Former President Donald Trump will remain gagged during his criminal trial in Manhattan, a New York appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Trump can now petition the New York Court of Appeals.
The gag order prevents Trump from making public comments about witnesses participating in the trial, counsel other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, “members of the court’s staff and the District Attorney’s staff, or … the family members of any counsel or staff member, if those statements are made with the intent to materially interfere with … counsel’s or staff’s work” on the case. It also encompasses prospective jurors.
The order read:
We find that Justice Merchan properly weighed petitioner’s First Amendment Rights against the court’s historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm.
“Justice Merchan properly determined that petitioner’s public statements posed a significant threat to the integrity of the testimony of witnesses and potential witnesses in this case as well.”
Trump argues the gag order is unconstitutional. “You ask me questions; I’m not allowed to respond,” Trump told reporters Tuesday before walking into the courtroom. “The gag order has to come off.”Earlier in May, New York County Judge Juan Merchan ruled for a second time that Trump violated his gag order during the trial, holding him in criminal contempt and threatening him with jail time for any further infractions.
Merchan fined Trump $1,000 for a single violation. Merchan previously fined Trump for nine violations. Trump’s tenth contempt offense occurred before the last order and not afterward. Trump did not push the boundaries after the first gag order ruling.
The case is Trump v. Merchan, No. 2024-02369, at the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
