DA seeks gag order in Trump case
Request to judge filed before March hush-money trial
NEW YORK — Prosecutors in former President Donald Trump’s New York hush-money criminal case asked a judge Monday to impose a gag order on Trump before next month’s trial, citing a “long history of making public and inflammatory remarks” about people involved in his legal cases.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office asked for what it called a “narrowly tailored” gag order that would bar Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about potential witnesses and jurors, as well as statements meant to interfere with or harass the court’s staff, prosecution team or their families.
Prosecutors are also proposing that the names of jurors be kept from the public to “minimize obstacles to jury selection, and protect juror safety.”
Without limits, prosecutors said, Trump’s rhetoric would “create a significant and imminent threat to the trial by distracting personnel, diverting government resources, and delaying the administration of justice.”
“Self-regulation is not a viable alternative, as defendant’s recent history makes plain,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. Trump, they said, “has a longstanding and perhaps singular history” of using social media, campaign speeches and other public statements to “attack individuals that he considers to be adversaries.”
The requested gag order would not ban Trump from commenting about the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to porn performer Stormy Daniels on his behalf.
In a separate legal matter, the former president’s lawyers filed notices of appeal Monday asking New York state’s midlevel appeals court to overturn a $454 million New York civil fraud judgment against him, challenging a judge’s finding that he lied about his wealth as he grew the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency.
Trump’s lawyers wrote in court papers that they’re asking the appeals court to decide whether Judge Arthur Engoron “committed errors of law and/or fact” and whether he abused his discretion or “acted in excess” of his jurisdiction. A notice of appeal starts the appeals process in New York. His lawyers will have an opportunity to expand on their grievances in subsequent court filings as they challenge the Feb. 16 verdict in Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit and reverse staggering penalties that threaten to wipe out Trump’s cash reserves.
The Republican presidential front-runner wasn’t required to pay his penalty or post a bond in order to appeal, and appealing won’t automatically halt enforcement of the judgment.
Trump has until March 25 to secure a stay, a legal mechanism pausing collection while he appeals.
Trump would receive an automatic stay if he puts up money, assets or an appeal bond covering what he owes.
Trump’s lawyers could also ask the appeals court to grant a stay without obtaining a bond or with a bond for a lower amount.
There was no indication on the court docket Monday that Trump had already posted an appeal bond or asked for a stay. His lawyers did not immediately respond to a reporter’s questions Monday asking if he had posted a bond or if he was in the process of securing one.
Jury selection in the hushmoney case is also scheduled to begin March 25.
Barring a last-minute delay, it will be the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to go to trial.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan didn’t immediately rule on the prosecution’s gag order request.
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles said the defense will respond in court papers later this week.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s presidential campaign, called the request “election interference pure and simple” and called the case a “sham orchestrated by partisan Democrats desperately attempting to prevent” Trump from returning to the White House.
Trump is already subject to a gag order in his separate federal case in Washington charging him with scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
That order was initially imposed in October by the judge overseeing the case and largely upheld by a federal appeals panel two months later, though the court did narrow the initial speech restrictions by giving Trump license to criticize the special counsel who brought the case.
Trump was also under a limited gag order in his New York civil fraud trial and was fined $15,000 for twice violating it. Engoron imposed that gag order on Oct. 3 after Trump made a disparaging social media post about the judge’s chief law clerk.
In the civil fraud case, Engoron found that Trump, his company and top executives, including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., schemed for years to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals. Among other penalties, the judge put strict limitations on the ability of Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, to do business.
In a statement, Trump lawyer Alina H ab ba addressed only the appeal itself, saying: “We trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious fine and take the necessary steps to restore the public faith in New York’s legal system.”
If upheld, Engoron’s ruling will force Trump to pay $355 million in penalties, but with interest the total has grown to nearly $454 million, which will increase by nearly $112,000 per day until he pays.