NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan prosecutors urged a judge Wednesday to uphold donald trump The gag order is in effect in his criminal case to remain silent at least until the former president is sentenced in July, opposing a defense request that the restrictions be lifted following his felony convictions last week.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo told Judge Juan M. Merchan in a letter that the Manhattan district attorney’s office opposes any immediate termination of the gag order, which prevents Trump from commenting on witnesses, jurors and others connected to the case – but not the judge himself.
The court “has an obligation to protect the integrity of these proceedings and the fair administration of justice, at least through the sentencing hearing and the resolution of any post-trial motions,” Colangelo wrote.
On Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove called on Merchan to end the gag order, arguing that there was nothing to justify “continued restrictions on President Trump’s First Amendment rights” now that the trial is over.
In issuing the gag order in March, Merchan noted that prosecutors sought it “throughout the trial.” Colangelo argued, however, that the order “was based not only on the need to avoid threats to the fairness of the trial itself” but also on the judge’s “obligation to avoid actual harm to the integrity” of the case.
Colangelo said prosecutors are in favor of both sides presenting written arguments to the court on the gag order issue in the coming weeks — a move that, if Merchan agrees, would keep the restrictions in place at least until nearly the end of the year. month.
A message seeking comment was left for Blanche.
Trump was convicted last Thursday of 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a secret payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. with Trump a decade earlier, which he denies.
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11. His conviction is punishable by up to four years in prison, but prosecutors have not said whether they would seek prison time and it is unclear whether Merchan would impose such a sentence. Other options include a fine or probation.
Blanche and Bove argued in their Tuesday letter that Trump is entitled to “unrestricted campaign defense” in light of President Joe Biden’s decision public comments about last Friday’s verdict, and continued public criticism of Trump by his former lawyer michael cohen It is danielsboth main prosecution witnesses.
Trump’s lawyers also say the gag order must be lifted so he is free to fully address the case and his conviction in the first presidential debate. scheduled for June 27th.
Merchan issued Trump’s gag order on March 26, a few weeks before the trial began, after prosecutors raised concerns about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s propensity to assault people involved in his cases.
Merchan later expanded it to ban comments about his own family after Trump made social media posts attacking the judge’s daughter, a Democratic political consultant. Comments about Merchan and District Attorney Alvin Bragg are permitted, but the gag order prohibits statements about court staff and members of Bragg’s prosecution team.
Trump has continued to operate somewhat under the idea that he is still muzzled, telling reporters Friday at Trump Tower, “I’m under a gag order, a nasty gag order.”
Referring to Cohen, Trump said, “I’m not allowed to use his name because of the gag order” before calling his lawyer-turned-enemy in court “a scumbag.”
During the trial, Merchan found Trump in contempt of court, fined him $10,000 for violating the gag order and threatened to put him in prison if he did it again.
Trump’s use of the term “sleazebag” to describe Cohen shortly before the trial angered prosecutors but was not considered a violation of the gag order by the judge. Merchan declined to sanction Trump for an April 10 social media post that referred to Cohen and Daniels with that slur.
The judge said at the time that Trump’s claim that he was responding to Cohen’s previous posts that criticized him “is enough to make you wonder whether prosecutors met their burden in demonstrating that the post was off limits.
