NEW YORK: Former US president Donald Trump has requested the judge in his hush money case to lift a gag order.
The former president’s appeal comes after he was convicted last week on charges related to payments made to an adult star.
Justice Juan Merchan had earlier barred Trump from making public statements before the trial began in April. Prosecutors argued these measures were necessary due to Trump’s history of making potentially threatening remarks.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, wrote in a letter dated June 3, “Now that the trial is concluded, the concerns articulated by the government and the Court do not justify continued restrictions on the First Amendment rights of President Trump.”
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. The charges were linked to a $130,000 payment made by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Daniels claimed the payment was to keep her silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
Trump, who is running for president in 2024, has vowed to appeal the conviction and has often called the gag order an unconstitutional infringement on his right to free speech.
A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not immediately comment on the request.
During the trial, Merchan fined Trump $1,000 for each of ten violations of the gag order. One violation involved a social media post calling Cohen a “serial liar,” and another was an interview where Trump claimed, “that jury was picked so fast – 95% Democrats.” Merchan warned Trump on May 6 that future violations could result in jail time.
Blanche, in his letter, also mentioned that President Joe Biden had publicly commented on the verdict and that Cohen and Daniels continued to attack Trump in public. He highlighted that Biden and Trump are set to debate on June 27, suggesting the gag order should be lifted to ensure fairness.
