June 25 (UPI) — Donald Trump‘s gag order in his New York hush money trial was partially lifted Tuesday, two days before the former president faces off against President Joe Biden in the first of two debates.
Judge Juan Merchan lifted parts of Trump’s gag order in a new order Tuesday, following the former president’s conviction last month on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The revised terms allow Trump to speak freely about witnesses and jurors in the case.
“Circumstances have now changed,” Merchan wrote Tuesday. “The trial portion of these proceedings ended when the verdict was rendered, and the jury discharged.”
While Trump is allowed to speak about witnesses, the jury and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, he is still restricted from speaking about lawyers and staff for the District Attorney’s office and the court, as well as any family members until he is sentenced on July 11.
“Until sentence is imposed, all individuals covered by Paragraph (b) must continue to perform their lawful duties free from threats, intimidation, harassment and harm,” Merchan wrote.
While Trump had yet to comment Tuesday on Merchan’s decision, his campaign spokesman blasted the judge for failing to lift the entire gag order and promised Trump’s legal team “will immediately challenge” the order.
“This is another unlawful decision by a highly conflicted judge, which is blatantly un-American as it gags President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election during the upcoming presidential debate on Thursday,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Trump has railed against the gag order since Merchan imposed it in March, arguing the order was a violation of his First Amendment rights as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
“Both orders were narrowly tailored to address the significant concerns regarding the defendant’s extrajudicial speech,” Merchan wrote Tuesday. “The orders were overwhelmingly supported by the record.”
Before and during the trial, Merchan fined Trump $1,000 for each of 10 violations — including Trump’s comments about the judge’s daughter and her work with a Democratic political firm. Merchan warned the former president he could face jail time if the violations continued.
Trump was convicted on May 30 of falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Trump, who denied an affair, pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts and has vowed to appeal the verdict.
Trump has gag orders in several other cases, including his election interference case in Georgia. A federal judge in Florida is hearing arguments on whether to impose a limited gag order on the former president in his classified documents case.
