Donald Trump is currently appealing to New York’s highest court to step in and address the issue of a gag order. This gag order has resulted in a fine of $10,000 and the possibility of jail time for Trump. The order prohibits him from making any comments about witnesses, jurors, and individuals associated with his hush money criminal trial.
The lawyers of the former president lodged an appeal on Wednesday, following the denial of their request to lift or modify the restrictions by the state’s mid-level appellate court. Although the filing was listed on the court docket, the document itself remained sealed and inaccessible.
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Steven Cheung, spokesperson for the Trump presidential campaign, stated that the request for the state’s Court of Appeals to address the matter has been made.
In a statement, Cheung announced that President Trump has taken action by filing a notice to appeal the unconstitutional and un-American gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan in the lawless Manhattan DA case.
Cheung slammed the notion of imprisoning the 45th President of the United States and the frontrunner for the 2024 presidential election for exercising his First Amendment rights, calling it a tactic reminiscent of Third World authoritarianism. He criticized Joe Biden and his allies for resorting to such measures.
In a recent ruling, a five-judge panel from the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court upheld the decision made by Judge Merchan. The panel agreed that Trump’s public statements posed a significant threat to the integrity of the testimony of witnesses and potential witnesses in the case.
Trump requested the state’s intermediate appeals court to lift or modify the gag order, which currently imposes certain restrictions on him. These restrictions prohibit him from making any statements, or directing others to do so, about witnesses like Michael Cohen, his former ally-turned-enemy, who is set to testify for a third day on Thursday. Additionally, the gag order also prevents Trump from making comments about court staff, the judge’s family, and other prosecutors, excluding Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Bragg’s office has chosen not to provide a comment on the matter at hand. We have reached out to a spokesperson for the state court system for their input but have not yet received a response.
“The gag order needs to be lifted,” Trump asserted to the reporters as he made his way into court on Tuesday. He later expressed his frustration, saying, “I’m bound by this gag order, so I’m unable to respond to your straightforward queries.”
After being held in contempt of court by Judge Merchan and facing a fine of $10,000 for repeatedly violating the gag order, Trump has become noticeably more cautious in his remarks. The judge warned Trump that further violations of the gag order could result in imprisonment.
Trump made several attacks on Cohen, questioning whether he had been prosecuted for lying and suggesting that only people associated with him were targeted by the judge and his team. In an April 13 social media post, Trump wrote, “Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING? Only TRUMP people get prosecuted by this Judge and these thugs!”
Merchan also highlighted Trump’s reposts of a New York Post article that labeled Cohen as a “serial perjurer.” Additionally, Trump shared a quote from Fox News host Jesse Watters, who asserted that liberal activists were deceitfully trying to infiltrate the jury.
In a recent interview with television channel Real America’s Voice, President Trump voiced his criticism regarding the speed at which the jury was selected for his trial and made unsubstantiated claims that the jury was biased towards Democrats. This statement from Trump led to Judge Merchan warning him about violating the gag order for the final time.
Merchan issued the gag order on March 26 due to prosecutors’ concerns about Trump’s tendency to criticize individuals involved in his cases. On April 1, he extended the order to include comments about his own family, following Trump’s social media attack on the judge’s daughter, who is a Democratic political consultant, and the subsequent false claims made by the former president.
Trump’s lawyers filed an appeal on April 8, just a few days prior to the commencement of jury selection. During an emergency hearing in front of a single judge from the Appellate Division, Trump’s legal team asserted that the gag order infringed upon the Republican presidential nominee’s constitutional right to freedom of speech, especially considering his ongoing campaign and legal battle against criminal charges.
According to court papers, Trump contested the limitations on his ability to discuss Matthew Colangelo, a former Justice Department official involved in the prosecution team, as well as Merchan’s daughter, whose firm has provided services to Trump’s political opponent, President Joe Biden, and other Democrats.
In its ruling on Tuesday, the Appellate Division acknowledged that Trump’s argument did not revolve around the violation of his right to a fair trial due to the gag order. Instead, his legal team contended that the restriction on commenting about Colangelo and Loren Merchan hindered his ability to exercise protected political speech and could potentially harm his campaign.
The appeals court determined that Judge Merchan adequately considered both Trump’s freedom of speech and the long-standing commitment to ensuring fair administration of justice in criminal cases. Additionally, the court recognized the right of individuals involved in or connected to the criminal proceedings to be protected from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm.
