New York Judge Juan Merchan Does Not Impose Gag Order on Donald Trump

Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court for
Kena Betancur/Getty Images
Wendell Husebø

New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan in Manhattan on Tuesday did not impose a gag order on former President Donald Trump, according to reporters inside the court room.

A gag order requires an individual to refrain from making public comments.

Critics of the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump were alarmed by reports that Trump would be not allowed to make public statements to the press about the charges against him.

On Tuesday afternoon, Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty.

Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles told reporters that Trump’s previous social media posts were not going after the judge.
“He’s not going after the judge. He noted there were some issues that might cause a conflict,” Necheles said before clarifying Trump’s comment that the former president said the judge “hated” him.
Trump posted his frustration on Tuesday with the judge’s partisan history on Truth Social:

HIGHLY PARTISAN JUDGE & HIS FAMILY ARE WELL KNOWN TRUMP HATERS. HE WAS AN UNFAIR DISASTER ON A PREVIOUS TRUMP RELATED CASE, WOULDN’T RECUSE, GAVE HORRIBLE JURY INSTRUCTIONS, & IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH DURING THE WITCH HUNT TRIAL. HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR “KAMALA” & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN. KANGAROO COURT!!!

“He’s frustrated, he’s upset, but I’ll tell you what: he’s motivated,” Trump attorney Todd Blanche also told reporters outside the court house. “[It’s] “a political prosecution,” he added, noting “the indictment itself is boilerplate.”
“There weren’t really any surprises,” he said. “It’s really sad and we are going to fight it.”

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

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