Silenced by Law: The Recent Gag Order in Donald Trump’s Manhattan Criminal Trial

In New York, Judge Juan Merchan recently issued a gag order for former President Donald Trump as he prepares for his Manhattan criminal hush-money trial next month. The judge granted a motion from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to prevent Trump from making public statements about jurors and potential witnesses involved in the investigation.

This is not the first time that Trump has been subject to a gag order in New York. A previous judge imposed a similar order during Trump’s civil fraud trial after he made negative comments about the judge’s principal clerk. The recent gag order was issued on the same day that Trump criticized the judge and his daughter on Truth Social, a social media platform. Despite Trump’s actions, the D.A.’s motion for the gag order was filed weeks before his online remarks.

Observers, including former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman, noted Judge Merchan’s seriousness in handling the upcoming trial. Litman mentioned the significant gag order imposed on Trump and Merchan’s readiness to enforce it if Trump violates it, especially after a jury is selected. The judge’s actions demonstrate a commitment to ensuring a fair and orderly legal process in the voter deception trial involving the former president.

The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a motion seeking to prevent former President Donald Trump from making any public statements about jurors or potential witnesses involved in their ongoing investigation into alleged hush-money payments made by Trump to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal during his presidency. The court granted Bragg’s request for a temporary restraining order against Trump’s attempts to disclose any information related to the case or its participants, including jurors or witnesses who could potentially be called upon at trial.

Trump has previously been subjected to similar orders in other legal proceedings against him in New York City, but this is one of his most high-profile cases yet.

The decision by Judge Juan Merchan came just days after President Biden announced he would not seek reelection in 2024, adding another layer of complexity to an already highly charged legal case.

Judge Merchan also barred Trump from speaking about anyone on D.A.’s staff except for Bragg himself, court staff and family members of any staff or counsel if such statements were intended to interfere with the case.

The move by Bragg’s office comes after years of investigations into alleged illegal activities by Trump and his associates that spanned multiple states and countries.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and maintains that he did nothing illegal during his presidency.

The trial is set for April 15th, 2023.