As he left the courtroom on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump approached media cameras and began speaking, complaining that he was “not allowed to speak.”
Trump had criticized Judge Juan Melchán’s gag order against him. Marchan is holding a hearing Tuesday morning to consider prosecutors’ claims that Trump violated the gag order in a series of online posts, including one in which the potential Republican presidential nominee posted about the incident on social media. Also included were people who shared other people’s articles related to .
President Trump claimed that he was not even allowed to publish the article. He claimed that the article he was referring to said, “This incident is fake,” adding, “I don’t even know if it’s allowed to be published.” He also claimed that while others are allowed to lie and talk about him, “I’m not allowed to say anything.”
President Trump said, “I want to talk to you all. I want to say everything that’s on my mind, but I’m restricted because of the gag order.”
facts first: Ash It’s been there before, Trump made Merchan’s gag order sound much broader than it actually was.of gag order It does not prohibit President Trump from declaring the incident a sham or from sharing others’ claims that the incident is a sham. Additionally, President Trump may not speak in the media about the case, defend his actions at issue in the case, criticize the judge or district attorney involved in the case, or appear in speeches, media interviews, or online. It also does not prohibit presidential election campaigns. Post. Rather, the gag order prohibits President Trump from three specific categories of speech:
- speaking publicly or directing another person to speak publicly about known or foreseeable witnesses, especially their participation in the case;
- Making public statements or directing others to make public statements about any prosecutor other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. This includes staff from Mr. Bragg’s office and the court, as well as members of their families, if statements are made with the intent of disrupting the case.
- Speaking publicly or directing another person to speak publicly about a juror or prospective juror;
In comments Tuesday, President Trump said that while the article may have a specific headline condemning the incident in general, it’s “somewhere deep” in the text that he mentions for the gag. It was pointed out that someone’s name may have been mentioned who is not authorized to do so. order. It’s unclear how Marchan would view, for example, Trump sharing an article in which a witness’ name is only mentioned deep in the text. However, so far, articles in which prosecutors allege that Trump violated the gag order include a feature article that reveals that Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is likely to be a witness. A headline was posted.
