Trump can’t talk about those involved in the New York trial. The ex-president can, but it could have consequences.
New York – He likes to talk a lot. Before and after court hearings, during the campaign for the 2024 US election, or on his own social media platform: Donald Trump rarely holds back. The former US president often says he is innocent, that the charges against him are a “witch hunt,” and that his political opponents are corrupt. This is normal for Donald Trump. This has been the case for more than eight years. It started on June 16, 2015, when he rode down the golden escalator in Trump Tower with his wife Melania Trump and announced his candidacy for the Republicans in the 2016 US election.
Judge bans Trump from talking about his New York trial.
But that very practice could soon become a violation of a court order. Juan Merchan, the judge in the criminal case against Trump in New York, has issued a so-called “gag order” to the defendant: a gag order that could loosely be translated as a muzzle. According to the order, Trump is prohibited from making negative comments about those involved in the trial over an alleged hush-money payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump in court: the key players in the New York trial
The “gag order” includes the families of Merchan and Bragg, as well as the prosecution team, the jury, and witnesses in the trial, such as Stormy Daniels and Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen.
Trump and the “gag order”: an overview of the violations
The public prosecutor’s office says Trump broke the gag order in at least 14 cases since the trial started. ABC News has reported on the cases:
- On April 10, 2024, Donald Trump called Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels “scumbags”.
- On April 10, 2024, Trump shared a statement from Daniels saying she never had an affair with him. However, the statement was from 2018 and not from Daniels.
- On April 13, 2024, Trump called his former lawyer Cohen a “disgraced lawyer and felon.”
- On April 15, 2024, Trump called Cohen a “serial con man” in a New York Post opinion piece.
- On April 16, 2024, Trump’s campaign sent the same opinion piece three more times. Trump is said to have broken the gag order five times.
- On April 17, 2024, Trump said the court caught people trying to get on the jury. He was talking about an allegation by Jesse Watters, a Fox News host who supports Trump.
- On April 22, 2024, Trump called Cohen a liar as he left the courthouse in New York.
- Trump also said on April 22, 2024, that the jury was 95% Democrat and the trial was unfair in an interview with the right-wing channel Real America’s Voice. Experts now doubt the video is real.
- On April 24, 2024, Trump called Cohen a liar in an Action News interview.
- On April 25, 2024, Trump spoke to David Pecker, the first witness in the New York trial, at a campaign event. Trump is also said to have broken the gag order.
Trump could be fined
The New York Times says Trump’s “gag order” is being broken more often. People in the USA are arguing about how to judge the speech ban against the ex-president. All eyes are on Juan Merchan. Last week, the judge postponed the gag order case. It will probably be heard again on Thursday.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
