On Thursday, a New York state appeals court rejected Donald Trump’s challenge to a gag order in his hush money criminal case. Trump, convicted in May on charges related to hush money paid to a porn star, cannot publicly comment on individual prosecutors and others involved in the case until Justice Juan Merchan sentences him on September 18, seven weeks before the November 5 election.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the gag order violated his First Amendment rights. “The gag order is blatantly un-American,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday showed Trump in a tight race with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to become the Democratic nominee. Harris led Trump 43%-42% among registered voters, within the margin of error.
On Thursday afternoon, Trump’s lawyers renewed their demand for Merchan to recuse himself, citing his daughter’s work as a Democratic political consultant and her relationship with Harris. They also claimed the gag order restricts Trump’s ability to respond to Harris, who framed her candidacy as “prosecutor vs convicted felon.” Harris previously served as California’s attorney general.
Merchan had rejected a similar recusal request by Trump before the trial began and another one last year. The judge imposed the gag order a few weeks before the trial began on April 22, citing Trump’s history of making threatening statements that could undermine the proceedings. Merchan’s original order prevented Trump from commenting on prosecutors, court staff, witnesses, and jurors. A separate order against naming the anonymous jurors remains in effect.
Merchan lifted the restrictions on witnesses and jurors following Trump’s May 30 conviction. The Appellate Division, a mid-level appeals court, noted that threats received by Bragg’s staff after the verdict continue to pose a “significant and immediate” threat. “Justice Merchan did not act in excess of jurisdiction by maintaining the narrowly tailored protections,” said the five-judge panel. The appeals court upheld Merchan’s original gag order in May, emphasizing the need to protect people from “threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm,” and rejected Trump’s First Amendment argument. The order allows Trump to speak about Bragg and Merchan.
Jurors found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, related to covering up former personal lawyer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The payment was made to ensure Daniels’ silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she claimed to have had with Trump a decade earlier, which Trump denied. Trump won the presidency by defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton.
This criminal trial was the first for any U.S. president. Trump faces up to four years in prison and fines. Time behind bars is rare for individuals convicted in New York of falsifying business records, especially those with no prior criminal histories like Trump. He has vowed to appeal his conviction after sentencing.
