The New York state judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial stemming from “hush money” payments expanded a gag order against the ex-president Monday after Trump repeatedly lashed out against the judge’s daughter, as the former president faces a number of restrictions on his speech in the ongoing criminal cases against him in light of his repeated attacks on prosecutors, judges and other parties in the proceedings.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during the first day of his civil fraud trial at New York State ... [+]
Manhattan Criminal Case: Judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order in March that bars Trump from making public statements about witnesses concerning their participation in the case, or any statements about counsel, court staff and their family members that could interfere with the case—and then expanded the order Monday to also include family members of the judge and District Attorney after Trump repeatedly lashed out against Merchan’s daughter on social media.
A protective order had previously been imposed on Trump and other parties in the criminal case against him in Manhattan for alleged “hush money” payments during his 2016 campaign, which prohibited Trump and other parties from copying any evidence in the case or sharing it on social media, and also delays names of court staff or some witnesses in the case from being disclosed until jury selection begins in the trial.
Federal Election Case: Trump, other parties and their counsel cannot make statements about witnesses “concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding,” and cannot make public statements about court staff, counsel in the case or their families (with the exception of Special Counsel Jack Smith) if they’re “made with the intent to materially interfere,” the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in December—narrowing a previous order imposed by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
The gag order comes on top of the conditions of Trump’s pre-trial release, which already barred him from communicating about the case “with any individual known to the defendant to be a witness,” except through counsel, as well as a protective order that prohibited him from sharing any sensitive materials in the case.
Georgia Election Case: Under the terms of Trump’s bond agreement in his criminal case in Fulton County, Georgia, for trying to overturn the 2020 election, the ex-president cannot communicate with any of his co-defendants in the case or any potential witnesses about the facts of the case, and he cannot intimidate them or “otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.”
Examples of what would constitute intimidation or obstruction include any direct or indirect threats against co-defendants, witnesses, victims, the Fulton County community or any property in the community, the agreement states, including any posts on social media or reposts of other users’ comments.
Federal Documents Case: Trump’s bond conditions in the criminal case against him for keeping White House documents at Mar-A-Lago prohibit him from discussing the case with any witnesses or co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, except through counsel, and a separate protective order bars him from sharing any discovery materials in the case, and states he can only access that information under direct supervision of his defense counsel.
Trump’s criminal trial in the hush money case will begin with jury selection on April 15.
“It is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings. The threat is very real,” Merchan wrote Monday, after noting prosecutors said witnesses have “expressed grave concerns” about their safety and that of their families if they participate in the case. “The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant's recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself.”
Trump has strongly opposed the gag orders against him, which he claims are a violation of his freedom of speech that hurts his presidential campaign. The ex-president said in a Truth Social post in December he would appeal the newest ruling against him that reimposed the election gag order, claiming the order means he “can be barred from talking and, in effect, telling the truth.” “In other words, people can speak violently and viciously against me, or attack me in any form, but I am not allowed to respond, in kind,” Trump wrote. “What is becoming of our First Amendment, what is becoming of our Country?” After Merchan’s order Monday expanding the hush money gag order, a Trump spokesperson claimed the “unconstitutional” order prohibits Trump from “engaging in core political speech” and “violates the civil rights” of Trump’s supporters.
What penalties will be imposed on Trump if he violates the gag orders against him or any conditions of his pretrial release. Chutkan and the appeals court judges did not offer any specifics of what punishments the court could impose if Trump goes against the election gag order, though Chutkan acknowledged at a hearing that “an order is sort of pointless if you don’t have a mechanism to enforce it” and said in a previous ruling that “the court will assess [the] substance and context” of any Trump statements that could be considered violations before determining if he violated the order. In his order Monday, Merchan said Trump would be punished under a section of New York law governing criminal contempt if he violates the gag order, which directs “willful disobedience” to a court’s “lawful mandate” to be punishable by a fine.
The appeals court’s ruling in the federal election case made clear there are still a number of things Trump can comment on without violating the gag order. The gag order does not stop the former president from criticizing the Biden Administration, Justice Department or government more generally. He can also assert that he’s innocent and the case against him is politically motivated, or criticize the “campaign platforms or policies” of Trump’s political rivals in the 2024 election, the filing states. Trump can continue to criticize Chutkan and Smith, who’s leading the DOJ’s investigations into Trump, and can make comments about witnesses that don’t concern the election case.
In addition to the gag orders in his criminal cases, New York Judge Arthur Engoron previously imposed a gag order on Trump and other parties in a recent trial accusing the ex-president and his company of fraud, which barred parties from making any public comments or posts about members of the court’s staff after Trump made a disparaging post about one of Engoron’s clerks. An appeals court upheld the gag order, which resulted in Trump being fined a combined $15,000 for twice violating the order.
Trump has long attacked his political and legal rivals on social media and in public speeches, and his criticism has ramped up as legal cases have piled up against him. The ex-president has repeatedly gone after such prosecutors as Smith, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as well as Chutkan, Engoron and other judges. He’s additionally made repeated comments about potential witnesses in the federal election case that prosecutors argued made a gag order necessary, including comments about Pence and suggesting then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley should be executed. Chutkan, the first judge in one of Trump’s criminal cases to impose a gag order, cited the former president’s comments about Milley in her order, as well as Trump’s statements calling potential witnesses liars and suggesting Smith, who’s heading the two federal investigations into Trump, is a “thug.” Engoron’s gag order marked the first formal gag order to muzzle Trump when it was imposed on October 3, though the question of whether judges would move to restrict Trump’s speech has been a source of speculation since his first indictment in March. After Engoron acted, legal experts suggested Chutkan would likely follow, with the New York judge “break[ing] the dam” for other judges.
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