DA argues against lifting Trump's limited gag order in hush money case – ABC News
Trump is seeking to have the limited gag order lifted as he awaits sentencing.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in a court filing Friday, opposed lifting the limited gag order on Donald Trump as the former president awaits sentencing in his criminal hush money case.
The limited gag order prevents Trump from targeting witnesses, jurors and others associated with the case.
Trump's lawyers have argued that Trump's "political opponents" — including President Joe Biden, Robert DeNiro, Michael Cohen, and Stormy Daniels — are using the gag order as a "sword" to attack the former president.
Trump last month was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
With the trial over, Trump's attorneys asked the judge overseeing the case, Juan Merchan, to lift the limited gag order as Trump awaits his sentencing on July 11, arguing that the court's concerns no longer apply.
But Bragg's office said the protections should remain in effect at least through sentencing.
"Defendant's demand that this Court precipitously end these protections, even before the sentencing hearing on July 11, is overstated and largely unfounded," prosecutors said in Friday's filing.
On Tuesday, the New York Court of Appeals declined to take up Trump's challenge to the limited gag order, saying their rejection is based "upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved."
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