A gag order severely restricting what former President Donald Trump can say publicly about the corporate records trial he faces in Manhattan, where Democratic district attorneys are seeking to jail him, was handed down in court Tuesday. became the focus.
Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of violating the gag order 11 times by allegedly attacking witnesses and other members of the courtroom (even though they attacked him).
Look — don’t flinch! President Trump denounces unfair “Biden trial” as “election interference”:
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New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan, who presided over the case and issued the gag order, could fine Trump up to $11,000 for each violation.
As an example of an attack, Bragg’s team quoted Some of Mr. Trump’s posts on Truth Social on April 1 included one in which he asked Mr. Marchan to recuse himself from the lawsuit and called him “biased and inconsistent.” was.
Trump posted:
The judge must immediately resign and right the wrong he committed by not doing so last year. If biased and inconsistent judges are allowed to remain in this sham “case,” it will be another sad example of how our country will become a banana republic rather than the America we once knew and loved. It will be. These are election interference witch hunts. We will bust these rumors one by one and make America great again.
Marchand did not rule on whether Trump violated the gag order, but Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, has responded to attacks on Trump and warned him not to violate the gag order. I felt anxious about claiming that I was.
Machan replied mockingly: Branch, you are losing all credibility. You will lose all confidence in the court. ”
Trump’s lawyers argued that the gag order was “unlawfully overbroad.”
New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchand listens as Emil Bove, a member of former President Donald Trump’s legal team, argues on behalf of his client in Manhattan state court on April 19, 2024 in New York. Judge (this courtroom sketch). (Jane Rosenberg, via AP)
The law prohibits President Trump from commenting on the possible testimony of witnesses in the case, prosecutors (other than Bragg), court officials or their families, jurors or prospective jurors.
Marchan is the president of a company whose daughter Lauren Marchand runs digital campaigns for Democratic candidates, and previous clients include President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D). , California) and other Democrats.
Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Will Scharf, said in a memo obtained by Breitbart News that Mr. Marchand is “irretrievably inconsistent.”
“Judge Marchand’s gag order protects him from increased scrutiny. His daughter runs a Democratic Party fundraising firm that, based on this lawsuit, is seeking to protect its clients, namely President Trump’s political opponents. “We have repeatedly appealed to him to withdraw from this case due to the fact that he has repeatedly raised funds,” he wrote, adding:
Under New York’s judicial recusal law, this type of family conflict of interest clearly merits recusal. His decision not to resign is currently being challenged in the New York State Court of Appeals. Judge Machan’s gag order prevents us from discussing the very real conflict of interest he has in this case arising from his daughter’s work.
“President Trump is accused of violating the gag order by simply reposting others’ claims on Truth Social about various parties who are subject to the gag order, including Judge Marchand’s daughter. “It shows how outrageously broad the gag order is,” he added.
Under Marchan’s gag order, Trump cannot even respond to attacks against him by witnesses.
Michael Cohen, a former Trump lawyer who later turned against Trump, was a witness in the trial and has publicly attacked Trump in recent days.
On Sunday, Cohen called President Trump a “despicable human being” and a “racist, misogynist, xenophobe, homophobe, Islamophobe, and anti-Semite” during a TikTok livestream. . On Monday, Cohen called him “Von ShitzInPants.”
Related video — Michael Cohen: ‘Kid with a tantrum’ Trump will violate gag order by tomorrow morning:
But Mr. Marchand’s gag order prohibits Mr. Trump from defending himself against such slurs.
Democratic activists on Monday accused Trump of attacking Cohen by saying, “When are we going to look into all the lies that Cohen told in the last trial?” He was caught lying at his final trial. So he was caught lying. It’s a pure lie. ”
“The gag order is clearly unfair,” Schaaf wrote in the memo. “Notably, this gag order is unilateral. It applies only to President Trump and his team, and not to Prosecutor Bragg, his staff, or potential witnesses. ”
“This is why serial perjurer Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a leading prosecution witness, can relentlessly bash Trump every day on TV, social media, and podcasts, while we continue to talk about his potential “It is not permissible to attack testimony directly,” he wrote.
Mr. Schaaf also noted that under the gag order, the prosecutor who gave the opening argument in the case was previously the No. 3 official in the Biden Justice Department and initiated the investigation into Mr. Trump by New York Attorney General Letitia James. He also wrote that Trump could not point that out. And the Trump Organization.
Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference following the verdict against former President Donald Trump in his civil fraud trial on February 16, 2024 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty)
“Judge Marchand’s gag order prevents us from discussing Mr. Colangelo’s relationship with the Biden administration, which is key evidence of the political motivation and coordination underlying this case,” he wrote.
Schaaf said the gag order was “blatantly unconstitutional,” noting that no court in U.S. history had ever restricted the speech of a political candidate, even a criminal defendant.
“Political speech is at the heart of the First Amendment, and any restrictions on political speech are subject to the fullest constitutional scrutiny. This is the case for restrictions,” he wrote.
He said there was no evidence that President Trump’s comments influenced the proceedings and that the Supreme Court could punish speakers for actions that third parties might take in response to their speeches. He claimed that he had consistently refused.
“This is the prosecutor’s best argument against the gag order, and it is constitutionally worthless,” he wrote.
“These are core issues of public importance, and the fact that President Trump is unable to address them publicly as he campaigns for office and defends himself in public… It is a clear injustice,” he added.
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