A New York judge on Tuesday partially lifted a gag order imposed on speech by former President Trump in a criminal case over hush money.
of Updated Terms of Use Trump was once again allowed to speak out about trial witnesses he has continually attacked, including Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels. The partial lifting of the order comes just days before the first 2024 presidential debate is set for Thursday, when Trump is expected to speak out about a conviction in the case.
Gag orders remain in effect against the prosecutors in the case, with the exception of District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) and Judge Juan Marchan, but Judge Marchan has said he will lift those restrictions after the July 11 ruling.
The partial lifting would allow Trump to testify before the jury that last month convicted him on 34 criminal counts, although the former president remains under a separate protective order barring him from disclosing the identities of those jurors.
Marchant reluctantly lifted those restrictions, saying he was “very keen” to expand jury protections as Bragg’s office had requested.
“However, circumstances have changed. The trial portion of this proceeding concluded when the verdict was returned and the jury was dismissed,” Judge Marchan wrote in his ruling.
The ruling came just two days before Trump is expected to face off against Biden in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections on Thursday, though the debate is not mentioned in the judge’s order.
Last month, Trump was convicted of falsifying business records in connection with payments made to porn actress Daniels to keep secret an alleged affair with Trump before the 2016 presidential election. Trump denies the affair and has vowed to appeal the conviction.
Trump has long denounced the speech order as a violation of his First Amendment rights, a stance he has underlined as the Republican presidential candidate. After the trial ended, Trump’s lawyers urged the judge to lift the restrictions.
In his order on Tuesday, Judge Marchan defended his original decision to impose the order, noting that the Court of Appeal had upheld it.
“Both orders are narrowly tailored to address serious concerns regarding defendant’s out-of-court statements,” Marchan wrote. “The orders are overwhelmingly supported by the record.”
Judge Marchan found that Trump had violated the gag order 10 times before and during the trial, fined him $1,000 for each offense and warned that further violations could lead to prison time.
The jury’s guilty verdict made Trump the first former US president to be convicted of a crime. Bragg has so far declined to say whether he will seek prison time for Trump.
Updated 2:02 p.m.
