(AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)
Former President Donald Trump was slapped with a gag order by the judge in his New York porn star hush money trial, which is set to begin on April 15th.
The New York Times reported that the gag order “prohibits him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and jurors, the latest effort to rein in the former president’s wrathful rhetoric about his legal opponents.”
Judge Juan Merchan imposed the gag order at the request of DA Alvin Bragg and after Trump’s repeated attacks on the judge and even his daughter.
“Judge Juan Merchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. In other words, he hates me!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier in the day, adding:
His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for Adam “Shifty” Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden. He was recently the judge on an unrelated trial of
a long term employee, elderly and not in good health. This judge treated him viciously, telling him either you cooperate or I’m putting you in jail for 15 years. He pled, and went to jail for very minor offenses, highly unusual, served 4 months in Rikers, and now they are after him again, this time for allegedly lying (doesn’t look like a lie to me!), and they threatened him again with 15 years if he doesn’t say something bad about “TRUMP.” He is devastated and scared! These COUNTRY DESTROYING SCOUNDRELS & THUGS HAVE NO CASE AGAINST ME. WITCH HUNT!
Trump has been hit with partial gag orders in his DC election interference trial and during his civil fraud trial after he attacked the judge, the judge’s wife, and even went so far as to post the name and personal Instagram account of the court clerk to his social media. Trump has long raised eyebrows as his public attacks have resulted in an avalanche of threats and vitriol directed at his targets.
The presumptive GOP nominee for president was indicted last spring for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump’s personal attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, made the payments to keep the affairs quiet during the 2016 presidential campaign.
This is a developing story and will be updated.