Analysis details why NY judge was forced to expand Trump gag order in hush money case

02 April 2024

Former President Donald Trump has faced partial gag orders in three separate cases: New York State Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud lawsuit, special counsel Jack Smith's federal election interference case, and mostly recently, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.'s hush money case.

Trump's critics, however, have lamented that he isn't great about obeying gag orders.

In an opinion column published on April 2, MSNBC's Steve Benen lays out some reasons why Justice Juan Merchan found it necessary to expand his partial gag order in Bragg's case.

"Donald Trump is no stranger to gag orders," Benen explains. "In fact, the former president's rhetoric about ongoing court proceedings has been deemed so potentially dangerous, so many times, that a variety of judges have found it necessary to impose limits on what the Republican can say. The list of such instances grew longer just last week."

Benen adds, "As the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's first criminal trial drew closer, Trump lashed out at a variety of people across the legal system, including likely witnesses in his hush-money-to-a-porn-star case."

Trump, Benen notes, has been attacking members of Merchan's family. And the judge has responded with a "revised gag order."

Merchan's new version of the gag order not only forbids him to attack witnesses, prosecutors and court staff, but also, members of Merchan and Bragg's families.

Merchan warned that Trump's attacks could have a chilling order on the trial.

Jury selection is scheduled to get underway on Monday, April 15, and Bragg alleges that Trump, during his 2016 campaign, falsified business records in the process of paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels — who he had an extramarital affair with, according to Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen.

Daniels and Cohen are key witnesses in Bragg's case. Cohen has said that if Trump defeats President Joe Biden in November and returns to the White House, he will "fear for my life," leave the United States and seek political asylum in another country.

"For those keeping score," Benen observes, "Trump faced a gag order from New York Judge Arthur Engoron last fall in his corporate fraud case, which was followed by another gag order from U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan in his election interference case. Now, it's happened yet again."

Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.

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