Manhattan prosecutors asked a judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's hush money case to impose a "protective order" that would prevent the former president from posting case documents to social media as the judge signaled there would be no gag order in the case.
The request came as state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump's appearance in Manhattan criminal court, urged parties to refrain from making public statements that could incite unrest and violence. Trump, who is the first former U.S. president to be indicted, pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal counts that arose from a grand jury investigation under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
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Prosecutor Christopher Conroy cited Trump's past incendiary rhetoric in seeking the protective order over documents in the case. Trump's legal defense argued it would be "patently unfair" not to allow their client to speak about his case, noting Trump's remarks criticizing the case in the buildup to his arraignment were due to him being "frustrated, upset" by Bragg's charges.
Conroy pointed to Trump's social media posts, such as one Trump shared of himself appearing to show him wielding a baseball bat at the head of the district attorney, to explain why prosecutors are working with Trump’s legal team to put in place a protective order.
Trump attorney Joe Tacopina disputed that characterization outside the courthouse, saying, "He was not swinging a baseball bat."
If Merchan imposed the protective order, it would bar Trump from providing the discovery material to any third party and from posting it on social media. Merchan did not issue a ruling over the protective order request but said parties should "refrain from making statements that are likely to incite violence or civil unrest."
Ahead of arraignment, some legal experts theorized the judge could impose a gag order that would bar Trump, his family, and attorneys from even discussing the case.
"The most traditional reason that you would put a protective order over discovery is because documents can often be used to threaten and intimidate witnesses who are considered snitches or rats in violent crime cases," Scott Tenley, a former federal prosecutor, told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
"By contrast, the gag order, which is kind of a colloquial term, refers to what statements the parties, the district attorney, Trump, and his lawyers are allowed to make outside of the courtroom," Tenley added.
Republicans in the House issued a statement before the court hearing decrying any "unconstitutional gag order."
"To even contemplate stifling the speech of the former commander in chief and current candidate for President is at odds with everything America stands for," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) wrote in a statement.
Trump has repeatedly blasted his indictment as a politically motivated "persecution" and said the judge assigned to the case "hates" him. Several legal experts suggested that Trump's online rhetoric about the indictment could lead to an order to restrict his speech.
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Former Trump adviser Roger Stone said ahead of the arraignment that any sort of gag order would amount to "election interference" concerning Trump's 2024 presidential bid.
Trump plans to address the nation in a speech from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday evening.