Donald Trump’s lawyers want a New York judge to remove the gag order that stopped the former president from talking about witnesses, jurors, and others connected to his criminal case. Trump’s attorneys, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, wrote to Judge Juan M. Merchan asking him to lift the gag order. They argued that now that the trial is finished, there’s no reason to keep restricting Trump’s right to free speech under the First Amendment.
The lawyers said Trump should be able to freely talk about the case, especially since President Joe Biden and Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, as well as Stormy Daniels, have publicly commented on it. Cohen and Daniels were key witnesses for the prosecution.
Trump’s legal team also wants the gag order removed so he can discuss his case and conviction before the first presidential debate on June 27.
Juan M. Merchan (Via Harley Simmons/Getty Images)
The Manhattan district attorney’s office didn’t give a comment.
Judge Merchan put the gag order on Trump on March 26, just before the trial started. This happened after prosecutors worried that Trump, who was expected to be the Republican nominee for president, might attack people involved in his cases.
Later, Merchan made the gag order even stricter. Trump couldn’t talk about his own family after he criticized the judge’s daughter, who is a Democratic political consultant, on social media. Trump can comment on Judge Merchan and District Attorney Alvin Bragg, but he can’t talk about court staff or Bragg’s prosecution team members.
