Following the verdict in the hush money case: Trump seeks removal of gag order
The arguments put forth by the prosecution and the court to maintain the gag order on Trump's right to express himself no longer hold after the trial concluded, according to Blanche. He also highlighted that, from the defense's point of view, the ban had never had a "legally sound foundation."
Judge Merchan had previously prevented Trump from making statements that could potentially influence the case concerning witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court employees, and the prosecution. Subsequently, he expanded the ban to include comments about the judge's family and District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
To penalize Trump for disregarding the speech restrictions, Merchan inflicted fines totaling $10,000 on him. The judge furthermore threatened the possible Republican presidential candidate with incarceration if he resumed disparaging remarks about trial participants. However, the gag order does not extend to Merchan himself, who Trump often labeled as "corrupt."
In the previous week, the jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records regarding a payment to Stormy Daniels, a former adult film actress, to keep her quiet about an alleged affair she had with him a decade earlier, which Trump denied. At 77 years old, Trump became the first former US president to be convicted of a crime.
Stormy Daniels was silenced about her alleged affair with Trump just before the 2016 presidential election through a payment.
The sentencing for Trump has not yet been decided. Merchan scheduled the announcement for July 11. Trump faces the possibility of imprisonment, but experts anticipate a probation or fine, as it is his first criminal conviction and it is not a violent crime.
In his letter to Merchan, Blanche justified the request to lift the gag order by stating that Trump must be allowed to campaign against President Joe Biden "uninhibited." The defense attorney mentioned in this context that Biden publicly commented on Trump's conviction, and Stormy Daniels and Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified for the prosecution, would continue to launch attacks on Trump.
Trump intends to face off against Biden in the November election, against whom he lost in 2020. Trump is scheduled to be declared the Republican presidential candidate formally at a party convention that takes place four days after the date set for the sentencing.
Trump still faces criminal charges in three other instances. The first two cases center around his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, and the third case involves his taking of classified government documents to his private residence in Florida. However, the exact start dates for these three trials remain uncertain.
Trump perceives himself as a victim of a biased legal system and his criminal prosecution as an unprecedented intrusion into the presidential election campaign.
