A judge on Tuesday modified the “gag” imposed on Donald Trump, now allowing the former US president to publicly criticize witnesses and jurors in the criminal trial which led to his conviction at the end of May.
But the judge upheld his order for others connected to the case, at least until sentencing on July 11.
Judge Juan M. Merchan’s ruling – just days before Thursday night’s televised debate between Mr. Trump and President Joe Biden – allows the presumptive Republican nominee to again go after his former lawyer Michael Cohen, porn actress Stormy Daniels and other witnesses at trial.
Mr. Trump was convicted on May 30 of falsifying financial records to cover up a potential sex scandal, making him the first former US president convicted of a crime.
His lawyers had urged Judge Merchan to lift the order completely, since the hearings have concluded and there was no justification for maintaining restrictions on the defendant’s right to freedom of expression. Mr. Trump said the gag prevented him from publicly defending himself while Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels continued to pillory him.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had asked Judge Merchan to maintain the ban on comments on jurors, court staff and members of the prosecution at least until Mr. Trump receives his sentence on July 11 . But prosecutors said last week that they would be willing to allow Mr. Trump to comment on witnesses — but not jurors — now that the trial is over.
Mr. Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying financial records stemming from what prosecutors said was an attempt to conceal a secret payment to Ms. Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. She claims to have had a sexual relationship with Mr. Trump a decade earlier, which he denies.
The crime carries a sentence of up to four years in prison, but prosecutors have not said whether they would seek incarceration and it is unclear whether Judge Merchan would impose such a sentence — he could also impose a fine or probation.
“Dirty order of silence”
After his conviction, Mr. Trump complained of being subjected to a “dirty order of silence” while testing the extent of his limits. In remarks a day after his conviction, he called witness Michael Cohen “trash,” without naming him.
In a subsequent Newsmax interview, he attacked the jury and its composition, complaining that Manhattan was “a very, very liberal Democratic area.”
Judge Merchan imposed a gag order on Mr. Trump on March 26, weeks before the trial began, after prosecutors raised concerns about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s propensity to attack people involved in his affairs. .
The judge later expanded the order to bar comments about his own family, after Mr. Trump attacked the judge’s daughter, a Democratic political consultant, on social media.
The order did not prohibit comments about Judge Merchan himself or District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office prosecuted the case.
During the trial, Judge Merchan found Mr. Trump in contempt of court and fined him $10,000 for violating the order; he also threatened to have him put in prison if he reoffended.
In calling for the gag to be lifted, Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that he had the right to “campaign unfettered” in light of Mr. Biden’s comments on the verdict and Mr. Cohen’s continued public criticism and Mrs. Daniels.
