Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan, issued a gag order against the 45th president on Tuesday.
The order from the New York State Supreme Court for New York County – the county trial court – justice bars Trump from speaking publicly about witnesses and counsel involved in the case, except for New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg. It also prevents Trump from making public comments about staff of the court and district attorney.
Moreover, the order extends to family members of both court staff and Bragg’s staff. It also prohibits Trump from commenting publicly “about any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding.”
The order comes hours after Trump went after Merchan and his daughter in a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning and a day after Merchan set the trial date in the case for April 15.
Trump wrote Tuesday:
Judge Juan Merchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. In other words, he hates me! His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for Adam “Shifty” Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden. He was recently the judge on an unrelated trial of a long term employee, elderly and not in good health. This judge treated him viciously, telling him either you cooperate or I’m putting you in jail for 15 years. He pled, and went to jail for very minor offenses, highly unusual, served 4 months in Rikers, and now they are after him again, this time for allegedly lying (doesn’t look like a lie to me!), and they threatened him again with 15 years if he doesn’t say something bad about “TRUMP.” He is devastated and scared! These COUNTRY DESTROYING SCOUNDRELS & THUGS HAVE NO CASE AGAINST ME. WITCH HUNT!
Trump faces 34 counts in the case related to alleged falsification of business records.
In his ruling, Merchan states that the prosecution’s request for the now-granted order implicated speech guaranteed under the First Amendment and “the State’s interest in the fair administration of justice.”
He writes that “given the nature and impact of the statements made against this Court and a family member thereof, the District Attorney and an Assistant District Attorney, the witnesses in this case… and given that the eve of the trial is upon us, it is without question that the imminency of the risk of harm is now paramount.”
He also cited a gag order imposed against Trump in the federal January 6 case regarding “extrajudicial statements” from the former president in his reasoning for determining “the risk of harm is paramount.”
“The uncontested record reflecting Defendant’s prior extrajudicial statements establishes a sufficient risk to the administration of justice consistent with the standard set for in Landmark, and there exists no less restrictive means to prevent such a risk,” he concludes.
The case is New York v. Trump, No. 71543-23, in the New York Supreme Court for New York County.
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