New York judge considers gag order in Trump hush-money case
Former US President Donald Trump on the day of a court hearing on charges of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election, in New York State Supreme Court on February 15, 2024 (Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)
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NEW YORK: Prosecutors in Donald Trump's New York hush-money criminal case asked a judge on Monday (Feb 26) to impose a gag order on the former president, citing his “long history of making public and inflammatory remarks" about people involved in his legal cases.
The Manhattan district attorney's office asked that Trump be barred from making or directing others to make public statements about potential witnesses, prospective jurors and members of the prosecution team and their families other than District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Jury selection in the case is scheduled to begin Mar 25. The judge, Juan Manuel Merchan, didn't immediately rule. Messages seeking comment were left with Trump's lawyers.
Trump is already subject to a gag order in his 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 licence to criticise the special counsel who brought the case.
