Prosecutors Suggest Trump Gag Order Should Cover Repeated Attacks On Judge’s Daughter – Forbes
Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office have asked Judge Juan Merchan to “clarify or confirm” the limited gag order against former President Donald Trump in his alleged hush money case extends to the judge and his family, according to multiple outlets, which comes after a string of verbal attacks against the judge and his daughter that did not appear to be barred by the order.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the hush money case. (Photo by Brendan … [+]
Prosecutors asked Merchan in a letter to “clarify or confirm” that the gag order he issued earlier this week extends to family members, the district attorney and other people mentioned in the order, according to NBC News, which noted prosecutors’ suggestions that Trump should face sanctions if he continues to resist orders.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass argued in the letter that potential trial witnesses and prospective jurors not currently in Trump’s sights will “likely fear having themselves and their family members be subject to similar attacks,” ABC News reported.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued the former president’s Truth Social posts were allowed because the gag order didn’t explicitly bar statements about the judge or his family, arguing the court “cannot ‘direct’ President Trump to do something that the gag order does not require,” according to ABC.
Jury selection for Trump’s first criminal trial is scheduled for April 15.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton told CNN on Friday that Merchan “did the right thing” by not including himself in the gag order he issued, adding that, nonetheless, he thinks it is an attack on the rule of law when judges and their families are threatened.
Trump’s attacks on Merchan and his daughter suggested the judge was “totally compromised” and should be removed from the hush money case. The former president also identified Merchan’s daughter by name and called her a “Rabid Trump hater” in a Truth Social post Thursday, claiming she worked for President Joe Biden and due to her work as an executive at a progressive political consulting firm, Authentic Campaigns, which Biden is a client of. Merchan issued the gag order following Trump’s first round of comments against him and his daughter. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the case overseen by Merchan. The charges against him are linked to an alleged attempt to reimburse his former attorney, Michael Cohen, for alleged payments he made to quiet adult film star Stormy Daniels about an affair she claimed to have with Trump.
Trump Again Targets Judge’s Daughter In New York Criminal Case (Forbes)
Trump Hit With Gag Order In Hush Money Trial (Forbes)
Trump Reprises ‘Stop The Steal’ Rallying Cry In Attacking Hush Money Trial Judge—And His Daughter (Forbes)