New York’s highest appeals court to rule Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s latest efforts to be released from a gag order in his Manhattan bribery case.
In a decision listThe appeals court rejected Trump’s challenge to a post-trial order issued by state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan that kept the gag order’s restrictions in place prohibiting him from commenting publicly on prosecutors and court staff, their relatives and family members of Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The court dismissed the appeal “on the grounds that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.”
After Trump was convicted on May 30 of criminal charges that he falsified New York business records, Merchan, who presided over the trial, reduced the gag order he implemented before it starts — allowing Trump to speak out against witnesses and the jury, but not against prosecutors, court staff and the families of everyone involved.
The appeals court refused to allow the Republican presidential candidate to challenge the original or amended gag order. His legal team had argued, among other arguments, that the restrictions violated his right to free speech.
Judge Merchan is expected to rule on Trump’s motion to vacate his conviction and dismiss the underlying indictment on November 12. Trump’s lawyers have argued that the Supreme Court’s decision granting presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution banned prosecutors from presenting evidence relating to his stay at the White House.
Prosecutors say the conviction should stand whether or not the Supreme Court’s ruling is upheld. which was made public a month after Trump’s convictionrendered certain evidence inadmissible, given the “overwhelming“proof of his guilt.
If Merchan rejects Trump’s motion, he will convict him on November 26. he ruled last week.
The case involved Trump’s secret reimbursements to Michael Cohen for pay porn star Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, under the guise of paying for legal services. The $130,000 Cohen paid Daniels was used to buy her silence about an alleged extramarital affair with Trump in 2006 and was one of three bribes executed to hide potentially damaging information about Trump from the electorate, jurors heard.
“Democrats are attempting to illegally silence President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election, because they know he is dominating this election, will win on November 5, and will make America great again!” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
