A New York state appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s challenge to a gag order in his hush money criminal case, where the former US president was convicted in May on charges stemming from hush money paid to an adult entertainment actor.
The decision by the Appellate Division in Manhattan means the Republican presidential nominee cannot comment publicly about individual prosecutors and others in the case until Justice Juan Merchan sentences him on September 18, seven weeks before the November 5 election.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the gag order violated Trump’s constitutional free speech rights under the First Amendment.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, said Trump “continues to forcefully challenge” the gag order.
“The gag order is blatantly un-American as it continues to gag President Trump,” Cheung said in a statement.
Merchan imposed the gag order a few weeks before the trial began on April 22, saying Trump’s history of making threatening statements could undermine the proceedings.
The original order prevented Trump from commenting on prosecutors, court staff, witnesses and jurors.
A separate order against naming the anonymous jurors remains in effect.
Merchan lifted the restrictions on witnesses and jurors following Trump’s May 30 conviction.
The Appellate Division, a mid-level appeals court, said threats that Bragg’s staff received in the wake of the verdict continue to pose a “significant and immediate” threat. – Reuters
Trump speaks at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. – AFP
