In a decisive move, a New York state appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a gag order in his hush money criminal case. This means the former president, convicted in May for paying hush money to a porn star, is barred from publicly discussing individual prosecutors and other key figures in the case until his sentencing on September 18, just weeks before the November election.
Trump’s legal team contended that the gag order infringed on his First Amendment rights, with campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung labeling the order as “blatantly un-American.” Despite this, the Appellate Division in Manhattan upheld the order, citing ongoing threats to prosecutors’ safety as a significant concern.
Thursday also saw Trump’s lawyers renewing their demand for Judge Juan Merchan’s recusal, pointing to his daughter’s connections to Democratic politics and her professional ties to Vice President Kamala Harris. This is the third recusal request, following similar rejections by Merchan.
Initially imposed in April, Merchan’s gag order aimed to prevent Trump from potentially undermining the trial through threatening statements. While restrictions on witnesses and jurors were lifted post-conviction, the ban on commenting about prosecutors and court staff remains, with the appeals court affirming the necessity of these “narrowly tailored protections.”
As the legal battle continues, Trump remains vocal about his stance, despite the constraints. He faces up to four years in prison for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, stemming from the hush money payments intended to silence allegations from adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has vowed to appeal the conviction post-sentencing, adding another layer to this ongoing saga.
