The former president is working night and day to get reelected this year. But he’s about to hit a major roadblock.
As prosecutors slam Trump with devastating news that could ruin his campaign for good.
Before Donald Trump was given a guilty verdict in his hush money trial in New York, he was placed under a gag order by Judge Juan Merchan who was presiding over the case.
The gag order has been in place since April and prohibits the former president from making remarks about witnesses and the jury involved in the case, prosecutors’ family members, and Merchan’s daughter who Trump has called out in the past for her involvement with Democrat causes.
After the guilty verdict was handed down last week, Trump requested for the gag order to be removed.
But prosecutors who work within Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, have requested the opposite to happen.
One of those prosecutors, Matthew Colangelo, wants Trump to be placed under the gag order until his July 11 sentencing takes place.
“The People oppose any immediate termination of the Orders and agree with defendant’s proposal for further briefing. We request that the Court adopt the same briefing schedule that the Court set for all other post-trial motions, with defendant’s motion due on June 13 and the People’s response due by June 27,” Colangelo said in a letter he wrote to Judge Merchan.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche suggested earlier this week that the gag order should be terminated because of the Biden campaign using Trump’s status as a convicted felon against him on the campaign trail.
“Now that the trial is concluded, the concerns articulated by the government and the Court do not justify continued restrictions on the First Amendment rights of President Trump – who remains the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election – and the American People,” Blanche stated in a letter of his own.
Blanche also mentioned that the order should be thrown out because of the June 27 debate between President Biden and Donald Trump.
“The defense does not concede that there was ever a valid basis for the gag order and reserves the right to challenge the irreparable First Amendment harms caused by the order,” the Trump lawyer said in a footnote section of his letter.
During the trial, Trump was hit with a $10,000 fine for breaching the gag order.
Judge Merchan even threatened to through him in jail if he continued to violate it.
“The last thing I want to consider is jail,” Merchan said at the time.
“You are [the] former president and possibly the next president.”
If the gag order stays in place until the sentencing, Trump will have to wait about a month until it is lifted due to the July 11 sentencing date.
There’s no word yet if Merchan will hand down a prison sentence to the former president, or just a fine.
But as for now, Donald Trump isn’t allowed to speak critically about those involved in the case thanks to an order that he and his team claims infringes on his First Amendment rights.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
