Robert Ray, former impeachment lawyer for former President Trump, agreed with prosecutors that the hush money gag order should continue through Trump’s sentencing next month.
“This case is not over until a verdict is handed down and a sentence is imposed,” Wray told CNN’s Newsnight on Friday. “Frankly, I have no dispute that prosecutors have serious concerns about safety.”
“And there are fanatics between now and the end of the court’s role in this case,” he added in his remarks. Mediaite highlights“I don’t think it’s worth the risk that someone could potentially harm court officials, judges’ staff, most importantly judges, and of course the district attorney and his staff.”
His comments came after Trump was convicted last month on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments he made to a porn actress in 2016 to silence her about an alleged affair. He denies the charges and has vowed to appeal.
Shortly after the Republican convictions were announced, Trump challenged a gag order that prohibited him from commenting publicly about witnesses, jurors, court officials or the family of Judge Juan Marchan, a ruling that did not protect Judge Marchan or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg from attacks.
In documents made public Friday, prosecutors petitioned the judge to uphold the gag order. They cited more than 50 threats against officials involved in the case but acknowledged the order should be denied to protect witnesses in the trial.
A New York appeals court on Tuesday rejected Trump’s request to lift the order in its entirety, writing in a brief order that “no substantial constitutional question arose on appeal.” Trump’s lawyers suggested the court’s decision ignored concerns about protecting the integrity of the process.
“My view is it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Ray said Friday, “so I think any gag order that will help calm tensions here and allow this process to proceed safely is the right path.”
Judge Marchan found Trump in contempt of court for violating the gag order 10 times by attacking a key witness during his trial. The judge fined Trump $1,000 for each violation and threatened prison time for any future violations.
Trump has argued since the start of his trial that the gag order violates the First Amendment. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention, where he is set to be formally nominated as the Republican candidate for the White House.
