As Donald Trump seeks to have a gag order lifted that prevents him from speaking publicly about key figures in his New York trial, prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office are advocating for the order to remain in place.
“The court has an obligation to protect the integrity of these proceedings and the fair administration of justice at least through the sentencing hearing and the resolution of any post-trial motions,” prosecutors wrote in a letter on Wednesday.
The trial centers on Trump’s efforts to conceal a sex scandal before the 2016 election. During the proceedings, Trump used social media to criticize figures connected to the case, including witnesses and the judge’s daughter, a Democratic consultant.
In response, Judge Juan Merchan issued orders barring Trump from publicly commenting on jurors, witnesses, and the judge’s family. The trial concluded on May 30, with the jury finding Trump guilty on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to hide hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Trump.
Prosecutors had initially sought the gag order to “protect the integrity of this criminal proceeding and avoid prejudice to the jury.” Merchan’s order noted that the restrictions were intended “for the duration of the trial,” without specifying when they would be lifted.
Last Friday, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche told the Associated Press that he believed the gag order would expire at the end of the trial and that he would seek clarification from Merchan, which he did on Tuesday.
“It’s a little bit of the theater of the absurd at this point, right? Michael Cohen is no longer a witness in this trial,” Blanche told the AP. “The trial is over. The same thing with all the other witnesses. So, we’ll see. I don’t mean that in any way as being disrespectful of the judge and the process. I just want to be careful and understand when it no longer applies.”
In a letter on Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove asked Judge Merchan to lift the gag order, arguing that there was no justification for “continued restrictions on the First Amendment rights of President Trump” now that the trial is over.
They also argued that Trump should be allowed “unrestrained campaign advocacy” given President Joe Biden’s public comments about the verdict and continued criticism from key prosecution witnesses, Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s lawyers contend that lifting the gag order is crucial for Trump to fully address the case and his conviction, especially with the first presidential debate scheduled for June 27.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
Trump has continued to assert that he is under a gag order, telling reporters at Trump Tower, “I’m under a gag order, nasty gag order.”
Referring to Cohen, Trump said, “I’m not allowed to use his name because of the gag order,” before calling his former lawyer a “sleazebag.”
During the trial, Merchan held Trump in contempt of court, fined him $10,000 for multiple violations of the gag order, and threatened jail time for further violations.
Trump’s use of the term “sleazebag” to describe Cohen just before the trial annoyed prosecutors, but it was not considered a gag order violation by the judge. Merchan declined to sanction Trump for an April 10 social media post referring to Cohen and Daniels, considering Trump’s claim that he was responding to critical posts by Cohen.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.
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