Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has asked a judge to impose a gag order on former President Donald Trump, less than a month before his trial in the hush money criminal case.
In three separate court filings dated February 22, 2024, Mr. Bragg and his team requested an order prohibiting President Trump from making statements offensive to others involved in his case. and sought a confidentiality order prohibiting the disclosure of the juror’s names and addresses to anyone. No one other than lawyers was allowed to participate, and evidence and testimony regarding campaign finance were required to be limited.
Prosecutors have argued that Trump has a history of verbally attacking people involved in his cases.
“The defendant has a long history of making inflammatory statements in public about various participants in judicial proceedings against him, including jurors, witnesses, attorneys, and court officials,” prosecutors said. “These statements, as well as the inevitable reactions they will provoke from the defendant’s followers and allies, pose a serious and imminent threat to the orderly conduct of this criminal proceeding and are very likely to give rise to serious prejudice.” expensive.”
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New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating former President Donald Trump for allegedly paying hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. (Shane Bevell/NCAA Photo via Getty Images/Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jury selection for the criminal trial is scheduled to begin on March 25th.
Prosecutors asked that the names and addresses of the selected jurors not be disclosed to anyone other than his lawyers because of the former president’s conduct with jurors in other court proceedings.
Prosecutors cited Trump’s “conduct in this and other matters, including his extensive history of attacking jurors in other proceedings,” calling the conduct “a significant risk of harassment or intimidation of jurors.” “There must be reasonable safeguards to ensure the integrity of these proceedings.” , minimize obstacles to jury selection and protect jury safety. ”
President Trump asserts his innocence and says, “I never thought something like this could happen in America.”
Manhattan Prosecutor Alvin Bragg’s office wants to impose a gag order on former President Donald Trump before the hush money case goes to trial. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
In his filing, Bragg cited several examples of when Trump spoke publicly to two different Fulton County grand jurors.
“Thank you to the special grand jury in Georgia for their patriotism and courage. Completely innocent. America is very proud of you,” Trump said. “Can someone please tell the Fulton County Grand Jury that I did not tamper with the elections,” he said in another post.
Prosecutors allege that in March 2023, President Trump used social media to “repeatedly instruct a grand jury to make extrajudicial statements” and that a witness testified before the grand jury, where the grand jury investigation was underway. announced that it had commented on the reliability of
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Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg’s office argued that Trump has an “extensive history of attacking jurors in other trials.” (Michael M. Santiago)
Another example prosecutors cited in their filing was that Trump “frequently promises to seek revenge and retaliation against those he perceives as adversaries.”
Specifically, prosecutors pointed to a book published in 2007 in which President Trump wrote, “My motto is always to get back. If someone messes with you, screw them all the way.”
The third motion filed concerns campaign finance, “federal prosecutors’ claims about Michael Cohen’s credibility,” and evidence that could be presented during the hush money trial, including evidence that has already been dismissed. and was intended to limit expert testimony.
Judge Juan Manuel Mercian did not immediately rule on the application, according to the Associated Press.
Bragg’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“Today, the two-tiered justice system in place against President Trump is on full display, with another deranged Democratic prosecutor seeking a restrictive gag order that, if granted, will The Trump campaign would impose an unconstitutional violation of President Trump’s First Amendment rights, including his ability to protect himself and the right of every American to be heard by President Trump. said Stephen Chan, a spokesperson. “This is election interference, pure and simple. This case, like others, is a desperate attempt to prevent President Trump from getting re-elected and distract from the decrepit presidency of crooked Joe Biden.” The radical left will fail and President Trump will make America great again.”
Trump is already under a gag order in a separate federal case, with Washington DC charging him with conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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The order was imposed in October by the judge overseeing the case and upheld two months later by a federal appeals panel. Still, the court will overturn the original speech restrictions and allow Trump to criticize the special counsel who brought the case against him.
Trump was also given a limited gag order in a civil fraud trial in New York and was fined $15,000 for violating the order twice. The gag order was imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron on October 3 following the former president’s social media posts about the attorney general.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
