- Early Tuesday morning, Donald Trump made it clear that he really hates his expanded silence and money order.
- The new gag ban prohibits Trump from continuing to attack the judge’s daughter, a political consultant.
- “They can talk about me, but I can’t talk about them??? Seems fair, doesn’t it?” » Trump said.
Donald Trump on Tuesday morning criticized the New York judge overseeing his secret criminal trial for extending a gag order the night before — but the GOP front-runner kept his comments within the new gag guardrails.
State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan had expanded the gag order Monday night to bar Trump from making any statements against members of the judge’s family that could interfere with the case, whose jury selection is scheduled for April 15.
The new gag was sparked last week by Trump’s continued attack on the judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, a progressive political consultant whose firm promoted the campaigns of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
“I just learned that another corrupt New York judge, Juan Merchan, has gagged me from speaking out about the corruption and conflicts taking place in his courtroom regarding a case that, according to everyone, including the prosecutor, should never have been brought,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump ripped into Merchan, saying the judge “should be recused.”
“They can talk about me, but I can’t talk about them??? Sounds fair, doesn’t it? This judge should be impeached and the case should be thrown out. There is almost never There has been no judge more conflicted than this one. ELECTION INTERFERENCE at its worst!” Trump’s message continued.
Trump’s attacks on Loren Merchan — which included a mugshot and false claims that she posted an illustration of Trump from behind bars — made trial witnesses fear for their safety, prosecutors complained.
Under the expanded silence order, Trump is prohibited from personally making — or directing others to make — statements about “family members of any lawyer, staff member, court or district attorney,” if such statements are made with the intent to materially interfere. with the case.
“This pattern of attacking family members of the President’s legal officers and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose,” the judge wrote in Monday night’s order expanding Trump’s gag order.
“This only instills fear in those who are assigned or called to participate in the proceedings, as not only they, but also their members, are ‘fair prey’ for the vitriol of the accused.”
“It is the responsibility of this Court to protect the integrity of the criminal process and to control disruptive influences within the court,” he wrote.
Trump and his lawyers announced they would appeal the decision.
businessinsider
