The trial of former US President Donald Trump is scheduled to begin in March 2024. The trial begins March 25, meaning the historic trial will likely begin in the middle of the Republican primary for the 2024 presidential election.
Attorney Todd Blanche, sitting on Trump’s left, told the judge that the former president was “very concerned” that his First Amendment rights, which guarantee freedom of speech, were being violated.
Merchan stressed that his determination does not amount to gag law and that Trump will be able to comment on the case and lobby for a return to the presidency next year.
Trump appeared increasingly annoyed during the remote hearing and shook his head again when Merchan told all parties to the case that they could not make any further commitments that could interfere with the process.
The former president’s attorneys appealed to a federal court in New York, alleging that the crimes attributed to him by the state judiciary were committed during his tenure (20162021).
Trump, who has called the New York district attorney’s indictment a “witch hunt,” was convicted by a New York civil court jury earlier this month to pay former journalist E. Jean Carroll $5 million ($5 million at the time). sexual assault convicted defamation.
In addition to another case in Manhattan for financial fraud related to his family’s company, the former president has other open legal fronts, such as trying to reverse the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election, his involvement in his supporters’ invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and the acquisition of confidential state documents after leaving the presidency.
Trump banned the posting of sensitive documents on social media
Trump appeared via video link before the Manhattan court indicting him on 34 counts of fraud and was banned from posting confidential documents related to the cases on social media.
Earlier this month, Judge Juan Merchan issued an order barring the billionaire and his team from “copying, distributing and revealing” any material or sensitive information provided by prosecutors to prepare his defense on social networks like Truth Social , Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat or YouTube without prior court approval.
The 76yearold tycoon, who attended via video link from Florida with two American flags in the background, replied “yes” when the judge asked if he had received a copy of the order.
Wearing a navy suit and red tie, Trump, who is set to return to the White House in the 2024 election, shook his head in disbelief when the judge told him he could be sentenced to contempt if he violated the order.
However, both Trump and his defense team can continue to speak out about the case as there is neither an explicit prohibition on doing so nor the release of public domain information and evidence they have collected.
Trump will also not be able to release the names of employees or any information identifying staff at the Manhattan DA’s office.
Merchan signed the order earlier this month at the request of prosecutors after Trump attacked witnesses and a Manhattan prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, who was putting a former US president in the dock for the first time.
On April 4, Trump pleaded not guilty to the 34 felonies prosecutors charged him with paying US$130,000 (about R$420,000 at the time) to former porn actress Stormy Daniels during the last leg of the campaign. In the 2016 election, they would be doing what Republicans had always denied ten years earlier.
Trump’s attorneys called the judge’s order “stupid.”