Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is seeking to restrict former President Donald Trump in the case involving alleged hush money payments.
On Monday, Bragg’s office filed a motion, obtained by Newsweek, that called for a gag order to be imposed against Trump saying that the former president “has a long history of making public and inflammatory remarks about the participants in various judicial proceedings against him, including jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and court staff.”
“Those remarks, as well as the inevitable reactions they incite from defendant’s followers and allies, pose a significant and imminent threat to the orderly administration of this criminal proceeding and a substantial likelihood of causing material prejudice,” Bragg’s motion added.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.
The context:
Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters on February 24 in Columbia, South Carolina. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has filed a motion to have a gag order imposed against Trump.
Getty Images/Win McNamee
In April 2023, Bragg’s office announced a 34-count felony indictment against Trump for alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
“The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” Bragg said in a statement following the indictment.
“Manhattan is home to the country’s most significant business market. We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct. As the Statement of Facts describes, the trail of money and lies exposes a pattern that, the People allege, violates one of New York’s basic and fundamental business laws.”
What we know:
Trump has continuously denied any wrongdoing in the case brought by Bragg.
The proposed gag order from Bragg’s office would prohibit Trump from “making or directing others to make” comments or statements about the case and anyone involved in it.
The gag order also seeks to stop Trump from “making or directing others to make public statements about any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding.”
Views:
Trump is currently under a separate gag order in the federal indictment brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith for alleged election interference in connection to the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The New York Times reported that Trump’s legal team filed a motion on Monday seeking to bar his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, from testifying in the trial, calling Cohen a “liar.”
What’s next:
The judge overseeing the case has not yet ruled on the gag order requested by Bragg’s office.
Trump’s trial in New York City is set to begin on March 25 and it is currently unknown if the former president plans to attend the hearings.
Update 2/26/24, 2:24 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 2/26/24, 3:05 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.