In the unprecedented criminal trial of former President Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchán's gag order has added another layer of complexity to an already unique legal circumstance.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, just six months away, is prohibited from speaking about any of the witnesses in his case, the jury and members of the district attorney's staff, other than the district attorney himself. of Manhattan, Alvin Bragg. Anyone under Trump's direction is also prohibited from speaking on any of those matters.
On April 2, the gag order was expanded to include prohibiting Trump from speaking about the judge's relatives, including his daughter, who works as a Democratic consultant and has represented Democratic elected officials such as Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Adam Schiff. D-California.
In a Truth Social post, Trump called Merchan's daughter by name, pointed to her workplace and referenced a social media post of a photo showing Trump behind bars. The Manhattan court affirmed that the account does not belong to Merchan's daughter.
Trump's legal team appealed the gag order after Merchan found that Trump had violated it. The judge also imposed $10,000 fines and even threatened jail time if she continues to violate court rules.
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Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of the trial in Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Swimming Pool)
The New York Appellate Division on Wednesday granted the Trump team's request to speed up the deadline to appeal the gag order.
The prosecution now has a deadline of May 15 to submit a response brief; Trump's lawyers will have until May 20 to submit their response. All briefing documents are sealed by court order, so details of the appeal and specific challenges to the order are not public.
But a source close to the campaign says the Appellate Division seems inclined to move more quickly than it normally would.
Trump's lawyers argued to Merchan that the gag order was unilateral and only applied to Trump and not other expected witnesses. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who is expected to take the stand on Monday, has made disparaging comments about Trump on social media, fundraising from the case and wearing a T-shirt depicting Trump behind bars, but the Gag order prevents Trump or his team from responding publicly.
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Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump gestures to supporters during an election night watch party at the State Fairgrounds on February 24, 2024, in Columbia, South Carolina. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump's team also argued that Merchan has an irretrievable conflict of interest, as her daughter is accused of actively helping her clients profit from the trial.
They have also argued that the gag order wrongly prohibits Trump from commenting on Michael Colangelo's involvement in the case. Colangelo is a former high-ranking political official at the Justice Department and worked in the New York Attorney General's office on other Trump prosecutions. Trump's lawyers have argued that the gag order wrongly prevents speech about what they perceive as Colangelo's possible political motivations.
Gregory Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University, told Fox News Digital that if the matter were brought before the Supreme Court, he is “pretty confident” the gag order would be overturned.
“The Supreme Court would be very concerned about gagging a presidential candidate during an election for criticizing the court or the process in such a broad way. A very limited order to protect the identity of secret jurors or witnesses could stand, but gag Trump “For him not to talk about well-known witnesses like Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, who are on the lecture circuit talking about him, or criticizing the political nature of the trial, could not be justified under the very restrictive standard of prior restrictions on free speech.” Germain said. .
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Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures to supporters at the end of a campaign rally at the Atkinson Country Club on January 16, 2024, in Atkinson, NH. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Germain noted that the issue is a long way from the Supreme Court and that the Appellate Division “may not have the same respect for the serious constitutional questions raised by such a gag order. They could delay the request or try to tinker with the language.”
“But the issue will become a constitutional crisis if Judge Merchan jails Trump for contempt. If that happens, and it seems a real possibility because Merchan and Trump are engaged in a game of chicken over the issue, I wouldn't be surprised. grant an emergency petition to the Supreme Court if the Appellate Division does not take the matter seriously now,” he said.
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“If the Appellate Division is wise, they will return the order to Judge Merchan with strict instructions to limit the order very specifically to threats that pose an imminent danger of violence or lawlessness. The mere fear that a deranged partisan might respond with violence will not pass the constitutional test.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said: “The gag order imposed by the troubled Judge Juan Merchan in the lawless Manhattan district attorney case is unconstitutional and un-American.”
