats.
Trump's lawyers Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles responded to the prosecution's letter by writing to Merchan that the court cannot force President Trump to do something that the gag order doesn't require. They said that to clarify or confirm the meaning of the gag order as suggested by the People would be to expand it.
The trial, which involves allegations that Trump changed payment records to hide negative stories during his 2016 presidential campaign, is set to begin on April 15. Trump denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
In his posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated that Loren Merchan makes money by working against him and falsely accused her of posting a photo on social media showing him behind bars.
A spokesperson for New York's state court system said Trump's claim was false and that the social media account Trump referenced no longer belonged to Loren Merchan.
According to court spokesperson Al Baker, the account on X (formerly known as Twitter) is not linked to her email address and she hasn't posted under that screenname since she deleted the account. It represents the reconstitution and manipulation of an account she abandoned long ago.
In the same Truth Social posts, Trump complained that his gag order was 'illegal, un-American, unConstitutional.' He also claimed that Judge Merchan was wrongly trying to stop him from exercising his First Amendment Right.
The gag order, requested by prosecutors, stops Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about jurors or potential witnesses in the hush-money trial, like his former lawyer Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels.
The order, similar to one in Trump's election interference case in Washington, D.C., also bans any statements intended to interfere with or harass the court's staff, prosecution team, or their families. However, Trump is allowed to criticize Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, but the prosecutors want his family to be off-limits as well.
In his letter, Steinglass urged the judge to clearly tell Trump that the gag order protects his family, Bragg’s family, and family members of others under the gag order. He asked Merchan to warn Trump that his recent behavior is disobedient and instruct him to stop immediately.
Breaking the gag order could lead to Trump being found in contempt of court, fined, or even imprisoned.
Trump’s lawyers opposed such warnings, citing constitutional concerns about further restricting Trump’s speech while he’s campaigning for president and facing criminal charges.
They said that if prosecutors pursue the issue, they will want to fully litigate it, potentially complicating trial preparations with jury selection scheduled to start in just over two weeks.
