Trump prosecutor asks court to tighten gag order, citing ‘dangerous’ social media posts

Donald
Trump‘s “extreme
and
deliberate
provocations”
in
his
hush
money
trial
are
aimed
to
undermine
the
case,
the
Manhattan
district
attorney
said
Monday
as
he
urged
a
judge
to
strengthen
a
gag
order
on
the
former
president.

Trump’s “dangerous,
violent,
and
reprehensible
rhetoric
fundamentally
threatens
the
integrity
of
these
proceedings
and
is
intended
to
intimidate
witnesses
and
trial
participants
alike
—
including
this
Court,”
DA
Alvin
Bragg
said
in
a
blistering
filing
in
New
York
Supreme
Court.

Bragg’s
request
came
after
Trump,
in
numerous
social
media
posts,
targeted
Judge
Juan
Merchan’s
adult
daughter
over
her
work
for
a
Democratic
political
firm.
Bragg’s
indictment
charges
Trump
with
falsifying
business
records
to
conceal
a
hush
money
payment
to
porn
star
Stormy
Daniels
ahead
of
the
2016
presidential
election.

“There
is
no
constitutional
right
to
target
the
family
of
this
Court,
let
alone
on
the
blatant
falsehoods
that
have
served
as
the
flimsiest
pretexts
for
defendant’s
attacks,”
Bragg’s
filing
said.

Trump “knows
what
he
is
doing,
and
everyone
else
does
too,”
the
DA
wrote.

Merchan
last
week
imposed
a gag
order that
bars
Trump
from
speaking
about
likely
witnesses
and
other
figures,
but
does
not
explicitly
prohibit
criticism
of
the
judge
or
his
family.

Bragg’s
office
asked
the
judge
on
Thursday
to “clarify
or
confirm”
that
the
order
protects
the
court’s
family.

Monday’s
filing
raises
the
stakes:
Bragg
wants
Merchan
to “clarify
or
extend
the
Order
to
protect
family
members
of
the
Court”
and
warn
Trump
that “any
future
disregard
of
the
Order
will
result
in
sanctions.”

Trump’s
attorneys
responded
later
Monday
that
the
gag
order
does
not
apply
to
Merchan’s
family,
and
that
it
should
not
be
expanded
since
it
is “already
an
unlawful
prior
restraint
that
improperly
restricts
campaign
advocacy
by
the
presumptive
Republican
nominee.”

Their
filing
also
noted
that
they
will
try
once
again
to
remove
the
judge
from
the
case,
citing “changed
circumstances
and
newly
discovered
evidence.”

Their
first
attempt,
last
May,
homed
in
on
Merchan’s
daughter’s
role
at
Authentic
Campaigns,
a
progressive
consultant
whose
clients
have
included
President Joe
Biden,
Trump’s
Democratic
rival.
Merchan

declined
to
recuse
himself. 

Trump’s
filing
Monday
also
suggests
Merchan “violated
Canon
3”
by
participating
in
a
recent
interview
with
The
Associated
Press,
even
though
the
judge
refused
to
talk
about
the
case.

Canon
3
admonishes
judges
to
minimize
the
risk
of
conflict
between
their
personal
lives
and
their
judicial
obligations.

Trump’s
lawyers
additionally
suggested
that
it
was
problematic
for
the
New
York’s
Office
of
Court
Administration
to
issue
a
statement
on
Wednesday
clarifying
that
a
social
media
account
no
longer
belonged
to
Merchan’s
daughter.

But
the
office
issued
that
statement
only
after
Trump
sent
multiple
social
media
posts
claiming
the
account
currently
belonged
to
Merchan’s
daughter,
and
that
it
showed
evidence
of
bias.

The
hush
money
trial
is
set
to
begin
jury
selection
on
April
15.
Trump’s
lawyers,
who
have
previously
sought
to
dismiss
the
indictment
or
delay
the
trial,
currently
seek
a “significant”
delay
on
the
grounds
that
press
coverage
of
the
trial
has
been “prejudicial.”