Whether or not the former president violated the judge's request is up for debate. And he accused Merchan of being a "Trump-hating" judge. He also lashed out at District Attorney Alvin Bragg, calling him an a "criminal" and an "animal" and said he should resign. He maintained his innocence during the speech on Tuesday, telling his supporters that the "only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it." Trump pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts alleging that he falsified business records in order to conceal damaging information before the 2016 presidential election. Instead, he explained, a gag order from Merchan would perhaps be aimed at keeping the peace among protesters outside the courts.Ī gag order is legally binding - Merchan's warning is notĭespite the judge's request at the hearing that Trump show restraint when discussing the case, hours later the former president delivered an address where he disparaged the case as "fake" and labeled the charges against him as election interference. "This is not a case that could be kept quiet from the jury," Volokh said. Well-known instances where a gag order was issued by a judge include: the trial of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber whose case garnered national attention the civil case brought against former NFL star OJ Simpson and the 2004 Michael Jackson child molestation case.īut since Trump's case is extremely well known, a gag order designed to ensure an impartial jury isn't tainted by news coverage would more or less be useless, UCLA First Amendment Law Professor Eugene Volokh told NPR. It can be difficult to find an impartial jury during high-profile cases, especially if a defendant's charges have captivated the country. Since gag orders restrict the right to free speech, they are only issued to control the flow of information to ensure a fair trial, according to Cornell Law. "But now that I have made the request, if I were to be handed something like again in the future, I have to take a closer look" at a gag order, Merchan warned.Ī gag order is imposed by a judge to restrict what individuals involved in a case can and cannot discuss outside the courtroom. Merchan said he would not impose a gag order at the arraignment hearing even if it had been requested, arguing that it's among "the most serious and least intolerable on First Amendment rights." And he seemed especially disinclined to muzzle a candidate running for president, as Trump is, lest the move appear political or infringe on a candidate's ability to propagate a message. This came after the prosecuting attorney presented Judge Juan Manuel Merchan with printed examples of the former president's vocal, frequent and what the lawyer called "threatening and escalating" criticisms on social media of the case and its players, including the judge himself. Instead, he "encouraged" Trump to avoid saying or doing anything that could incite violence, create civil unrest or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any The judge overseeing the 34-count felony case against Donald Trump in New York City said at Tuesday's arraignment hearing that he wasn't going to impose a gag order, leaving the former president and his legal team free to talk about the case.
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