The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal hush-money trial on Monday expanded the gag order in the case to include family members following the former president’s attacks on his daughter.
Judge Juan Merchan in the expanded gag order barred Trump from attacking his family members and those of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Merchan previously barred Trump from publicly speaking about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and their families.
Trump's "pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose. It merely injects fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings, that not only they, but their family members as well, are 'fair game' for Defendant's vitriol," Merchan wrote in Monday’s order. "It is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings. The threat is very real."
The order comes two weeks before Trump’s Manhattan trial is set to begin. Merchan in the order warned that he would revoke Trump’s access to juror names if he violates the terms and warned that “any violation of the Order will result in sanctions.”
"The average observer must now, after hearing Defendant's recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself," Merchan wrote.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that the former president’s posts about Merchan’s daughter were protected political speech, citing her role at a firm that fundraised for Democrats.
"President Trump’s comments concerning Your Honor’s daughter are, properly understood, a criticism of the Court’s prior decision not to recuse itself," Trump’s lawyers wrote, according to NBC News.
Bragg’s team argued that Trump’s attack on Merchan’s daughter "fundamentally threatens the integrity of these proceedings and is intended to intimidate witnesses and trial participants alike."
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