Trump Gag Order Still In Effect After Guilty Verdict - Forbes

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Topline

Former President Donald Trump was found guilty Thursday of 34 felony counts of falsification of business records—but though the ex-president’s trial is now over, a gag order remains in effect that prohibits him from speaking out against jurors, witnesses and others in the case, and it’s unclear when it will be lifted.

Key Facts

Judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order in March that bars Trump from speaking publicly about jurors, witnesses, prosecutors and others involved in the case, as well as their family members—which the ex-president has subsequently violated 10 times.

Merchan did not lift the order after the jury announced its verdict on Thursday, and Trump noted Friday in a press conference he’s still “under a gag order.”

Legal expert Norm Eisen said on a call with reporters Friday that “risk continues for the witnesses” and jurors in the case, given the threats or harassment they could face as a result of their verdict and testimony, predicting, “I don’t think the judge is going to be quick to remove that gag order.”

It’s unclear how long the gag order could stay in place: Eisen predicted it would not remain permanently, and retired New York state Judge Michael Obus told reporters he doesn’t believe the gag order will last past Trump’s sentencing on July 11, as at that point, “the case would be over.”

Trump suggested Friday he could try to fight the gag order if it stays in place for much longer, saying, “We’ll play that game a little bit longer.”

Even if the gag order is lifted, Obus told reporters Friday it’s likely Merchan would impose a new order that ensures jurors’ identities remain private.

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What To Watch For

Whether Trump will violate the gag order again before it’s lifted. The ex-president appeared to push the limits of the order in his remarks on Friday even as he repeatedly noted he was restricted in what he could say, going after ex-attorney Michael Cohen and calling him a “sleazebag” despite acknowledging he could not say Cohen’s name under the order. Merchan ordered Trump to pay $1,000 for each of his past 10 gag order infractions—the maximum fine allowed under the law—but suggested he could imprison Trump if he violates the order again.

Tangent

In addition to the gag order in the hush money case, Trump is also under a separate gag order in the federal criminal case against him for trying to overturn the 2020 election. Trump and other parties in that case are barred from making statements about witnesses “concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding,” a federal appeals court ruled in December, narrowing a previous order put in place by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Parties also cannot make public statements about court staff, counsel in the case or their families (with the exception of Special Counsel Jack Smith, who’s leading the government’s investigation) if they’re “made with the intent to materially interfere.”

Key Background

A 12-person jury found Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts he was charged with in his Manhattan criminal case, which was based on reimbursement checks he sent to Cohen after the ex-attorney paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 ahead of the 2016 election to cover up her allegations of an affair with Trump. (Trump has denied the allegations.) Trump then sent Cohen a series of reimbursement checks throughout 2017, which prosecutors allege were falsely labeled as being for legal services. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and his lawyers claimed the payments were properly labeled because Cohen was serving as Trump’s attorney at the time. Merchan’s gag order against Trump was the third to be imposed against the ex-president, who has decried all the legal cases against him as baseless “witch hunts” and repeatedly attacked prosecutors, judges and others involved with his criminal and civil cases. In addition to the gag order in his federal election case, New York Judge Arthur Engoron was the first to impose a gag order against Trump in October, prohibiting the ex-president from speaking out against court staff during the civil fraud trial against Trump and his company last year. Trump was ultimately fined $15,000 for two violations of that order.