New York’s top appeals court on Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s latest efforts to be unmuzzled by the gag order in his Manhattan hush-money case.
In a decision list, the Court of Appeals dismissed Trump’s challenge of a post-trial order by state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan that left gag order restrictions in place barring him from publicly commenting on prosecutors and court staff, their relatives, and family members of Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The court dismissed the appeal “upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.”
After Trump was found guilty of felony charges on May 30 for falsifying New York business records, Merchan, who presided over the trial, pared down the gag order he implemented before it started — allowing Trump to speak out against witnesses and the jury, but not prosecutors, court staff, and the families of all involved.
The appeals court declined to let the Republican presidential nominee challenge the original or modified gag order. His legal team had argued the restrictions violated his right to free speech, among other arguments.
Merchan is expected to rule on Trump’s motion to vacate his conviction and dismiss the underlying indictment on Nov. 12. Trump’s lawyers have argued that the Supreme Court’s decision granting presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution barred prosecutors from presenting evidence relating to his time in the White House.
Prosecutors say the conviction should stand whether or not the Supreme Court ruling, which came down a month after Trump was convicted, rendered some evidence inadmissible, given the “overwhelming” evidence of his guilt.
If Merchan denies Trump’s motion, he will sentence him on Nov. 26, he ruled last week.
The case centered on Trump’s secret reimbursements to Michael Cohen for paying off porn star Stormy Daniels in the weeks before the 2016 election, covered up as payment for legal services. The $130,000 Cohen paid Daniels bought her silence about an alleged extramarital liaison with Trump in 2006 and represented one of three payoffs executed to hide potentially damaging information about Trump from the electorate, jurors heard.
“The Democrats are trying to unlawfully gag President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, because they know that he is dominating this election, will win on November 5th, and will Make America Great Again!” Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said in a statement.
The Manhattan DA’s office declined to comment.
