Donald Trump’s gag order remains in effect after hush money conviction, New York appeals court rules
NEW YORK — A New York appeals court on Thursday denied Donald Trump’s request attempt to end a gag order in his hush-money lawsuit, rejecting the former Republican president’s argument that his May conviction constitutes “a change in circumstances” that justifies lifting the restrictions.
A five-judge panel of the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that trial judge Juan M. Merchan was correct to extend portions of the gag order until Trump is convictedin which he wrote that ‘the fair administration of justice necessarily includes the imposition of punishment.’
The ruling came a day after Trump’s lawyers attempted to file papers asking the appeals court to immediately lift the gag order. With a ruling imminent, the court denied the request, which called the restrictions an “unconstitutional, election-disrupting” gag on Trump’s free speech as he tries to back to the White House.
In a copy of the prospectus provided to The Associated Press, Trump’s lawyers wrote that Vice President Kamala Harris’ entry into the presidential race on the Democratic side makes the case extra urgent, as she is pitting herself as a former prosecutor against a “convicted felon.”
“It is unacceptable that Harris can speak freely about this matter but President Trump cannot,” Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche wrote.
Blanche declined to comment on Thursday’s ruling.
Trump’s lawyers have made several attempts to have the gag order lifted. Their latest fight landed in the state’s intermediate appellate court — the Appellate Division, a level above the Merchan trial court — after failing to get it before the state’s highest court. The appeals court last month declined to hear Donald Trump’s challenge to the gag order, saying it did not raise “substantial” constitutional issues that would warrant immediate action.
Merchan imposed the gag order in March, a few weeks before the trial began, after prosecutors raised concerns about Trump’s habit of attacking people involved in his business affairs. During the trial, he held Trump in contempt of court and fined him $10,000 for violationsand he threatened to imprison him if he did it again.
The judge lifted some restrictions in June, allowing Trump to comment to witnesses and jurors. However, prosecutors, court officials and their families, including the judge’s daughter, are not allowed to comment until after he is sentenced.
Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, but Merchan postponed that until September 18, if necessary, while he considers a request from his defense to overturn his conviction following the Supreme Court ruling. ruling on presidential immunity.
A jury from Manhattan convicted Trump on May 30 for falsifying documents to cover up a possible sex scandal, making him the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Trump’s conviction, on 34 felonies, stemmed from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush-money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. She alleges she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier, which he denies.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump. Prosecutors said Cohen concealed the payments with Trump’s knowledge by submitting monthly invoices for retainer payments as his personal attorney. Trump’s firm recorded the payments to Cohen as legal fees.
Prosecutors say the payment to Daniels was part of a broader scheme to buy the silence of people who came forward with potentially embarrassing stories during the 2016 campaign alleging that Trump had had extramarital sex.
Trump has promised to appeal his conviction, but he can’t do so until after his sentence is known.