The district attorney’s office alleges that the former president violated a gag order in the case.
Prosecutors in the so-called “hush-money” case filed court papers Tuesday alleging former President Donald Trump violated a judge’s gag order by commenting on potential and likely witnesses involved in the case.
Several weeks ago, Judge Juan Merchan imposed the gag order on President Trump, writing that he cannot make public comments about witnesses such as former lawyer Michael Cohen or adult performer Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels.
“This Court should again admonish defendant to comply with his obligations under the order. And finally, this Court should warn defendant that future violations of this Court’s restrictions on his extrajudicial statements can be punished not only with additional fines but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days,” prosecutors under Democratic Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg wrote Tuesday.
They argued that it is “absolutely critical that defendant immediately halt any conduct that would violate the April 1 order’s narrow restrictions to protect the integrity of the ongoing trial,” according to the court filing.
The 45th president should be fined $1,000 per violation, they wrote. Judge Merchan scheduled a hearing on the motion for April 23, which is a week from Tuesday.
The court motion came after Bragg prosecutor Joshua Steinglass made reference to a recent Trump post on Truth Social in which he called Mr. Cohen and Ms. Clifford “two sleazebags.” The former president has complained that Mr. Cohen and Ms. Clifford, both of whom are key prosecution witnesses, are allowed to criticize him in the media while he has to remain silent.
Earlier in April, Judge Merchan expanded a gag order on the former president after he made social media posts that criticized the judge’s daughter as a Democratic Party operative and suggested it’s evidence that the judge won’t give him a fair trial.
The former president’s lawyers have argued that the gag order is an unconstitutional curb on the presumptive Republican nominee’s free speech rights while he’s campaigning for president and fighting criminal charges.
“The First Amendment harms arising from this gag order right now are irreparable,” Trump lawyer Emil Bove said at an emergency hearing last week in an appeals court. Mr. Bove also argued that President Trump shouldn’t be muzzled while critics routinely assail him.
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