Limits of gag order

Trump tests limits of gag order ahead of New York trial

The former president took to social media on Saturday to criticize Michael Cohen and others.

By MYAH WARD and KYLE CHENEY

Donald Trump on Saturday continued to test the boundaries of a New York judge’s gag order ahead of Monday’s kickoff to the criminal hush money trial in New York.

Taking to Truth Social to rant about the upcoming trial, the former president criticized various people involved in the case, including his former fixer Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution.

“Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING?” Trump wrote.

Under the gag order issued last month by Justice Juan Merchan, the Manhattan judge presiding over the hush money trial, Trump is prohibited from making any public statements about potential witnesses “concerning their potential participation” in the case.

Trump also denigrated Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The terms of the gag order do not bar him from attacking them.

“There is NO WAY I can be given a Fair (Biden) Trial on Monday with Judge Juan Merchan, who is totally conflicted and corrupt, presiding,” Trump wrote.

And he accused Bragg of bringing the case against him “for purposes of saving the WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

Judges in three of Trump’s cases — two criminal and one civil — have imposed gag orders in recent months meant to constrain his inflammatory remarks about witnesses, court staff, prosecutors and others. In all four of his criminal cases, he’s also under conditions of release that prohibit him from intimidating potential witnesses against him.

Justice Arthur Engoron, the judge who oversaw Trump’s recent civil trial for business fraud, fined Trump twice for violating a gag order in that case. Engoron imposed the gag after Trump launched social media attacks on the judge’s clerk.

In his federal criminal case in Washington for attempting to overturn the 2020 election, Trump used a brief respite from his gag order there — while he appealed it in October — to mount an attack on his former chief of staff Mark Meadows. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the comment would certainly have violated his gag order had it been in effect. A federal appeals court later reinstated the gag, which is still in force.

And Trump has previously flirted with violating Merchan’s gag order. He posted news articles and a video clip of a cable news segment that criticized Merchan’s daughter after the judge explicitly expanded the order to include family members.

When asked for comment on Trump’s latest posts, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called Merchan’s gag order “unconstitutional,” saying it prevents Trump from engaging in “core political speech, which is entitled to the highest level of protection under the First Amendment.”

“Worst of all, the gag order violates the civil rights of over 100 million Americans who follow President Trump and have a First Amendment right to receive and listen to his speech,” Cheung said. “American voters have a fundamental right to hear the uncensored voice of the leading candidate for the highest office in the land.”

Trump’s latest tirade comes ahead of his rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening, the last before jury selection in his New York trial begins on Monday. The trial, in which he is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal with a porn star, will hamper the former president’s ability to be on the campaign trail, though he’s expected to incorporate the proceedings against him into his campaign, speaking to the media after court and continuing to fundraise off his indictments.

It will be the first time a former U.S. president has gone to criminal trial.

In a trial that could last two months, Trump will have to be in court for at least four days a week, placing into focus the clash of his legal perils with his effort to win back the White House. He’ll have Wednesdays and weekends free, which he’ll likely use for campaign events outside of the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

A New York Times/Siena poll published Saturday found that a majority of likely voters believe that Trump has committed “serious federal crimes.” When asked specifically about the New York case, 46 percent of these voters said the former president should be found guilty — a verdict that could damage his standing with a swath of the electorate, particularly independent voters.