The New York judge who presided over the trial involving Donald Trump has lifted a portion of the gag order against the former president.
Judge Juan Merchan announced on Tuesday that Trump is now permitted to make public statements about jurors and witnesses from the trial. In his court filing, Merchan mentioned that Trump was previously restricted from discussing the jury and witnesses “in order to safeguard the integrity of the judicial proceedings.”
Merchan also stated that prosecutors did not oppose lifting the gag order on Trump speaking about witnesses.
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While Merchan expressed a preference for maintaining restrictions on Trump discussing the jury, he decided to lift that part of the gag order as well since jurors are not involved in Trump’s sentencing.
Trump was convicted by a jury in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records and is awaiting sentencing next month.
Merchan retained parts of the gag order that prevent Trump from talking about District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s staff and family members, as well as court staff and their families.
Following the issuance of the gag order on March 26, Merchan found Trump in violation multiple times and threatened jail time if Trump continued to breach the order.
“It seems the $1,000 fines are not deterring you. Going forward, the court may consider incarceration as a sanction,” said Merchan on May 6. “Jailing you is the last thing I want to do. You are a former president and possibly the future president.”
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Prosecutors alleged that Trump violated the gag order by making disparaging remarks about key witnesses Michael Cohen, a former attorney for Trump, and Stormy Daniels. They also claimed that Trump attempted to influence the jury by reposting comments from Fox News’ Jesse Waters on April 17 that suggested manipulation of the jury selection process. Merchan noted that the next day, a juror requested dismissal.
Trump has consistently criticized the gag order, arguing that it infringes on his freedom of speech rights.
