Trump's Gag Order Battle Amid 2024 Election
Former President Donald Trump continues to face legal restrictions impacting his 2024 campaign. How will this affect both Trump and his political rivals?
Published August 02, 2024 - 00:08am
Former President Donald Trump lost a bid on Thursday to appeal his gag order in the New York criminal hush money case after stating it gives an unfair advantage to his 2024 presidential election opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Lawyers for Trump asked a New York appeals court on July 30 to expedite his effort to remove a gag order in his criminal case so he can fully respond to Harris's claim that the 2024 presidential race is a choice between a prosecutor and a convicted felon.
A New York state appeals court on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's challenge to a gag order in his hush money criminal case, where the former US president was convicted in May on charges stemming from hush money payments to a porn star. The decision means Trump, the Republican presidential nominee in the Nov. 5 election, cannot comment publicly about individual prosecutors and others in the case until Justice Juan Merchan sentences him on Sept. 18.
The decision by the Appellate Division in Manhattan means Trump, the Republican presidential nominee in the Nov. 5 election, cannot comment publicly about individual prosecutors and others in the case until Justice Juan Merchan sentences him on Sept. 18. Trump's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. They have argued that the gag order violated his constitutional free speech rights under the First Amendment. Merchan imposed the gag order a few weeks before the trial began on April 22, saying Trump's history of threatening statements could derail the proceedings.
Donald Trump's request to lift his gag order was rejected Thursday by a New York appeals court, which reasoned there's still a potential for threats against the court and District Attorney Alvin Bragg ahead of the former president's sentencing in September. In an unsigned order, a group of New York judges from its appellate division said Mr. Bragg was able to demonstrate that threats received by district attorney staff after the jury verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat.
The court reasoned New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan had properly weighed Mr. Trump's First Amendment rights with the commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice. Originally, Mr. Trump's gag order that was imposed on him during his business-record trial in New York prohibited him from speaking about the court, the district attorney's office and witnesses. It was partially lifted after the verdict, so Mr. Trump could comment on witnesses -- but Judge Merchan left in place a ban on commenting about the court and the district attorney's office.
The gag order bars Trump from speaking about members of the prosecution team, court staffers or their families, including Merchan's daughter, a Democratic political consultant who was a target of Trump's complaining in the past. A five-judge panel in the state's mid-level appellate court ruled that the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, was correct in extending parts of the gag order until Trump is sentenced, writing that the fair administration of justice necessarily includes sentencing.
Trump's campaign has since been seeking to establish their key attack points against Harris, whose history working in law enforcement has become one of many distinctions she seeks to draw between herself and the former president. Despite Merchan lifting most of the gag order against Trump, the restrictions still pose a significant obstacle when it comes to Trump making his case about an alleged weaponized justice system that he has blasted as he navigates four criminal cases.
Trump's conviction, on 34 felony counts, arose from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. She claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier, which he denies. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump. Prosecutors said Cohen disguised the reimbursements with Trump's knowledge by submitting monthly invoices for retainer payments as his personal lawyer. Trump's company logged the payments to Cohen as legal expenses.
Noting its prior ruling on the matter, as well as Merchan's post-trial revision of the gag order's scope, the court stated: In petitioner's prior article 78 proceeding challenging the Restraining Order, this Court held that Justice Merchan properly weighed petitioner's First Amendment Rights against the court's historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm.
Looking ahead to Trump's legal and political future, a significant point of contention remains his capacity to engage with and respond to the public. His legal team views the gag order as a substantial hindrance. Trump is unable to air those grievances himself because of the gag order.
Prosecutors argue that the gag order is vital to protecting the integrity and safety of those involved in the case. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18, but the case and the gag order could be terminated earlier if Merchan grants a defense request to throw out his conviction in light of the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling. He said he plans to rule on Sept. 6.
Ultimately, Trump's battle with his gag order represents a key intersection between his ongoing legal challenges and his 2024 presidential campaign, with implications that can affect his strategy and public engagement moving forward.