Judge Juan Merchan imposed the gag order in March, prohibiting Trump from making public comments about jurors, witnesses, court staff and individual prosecutors in the case other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Merchan held Trump in criminal contempt 10 times for violating the gag order, fined the former president $10,000, and threatened to imprison him if he violated the gag order again.
Merchan lifted some of the gag order in June related to jurors and witnesses, but left intact a portion of the gag order preventing statements about court staff, prosecutors and their families.
New York’s Appellate Division found the remaining provisions of the gag order were justified in part due to the continued threats to Bragg and his staff.
“Contrary to petitioner’s contentions, the People’s evidentiary submissions in opposition to his motion in Supreme Court demonstrate that threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat,” the ruling said.
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In response to the ruling, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement, “President Trump continues to forcefully challenge Acting Justice Merchan’s decision to leave in place portions of the unconstitutional Gag Order, which is meant to prevent President Trump from speaking freely about Judge Merchan’s disqualifying conflicts and the overwhelming evidence further exposing the Harris-Biden Witch Hunt.”
