Former President Donald Trump faced an expansion of the gag order in his New York criminal trial on Monday. This came after Trump criticized the judge and his daughter through a series of social media posts. Trump, who was the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, had been indicted by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg of New York County. The charges against him were related to the alleged falsification of business records in order to conceal a supposed “hush money” payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, took the decision to expand the existing gag order against Trump. This order now prevents him from making any public statements about the case. The expansion of the gag order was prompted by Trump’s attack on Merchan’s daughter in a post on Truth Social.
“The conventional ‘David vs. Goliath’ roles are no longer in play, as demonstrated by the singular power Defendant’s words have on countless others,” wrote Merchan in his four-page ruling. “The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant’s recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself.”
Trump condemned Merchan’s daughter for supposedly sharing negative comments about him on social networking sites, however, the New York State Unified Courts system subsequently clarified that the account had been mistakenly attributed to her.
“The X, formerly Twitter, account being attributed to Judge Merchan’s daughter no longer belongs to her,” said Al Baker, the spokesman for the New York State Office of Court Administration, according to The New York Times. “It is not linked to her email address, nor has she posted under that screen name since she deleted the account. Rather, it represents the reconstitution, last April, and manipulation of an account she long ago abandoned.”
