Donald Trump earned his latest gag order Tuesday, in his New York criminal case ahead of the recently set April 15 trial in the hush money case. Imposing the order, Judge Juan Merchan cited the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s “threatening” and “inflammatory” statements against people across the legal system.
Per Merchan’s order, the former president is barred from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses; lawyers other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg; members of Merchan’s staff and the DA’s office; and family members of any counsel or staff member, if those statements are made to materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with, counsel’s or staff’s work in the case, or with the knowledge that such interference is likely to result. Trump is also barred from making, or directing others to make, public statements about jurors or prospective jurors.
It’s unsurprising that Merchan imposed these limits ahead of trial. That’s not only because of the defendant’s documented and continuing anti-social behavior, but also because Bragg’s request largely mirrored the one approved by the federal appeals court in Washington in Trump’s federal election interference case.
Of course, that doesn’t make the adjudicated necessity of such an order any less remarkable. Indeed, it’s another ignominious achievement from the former and potentially future commander in chief, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money scheme in connection with the 2016 presidential election. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.
Jordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro," a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined MS NOW, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.
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