On Tuesday the New York Appeals Court denied Donald Trump’s effort to delay his hush money criminal trial while he argues against a gag order the judge overseeing the case imposed.
Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order bars Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and the judge’s family.
The Hill has more:
During an emergency hearing Tuesday before Justice Cynthia Kern, Trump’s lawyers argued that banning public statements about those individuals is an unconstitutional prior restraint on his right to free speech while running for president and mounting his defense.
“The First Amendment harms arising from this gag order right now are irreparable,” said Trump lawyer Emil Bove, according to the Associated Press.
State prosecutors countered that Trump’s remarks threaten the “public interest in protecting the integrity of the trial.”
“This is not political debate. These are insults,” Steven Wu, appellate chief for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said of Trump’s statements, according to the AP.
Trump is scheduled to head to trial in his New York criminal case on April 15.
The former president faces 34 charges linked to hush money payments made by his ex-fixer to porn actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty.
On Monday, a judge in New York denied a separate request for a delay in his hush money trial. Trump’s attorneys argued for the trial to be relocated from Manhattan and postponed as they pursue the matter.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Trump will never get a fair & impartial hearing in New York City due to liberals, judges, prosecutors.
Damn Judges in on crimes by Dems