Trump asks judge to lift gag order from New York criminal trial

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a press conference after being found guilty over hush-money charges at Trump Tower in New York City on May 31, 2024. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

NEW YORK — Donald Trump has asked a judge to lift the gag order imposed on him during his New York criminal trial, which saw him become the first convicted former US president, according to a filing released Tuesday.

Judge Juan Merchan imposed the limited gag order ahead of the trial, restricting Trump from commenting publicly on jurors, witnesses, prosecutors and court staff, later expanding it to include his own family and that of the prosecutor.

Trump was fined $10,000 by the Manhattan court for breaking the order on 10 occasions — and threatened with jail for openly flouting the judge’s ruling.

READ: New York judge threatens Trump with jail for gag order violations

Before the gag order was imposed ahead of Trump’s trial, the ex-president repeatedly attacked likely witnesses and the prosecutors via posts on his Truth Social platform.

Jurors last week found Trump, who is seeking to retake the presidency in this year’s election, guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign.

He will be sentenced on July 11.

READ: Trump attacks justice system in bid to move past guilty ruling

A letter sent by Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche to the judge on Monday asked that Merchan “terminate the gag order restricting president Trump’s extrajudicial statements.”

“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,” said Blanche.

Blanche cited comments by Trump’s rival President Joe Biden following the verdict as a reason to lift the gag order.

Biden blasted Trump on Monday saying that with a “convicted felon” seeking the White House in November, “the campaign entered uncharted territory.”