Manhattan District prosecutors investigating the case of bribes paid by Donald Trump to porn actress Stormy Daniels asked the judge on Monday for a gag order to protect jurors, witnesses and others involved in the case. The formula is to restrict Trump's normally verbal speech, as Washington has already done in the investigation of another of the four criminal charges against him. The silence order would restrict the ability to make public comments that would sometimes be denigrating – as was the case in the New York civil defamation trial – and sometimes overly revealing, such as when, in the same trial, he identified, at worst, to some of the judge's assistants.
The Stormy Daniels case will be the first of four criminal cases to be heard. The jury will be constituted on March 25th. Trump, the Republican favorite in his party's presidential primary in November, is accused of paying the adult film actress $130,000 in cash in 2016 to buy her silence about her extramarital affair. The bribe was recorded in his company's accounts as legal costs, although the aim was to prevent any publicity of the matter from harming his election chances. The irregularity of the payment, viewed by prosecutors as a falsification of business records, borders on a violation of campaign finance laws.
If the judge overseeing the case, Juan Merchan – the same one who read him the 34 criminal complaints last April – agrees to the silence order, Trump would be prohibited from making statements about court personnel “that materially affect the case.” his relatives, every member of the jury, and the Manhattan prosecutors, except for the owner, Alvin Bragg. Prosecutors' demand to stop Trump's speech represents a significant escalation of his numerous clashes with the judiciary.
“The need for such protection is urgent,” they write in their petition. “The defendant has a long history of making public and inflammatory comments about participants in various trials against him, including jurors, witnesses, attorneys and court personnel (…). These comments, as well as the inevitable reactions they provoke from those involved.” “Supporters and allies of the defendant pose a significant and immediate threat to the proper conduct of this criminal procedure and are likely to cause material damage,” they argued.
Trump's incontinence has cost him several reprimands from some judges. In the civil trial for continued fraud in his businesses, for which he was ordered to pay $355 million plus interest – and which his lawyers filed an appeal this Monday – Judge Arthur Engoron had to ask the former president's lawyers to control his client, similarly like someone urging another to muzzle their dog. Trump's tirades, disqualifications and outbursts in court have repeatedly embarrassed judges and prosecutors.
“This is election interference pure and simple.”
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Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to each of the 91 criminal charges that make up the four indictments against him, has previously challenged the gag orders imposed on him in two other cases, the one in Washington and the one in New York . His lawyers have argued that they are violating their client's First Amendment right, which enshrines free speech, by “suppressing” Trump's key political speech as a presidential candidate.
This Monday, his defense once again regretted “the request of another deranged Democratic prosecutor.” [Alvin Bragg] I am seeking a restrictive gag order that, if granted, would unconstitutionally violate First Amendment rights, including your ability to defend yourself and the right of all Americans to hear from President Trump. “This is pure election interference,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Bragg's office, citing the two precedents of gag orders, emphasized that today's request is particularly necessary because it marks the first criminal trial of a former president in United States history – at the state level, if at all It is explained that the guilty party could not pardon himself or have the trial invalidated when he reaches the White House in November, which could lead to other charges of a federal nature.
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