Former President Donald Trump has been blocked from publicly commenting about the participation of potential witnesses, such as adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, in his New York criminal hush money case.
The Tuesday gag order from Judge Juan Merchan also bars Trump from publicly commenting on court staff and prosecution lawyers other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg if the comments are meant to significantly interfere with their work in the case. Merchan extended that protection to the staff and lawyers’ family members as well, and he blocked Trump from making any public comments about prospective and actual jurors.
The order comes one day after Merchan scheduled the criminal trial — the first ever against a former president — to start on April 15. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made the $130,000 payment to Daniels soon before the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors say Trump later reimbursed Cohen for the payment and falsified records about the reimbursement.
‘Threatening, inflammatory’ statements
Bragg’s office had asked for a gag order to protect potential witnesses and jurors, arguing that Trump had “a long history of making public and inflammatory remarks” about people in other lawsuits.
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Trump repeatedly attacked Judge Arthur Engoron from his New York civil fraud trial on social media. Engoron drew a line when Trump went after the judge’s law clerk, asserting without evidence that the clerk was in a romantic relationship with a prominent Democratic lawmaker. The judge issued a gag order to block that behavior by Trump, and later extended the gag to Trump’s lawyers.
Engoron’s office had “been inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages,” the judge wrote when he extended the order.
Trump’s speech was also restricted through an order in his federal election interference case that was later upheld, although narrowed, by an appeals court in order to protect witnesses, court staff, and some lawyers and family members.
Merchan noted that appeals court ruling in his Tuesday decision, in which he expressed concern about “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” statements by Trump outside of courtrooms and court filings that were targeted at officials, court staff, prosecutors, and grand jurors.
“The consequences of those statements included not only fear on the part of the individual targeted, but also the assignment of increased security resources to investigate threats and protect the individuals and family members,” Merchan wrote.
Trump’s legal team told Merchan earlier this month that the Republican presumptive presidential nominee’s speech shouldn’t be restricted based on what it might inspire others to do.
“Speech that falls short of incitement may not be silenced solely because it might inspire others to engage in violence or other unruly behavior—regardless of how predictable (or not) those unruly reactions might be,” his lawyers wrote in the filing.
But Merchan said Tuesday that when “the fairness of the trial is threatened,” measures aimed at preventing a threat are appropriate.
Trump’s penchant for attacking judges and prosecutors tied to his legal troubles was on display Tuesday morning. The former president told his social media followers that Merchan is a “certified Trump Hater” and made claims about the judge’s daughter’s political affiliations.
Contributing: Bart Jansen
