Current:Home > MarketsManhattan D.A. asks for "narrowly tailored" Trump gag order ahead of "hush money" trial-InfoLens
Manhattan D.A. asks for "narrowly tailored" Trump gag order ahead of "hush money" trial
View Date:2024-12-23 12:27:40
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office asked a New York judge on Monday to impose a "narrowly tailored" gag order restricting what former President Donald Trump can say about those involved in the criminal case against him, which is set to go to trial next month.
The request came as one of a trio of filings in the case, which revolves around reimbursements for a "hush money" payment to an adult film star days before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records.
The district attorney's office asked Judge Juan Merchan for an order barring Trump from commenting on any prospective jurors in the case, "known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses" and prosecutors besides Bragg himself. The filing also asked him to restrict Trump from publicly discussing court staffers, employees of the district attorney's office and their families.
"The relief requested here is narrowly tailored to protect the integrity of the upcoming trial while still affording defendant ample opportunity to engage in speech, including speech about this case," the district attorney's office said. "And there are no less restrictive alternatives that will adequately protect the trial from the prejudice that is reasonably likely to arise from defendant's unrestrained extrajudicial statements."
The filing noted that the request mirrors similar restrictions imposed in Trump's other legal cases. A federal appeals court largely upheld one of those orders in December.
The filing cites "a long history of making public and inflammatory remarks about the participants in various judicial proceedings against [Trump], including jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and court staff."
The request includes references to statements Trump made during another New York case, a civil fraud trial that recently ended with a $464 million judgment against him and other defendants. During that trial, Trump publicly attacked a key witness in both cases and was subjected to a gag order for maligning the judge's clerk.
An attorney for Trump, Susan Necheles, declined to comment on the district attorney's filing and said the former president's legal team "will be responding in our submissions." Steven Cheung, an attorney for Trump's presidential campaign, said in a statement that the order "would impose an unconstitutional infringement on President Trump's First Amendment rights, including his ability to defend himself," and called the case "a sham orchestrated by partisan Democrats."
The request for a gag order, as well as a second filing on Monday, highlighted a 2019 federal case against Trump ally Roger Stone. The D.A.'s filing said attempts to "expose and harass prospective jurors began almost simultaneously" with the trial. Bragg's office wrote that Trump "targeted the jury foreperson" in Stone's case, "including during a commencement address, in remarks delivered from the White House, and during a Fox News Town Hall."
Bragg's office is also seeking an order "prohibiting disclosure of juror addresses other than to counsel" and "prohibiting disclosure of juror names other than to the parties and counsel."
The filing cites Trump's "extensive history of publicly and repeatedly attacking trial jurors and grand jurors involved in legal proceedings against him and his associates, including recent proceedings in New York."
Bragg's other filing seeks a ruling blocking certain defense experts and arguments at trial, while permitting evidence related to uncharged crimes. Those arguments include that Trump was targeted due to "selective prosecution." The trial is scheduled to begin March 25.
During a 2022 criminal trial over tax fraud that Merchan also oversaw, he barred defense attorneys for Trump's company from making a "selective prosecution" argument. Merchan told lawyers that he would "have very little patience at trial for any questions that are not in a good faith basis."
Graham KatesGraham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at [email protected] or [email protected]
veryGood! (296)
Related
- Martin Scorsese on the saints, faith in filmmaking and what his next movie might be
- Gaza residents describe their horror as Israeli forces bombard city: There is no safe place
- What causes gray hair at an early age? Here's what you need to know.
- Sketch released of person of interest in fatal shooting on Vermont trail
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long record of promoting anti-vaccine views
- Anti-abortion activist called 'pro-life Spiderman' is arrested climbing Chicago's Accenture Tower
- Burglar gets stuck in chimney trying to flee Texas home before arrest, police say
- MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says he's out of money, can't pay lawyers in defamation case
- Former NFL coach Jack Del Rio charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated
- 'Madonna: A Rebel Life' biography celebrates the impact of a pop icon: 'This is who I am'
Ranking
- CRYPTIFII Introduce
- The power dynamic in labor has shifted and pickets are seemingly everywhere. But for how long?
- Missouri high school teacher suspended for having porn site page has resigned, superintendent says
- Photographer who captured horrifying images of Challenger breaking apart after launch has died
- Record-setting dry conditions threaten more US wildfires, drinking water supplies
- Walmart heir wants museums to attract more people and donates $40 million to help
- Missouri high school teacher suspended for having porn site page has resigned, superintendent says
- Oklahoma Supreme Court chief justice recommends removing judge for texting during a murder trial
Recommendation
-
Tesla Cybertruck modifications upgrade EV to a sci-fi police vehicle
-
Kelly Ripa Breaks Promise to Daughter Lola Consuelos By Calling Her Out On Live
-
Jada Pinkett Smith Reveals She and Will Smith Had Been Separated for 6 Years Before 2022 Oscars
-
NASA reveals contents of OSIRIS-REx capsule containing asteroid sample
-
Taylor Swift touches down in Kansas City as Chiefs take on Denver Broncos
-
Donald Trump’s financial statements were key to getting loans, ex-bank official tells fraud trial
-
Olympics legend Mary Lou Retton fighting for her life in ICU due to pneumonia, daughter says
-
AP PHOTOS: Protests by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators span the world as war escalates