A New York appeals court on Tuesday turned down former President Trump’s final effort to delay his hush money criminal trial while he contests a gag order imposed by the judge overseeing the case.
Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order prevents Trump from criticizing witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and the judge’s family, but does not prevent him from insulting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) or the judge himself.
During an emergency hearing on Tuesday before Justice Cynthia Kern, Trump’s lawyers argued that prohibiting public statements about those individuals is an unconstitutional restriction on his right to free speech while running for president and preparing his defense.
“The limitations on the First Amendment caused by this gag order at the moment are irreversible,” said Trump lawyer Emil Bove, according to the Associated Press.
State prosecutors argued that Trump’s comments endanger the “public interest in safeguarding the integrity of the trial.”
“This is not a political debate. These are insults,” Steven Wu, appellate chief for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said about Trump’s comments, as reported by the AP.
Trump’s lawyers had asked the judge to indefinitely halt the former president’s trial, which is set to commence on April 15, through an emergency stay while they challenge the gag order. Kern refused to do so, meaning that unless further action is taken, the trial date stands.
Trump’s lawsuit against Merchan regarding his gag order, which acts as an appeal, is confidential and not accessible to the public.
The former president previously used the same strategy in his civil fraud trial, when a different Manhattan judge imposed a gag on his speech. Trump’s lawyers appealed the matter to the state’s highest court, which rejected it.
Trump’s request to pause the trial while he contests the gag order will now be considered by a full five-judge panel.
Merchan’s initial gag order on Trump did not include his own family members or Bragg’s, but it was expanded after Trump targeted the judge’s daughter, Loren. Loren Merchan works for the progressive political consulting firm Authentic, which has represented clients such as President Biden and Vice President Harris.
In a separate bid to delay the trial, Trump’s lawyers have claimed that Merchan should withdraw from the case due to his daughter’s work, stating that she has a “direct financial interest” in its outcome because of her work for Trump’s political opponents.
Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee for 2024 who is expected to compete against Biden for the White House in November.
The hush money trial, which is set to be Trump’s first criminal trial and the first criminal trial of any former U.S. president, was initially scheduled to begin on March 25, but was postponed due to a last-minute document release.
Trump is facing 34 charges of altering business records related to a hush money payment made by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to a porn actress to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with the then-presidential candidate before the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Associated Press provided the information.
