Trump’s Gag Order: Judge Extends Restrictions Amid Rhetoric Risks

TFD – Delve into the intricate legal battle surrounding Trump’s criminal hush money prosecution as the judge extends the gag order amid concerns of rhetoric risks. Gain insights into the ongoing proceedings and their implications on legal procedures. Stay informed about the latest updates in this high-profile case that continues to captivate public and legal attention.

In a late Monday ruling, the judge presiding over Donald Trump’s criminal hush money prosecution extended the gag order to encompass family members of the Manhattan district attorney and the court.

The judge warned that Trump’s rhetoric risks to induce fear in individuals who might be involved in the proceedings for their loved ones in the ruling, which follows Trump’s remarks about Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter in recent days.

Merchan observed, “The average observer, after hearing defendant’s recent attacks, must now conclude that they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well, if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially.” “Such worries are a direct assault on the Rule of Law itself and will surely impede the just administration of justice.”

“There is now more than simply a chance or a plausible prospect that the legal system’s integrity is in jeopardy. The danger is real and present. Reliance on self-control and admonitions alone are insufficient, he claimed.

In an effort to prevent the former president from disparaging the relatives of those connected to the case, the Manhattan district attorney’s office had earlier on Monday requested that the judge extend the gag order.

Prosecutors wrote a motion to Judge Juan Merchan on Monday stating, “This Court should immediately make clear that defendant is prohibited from making or directing others to make public statements about family members of the Court, the District Attorney, and all other individuals mentioned in the Order.”

Trump started a string of posts on his social media site last week, just after Merchan issued a gag order prohibiting him from speaking about witnesses, juries, prosecutors, court employees, or the relatives of prosecutors and court employees. Alvin Bragg, the district attorney, the judge, and his family were not subject to the gag order.

Trump claims he is entitled to self-defense and the freedom to make political speeches under the First Amendment. He criticized the expanded gag order in a post on Truth Social Tuesday morning, accusing Merchan of being corrupt and saying the proceedings against him amounted to “election interference.”

“Both the defendant and the other people are aware of what they are doing. The defendant has stated for decades that it is part of his life philosophy to pursue his perceived opponents “as viciously and as violently” as he can, so we all know exactly what he intends to do, the prosecution wrote.

“But the suggestion that defendant is merely engaging in political counter-speech is an obvious fiction that this Court should emphatically reject,” prosecutors wrote. “None of defendant’s attacks in the past week consist of campaign advocacy. Instead, defendant has viciously and falsely smeared the Court and the family member for no reason other than the Court’s presiding over this criminal trial.”

Trump might challenge the gag order.

Trump’s lawyers opposed any expansion of the original gag order, which they said already went too far – indicating ahead of Merchan’s ruling that they might appeal the order.

In an opposition filing on Monday, Trump’s lawyers stated, “The Court should reject the People’s invitations to expand the gag order, which is already an unlawful prior restraint that improperly restricts campaign advocacy by the presumptive Republican nominee and leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election.”

The defense team for Trump had claimed that the gag order did not, in its original form, apply to the judge’s or Bragg’s family members. They cited news articles that offered a similar interpretation of the order, stating that family members such as Merchan’s daughter are open to public criticism from Trump.

“Therefore, President Trump did not violate the gag order and no contempt warning would be appropriate because the order expressly does not apply to family members of the Court or the District Attorney, and because the challenged social media posts were not intended to materially interfere with these proceedings.”

In his decision on Monday, Merchan called the arguments made by Trump’s lawyers “farcical.”

“Defendant, by ‘turning the tables’ and blaming those he attacks, attempts desperately to justify and explain away his dangerous rhetoric,” Merchan wrote in his objection to April 1, 2024. “The arguments presented by the counsel are, at best, strained, and, at worst, unfounded fabrications that rely on innuendo and hyperbole and are not supported by any evidence. To put it plainly, the collection of claims pieced together and offered as “facts” leads to accusations that lack logic and are dishonest. It is ridiculous to claim that the most recent attacks, which featured images, are “necessary and appropriate in the current environment.”

Additionally, just two weeks before the trial is scheduled to start, Trump’s attorneys requested permission from Merchan to file a recusal motion to remove the judge from the case “based on changed circumstances and newly discovered evidence.”

Trump filed a similar move for recusal last year, but Merchan denied it.

More developments have been added to this story and headline.