The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office criticized former President Trump's recent attacks on his hush money judge's daughter and urged the judge to expand or clarify Trump's gag order to protect her.
The prosecutor Matthew Colangelo stated that the defendant's dangerous and violent rhetoric is threatening the fairness of the trial and is meant to intimidate witnesses and trial participants, including the judge. The statement was made in court documents filed on Monday. The gag order was imposed by Judge Juan Merchan last week to limit Trump's attacks on court staff, prosecutors, jurors, and witnesses ahead of his April 15 trial in the hush money case, which is his first criminal trial.
Trump has continued to post about Judge Merchan's daughter after the judge denied a trial delay, leading to disputes over the boundaries of Trump's restrictions and whether they apply to her.
Bragg has argued that the judge should clarify or expand the language of the gag order to prevent Trump from attacking both the judge's and Bragg's families, while Trump's team pushed back in their own filing on Monday. The boundaries of Trump's restrictions and whether they apply to the judge's daughter are in dispute. Bragg argues that the judge should clarify or expand the language of the gag order to prevent Trump from attacking the families of trial participants, but Trump's team disagrees.
In their filing on Monday, Trump's team argued that expanding the gag order would further violate Trump's First Amendment rights. Trump's team filed their response on Monday, arguing that changing the gag order would violate his First Amendment rights.Trump's attorney Todd Blanche stated that Trump has not violated the gag order and that expanding it would worsen the existing constitutional violations.
Blanche argued that Trump has not violated the gag order and that expanding it would further infringe on his constitutional rights.
Prosecutors cited several of Trump's recent truth social posts, including attacks on the judge's daughter regarding her employment with a digital agency that has worked with the Biden-Harris campaign.
The prosecutor Colangelo emphasized that family members of trial participants should be strictly off-limits.
He continued to argue that Trump's refusal to accept this is a dangerous display of entitlement and could lead to harm for those involved in the trial.
The court should make it clear that Trump cannot publicly talk about the families of the judge, the district attorney, and other individuals mentioned in the order.
The judge declined Trump's request for recusal last year after seeking guidance from a state ethics advisory committee regarding his daughter's employment.
Trump's lawyers indicated they would seek a new recusal motion based on changed circumstances and newly discovered evidence.
Prosecutors also asked the judge to warn Trump that continued harassment or disruptive behavior will result in him losing access to the names of his trial jurors.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with covering up a hush money payment to a porn star who alleged an extramarital affair with him before the 2016 presidential election. He pleaded not guilty.
Updated 5:06 p.m.
