Exclusive: The judges presiding over former President Donald Trump’s ongoing trial in New York City have jointly condemned his “dangerous” gag order, saying it “poses a grave threat to our democracy.” The unusual coalition that has been formed is taking a fierce stance.
The group is made up of prominent Republican candidates running in key battleground states to red-light the Senate in November, including Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Eric Hovde of Wisconsin. , Ohio State’s Bernie Moreno, Michigan’s Mike Rogers, Arizona’s Kari Lake, Indiana’s Jim Banks and Nevada’s Sam. Brown, Tim Sheehy of Montana and Jim Justice of West Virginia.
All signed a joint statement condemning Judge Juan Melchán’s “unconstitutional” gag order, which Trump himself called “election interference.”
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A number of leading Republican Senate candidates running in key battleground states have denounced an “unconstitutional” gag order by the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s New York City trial. (Getty Images)
“We are deeply concerned about the gag order imposed on President Trump. It fundamentally violates constitutional principles and threatens the essence of freedom of speech and expression in the midst of an election,” the group said in a statement.
“The First Amendment to the United States Constitution specifically guarantees the right to free speech, stating, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.” This fundamental right. “is not dependent on party affiliation or position of power,” they said.
The group also said that “any attempt to silence or limit the speech of presidential candidates undermines the core values on which our democracy is founded,” and that future presidents and other He said it sets a “dangerous precedent” for elected officials. .
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Judge Juan Mercian poses for a photo in his New York courtroom on March 14. (AP)
“When this kind of behavior goes unchecked, it opens the door for authoritarian tendencies to flourish, allowing those in power to suppress dissent and control the narrative for their own benefit. Make no mistake. “The threat of imprisonment poses a serious threat to our democracy.”
The group said gag orders also affect Americans by impeding their “rights to information and transparency,” and that Americans “have the right to be informed about the actions and words of their elected leaders.” ” he added.
“In conclusion, the gag order imposed on President Trump is a clear violation of the First Amendment and represents a dangerous violation of the fundamental rights that form the foundation of our democracy. “We must defend our principles and resist any attempts to undermine them, regardless of their political affiliation or personal opinions,” they said.
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Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is awaiting the start of proceedings in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on April 22 on charges that he concealed hush money payments related to an affair. (Yuki Iwamura/Pool, Reuters)
Marchand last month imposed a gag order before Trump’s trial began, preventing the former president from making any public statements about potential participants, about the lawyers in the case (other than Bragg), about the court, or about others. He ordered that he could not dictate what people should say. Employees, DA employees, and employees’ families. It also ordered that President Trump cannot make public statements about prospective jurors or selected jurors or direct others to do so.
In his ruling, Marchan pointed to President Trump’s “previous extrajudicial statements” and said they established “sufficient risk to the administration of justice.”
Marchan ruled Tuesday that Trump violated a gag order that prohibits court officials from speaking publicly about witnesses or family members. Specifically, he ruled that President Trump violated the order on nine separate occasions with his social media posts, and was fined $1,000 for each violation. The former president was ordered to pay $9,000 for violating the gag order.
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Following Marchand’s ruling, Trump deleted social media posts from his Truth Social account that were found to violate the order. The ruling comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office accused President Trump of violating the order 14 times since it was ordered last month.
President Trump has called the entire incident a “fraud” and has repeatedly criticized the gag order. Promoted by the Biden administration He said the gag order stripped him of his ability to protect himself from charges in the case.
FOX News’ Emma Colton and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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