A joke order that severely limits what former President Donald Trump is say officially about a situation where a Democrat city prosecutor is seeking to put him in prison was the target in court on Tuesday as part of the business information trial he faces in Manhattan.
Democrat District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of violating the gag get 11 times for allegedly attacking testimony and various members of the court — even if they have attacked him.
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New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case and who imposed the gag order, could fine Trump up to$ 11,000.
As cases of attacks, Bragg’s group cited in an April 1 filing some of Trump’s comments on Truth Social, including one in which Trump called on Merchan to recuse himself from the situation, and called him “biased and conflicted. ”
Trump had posted:
The Judge has to recuse himself quickly, and right the wrong engaged by not doing so last year. If the Distorted and Confused Judge is allowed to stay on this Sham “Case, ” it will be another terrible example of our Country becoming a Banana Republic, not the America we used to know and love. These are Election Interfering Witch Hunts. We may love each one of these Lies, and Make America Great Once!
Merchan has certainly made a decision on whether or not Trump violated the joke attempt, but became impatient with Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, who argued that Trump was responding to problems against him and being careful not to offend the joke order.
Merchan responded crossly, “Mr. Blanche you are losing all trust. You are losing all trust with the court. ”
Trump attorney May Scharf argued the joke order is “outrageously overbroad. ”
“President Trump is being accused of violating the gag get by just republishing on Truth Social statements made by people about different functions covered by the gag order, including Judge Merchan’s child. This shows how outrageously overbroad the gag order is, ” he wrote in a memo obtained by Breitbart News.
New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan listens as Emil Bove, a member of former President Donald Trump’s legal team, argues for his client in Manhattan state court in New York on April 19, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. ( Jane Rosenberg via AP )
The gag order prohibits Trump from commenting on the potential testimony of witnesses in the case, prosecutors ( other than Bragg ), the court’s staff or their families, and any juror or prospective juror.
But Merchan also expanded it to include his own family members, after Trump pointed out that his daughter, Loren Merchan, is the president of a firm that runs digital campaigns for Democrat candidates, and whose prior clients include President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA ), and other Democrats.
Scharf called Merchan “irretrievably conflicted. ”
“Judge Merchan’s gag order protects himself from scrutiny. We have repeatedly moved for him to recuse off of this case, owing to the fact that his daughter runs a Democrat fundraising company that has repeatedly raised money for its clients — President Trump’s political opponents — based on this case, ” he wrote, adding:
Under New York’s judicial recusal law, a family conflict of interest of this sort clearly warrants recusal. His decision not to recuse is currently an issue on appeal to the New York appellate courts. Judge Merchan’s gag order prevents us from discussing the very real conflict of interest he has in this case arising out of his daughter’s work.
Trump on Tuesday reissued his call for Merchan to recuse himself, posting on Truth Social:
HIGHLY CONFLICTED, TO PUT IT MILDLY, JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN, HAS TAKEN AWAY MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH. EVERYBODY IS ALLOWED TO TALK AND LIE ABOUT ME, BUT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DEFEND MYSELF. THIS IS A KANGAROO COURT, AND THE JUDGE SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF!
And under Merchan’s gag order , Trump also cannot respond to attacks against him if they are from a witness.
Michael Cohen, a former attorney for Trump who has since turned against him, is a witness in the trial and has been attacking Trump publicly in recent days.
On Sunday, during a livestream on TikTok, Cohen called Trump “a despicable human being” and “racist, misogynist, xenophobe, homophobe, Islamophobe, anti-Semite. ” On Monday, Cohen called him “Von Shitz InPants. ”
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However, under Merchan’s gag order, Trump is barred from defending himself against those smears.
Democrat activists accused Trump of attacking Cohen on Monday when he said, “ When are they going to look at all the lies that Cohen did in the last trial? He got caught lying in the last trial. So he got caught lying. Pure lying. ”
“The gag order is manifestly unfair, ” Scharf wrote in the memo. “Notably, this gag order is unilateral. It applies only to President Trump and his team, and does not apply to DA Bragg, his staff, or any potential witnesses. ”
“This is why Michael Cohen, a serial perjurer expected to be the prosecution’s star witness, is able to bash Trump relentlessly on TV, social media, and podcasts on a daily basis, while we are not allowed to attack his potential testimony directly, ” he wrote.
Scharf also wrote that under the gag order, Trump cannot point out that the prosecutor who delivered the opening argument in the case was previously the No. 3 top official in the Biden Department of Justice, and initiated New York Attorney General Letitia James’s investigation into Trump and the Trump Organization.
Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference following a verdict against former U. S. President Donald Trump in a civil fraud trial on February 16, 2024, in New York City. ( Michael M. Santiago/Getty )
“Judge Merchan’s gag order prevents us from discussing Colangelo’s links to the Biden Administration, a key piece of evidence of the political motivation and coordination that underlies this case, ” he wrote.
Scharf called the gag order “blatantly unconstitutional, ” noting that in the history of the United States, no court has ever restricted the speech of a political candidate, even those who were criminal defendants.
“Political speech is at the heart of the First Amendment, and any restriction on political speech faces the utmost constitutional scrutiny. This is especially true in the case of prior restraints: restrictions on speech before the speech even occurs, ” he wrote.
He argued there is no evidence Trump’s statements have impacted the proceedings, and that the Supreme Court has consistently rejected the idea that you can punish a speaker for actions that third parties might take in response to their speech.
“That is the prosecution’s best argument for the gag order, and it is constitutionally worthless, ” he wrote.
“These are core issues of public importance, and the fact that President Trump cannot address them publicly as he campaigns for office and defends himself in the public eye is a manifest injustice, ” he added.
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