In expanding the gag order applied to former President Donald Trump in his upcoming trial on falsifying business records (the so-called “hush money” case), New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan refuted Trump’s attorneys’ claims that his attacks were justified and “necessary.”
Merchan wrote: “To argue that the most recent attacks, which included photographs, were ‘necessary and appropriate in the current environment,’ is farcical.” (See Merchan’s order here.)
[NOTE: Trump reportedly shared photos of Merchan’s daughter, who has done work for the Democratic Party, on social media. Merchan, who has received death threats linked to the case, earlier denied the Trump team’s request to recuse himself for potential bias, a decision supported by a judicial ethics panel’s decision last May.]
Trump, accused by the prosecution of trying to intimidate witnesses, jurors, and court personnel, was also warned by Merchan that if he continued his inflammatory rhetoric, he will forfeit the defendant’s statutory right to access the names of the jurors once selected — a provision meant to protect both the jurors and the judicial process.
Merchan characterized as reasonable the prosecution’s claims that Trump’s “conduct” — his screeds against his prosecution, the legal system, and persons directly or tangentially linked to the cases — is “deliberate and intended to intimidate this Court and impede the orderly administration of this trial.”
I said yesterday @CNN that Judge Merchan would be on sound constitutional ground to expand the gag order – & he did just that
Trump cant be allowed to endanger court personnel and spread disinfo w/ abandon
This was the right move
I discussed @CNNSitRoom @wolfblitzer — TN pic.twitter.com/eEopBTO1Cw
— Norm Eisen (norm.eisen on Threads) (@NormEisen) April 2, 2024
As former White House Ethics Czar Norm Eisen said yesterday on CNN (above), Judge Merchan is “on sound constitutional ground” to expand the gag order.
The trial is scheduled to begin April 15.