New York’s highest court has made a decision not to take up Donald Trump’s appeal concerning the gag order in his hush-money case, as revealed in a decision list released on Tuesday. This means that the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case against Trump will continue to be in effect.
Trump has also made a separate request to Judge Merchan to lift the gag order before his scheduled sentencing in July. The former president was found guilty on 34 counts of business fraud related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, refrained from providing any comments on the matter.
In March, just before the trial started, Judge Merchan granted the prosecutor’s request for a gag order that prevented Trump from publicly discussing any witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or their families. However, Trump was allowed to make comments about Judge Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
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Early in the trial, Merchan fined Trump $10,000 and held him in criminal contempt for breaching the gag order ten times, cautioning that further violations could lead to jail time. Trump has a 30-day window to file a motion for leave to appeal, offering another potential opportunity for the court to reconsider hearing the case, according to court spokesman Gary Spencer. Once the motion is filed, the court will decide whether to proceed with the case.
In their appeal, Trump’s attorneys argued that the gag order raises “substantial constitutional questions of the highest importance.” They claimed that the gag order limits Trump’s essential political speech during his presidential campaign, where he is a leading candidate, thus infringing on the fundamental right of American voters to hear from him on significant public matters.
Despite the trial’s conclusion, Trump’s legal team maintains that the gag order still presents crucial constitutional issues, noting that it does not have a specified end date. They argued that if the Court of Appeals deems the gag order unconstitutional, it would nullify the fines imposed on Trump for his violations.
In contrast, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office urged the court to dismiss the appeal, emphasizing Trump’s history of making threatening, inflammatory, and denigrating remarks against trial participants.
