Jury selection for Donald Trump's New York hush-money trial is set to begin in three weeks, with the former president's lawyers asking Judge Juan Mercian to deny prosecutors' recent request for a limited gag order. and argued that the former president should be granted a full response. attacks by political opponents.
Defense attorneys argued in Monday's filing that the proposed gag order does not meet legal standards for restrictions on a defendant's speech, arguing that the proposed gag order would “infringe upon Trump's politically motivated indictment.” It called it an “unconstitutional” effort to attack the president.
“American voters have a First Amendment right to hear President Trump's uncensored voice on all issues related to this case,” defense attorney Todd Blanche said in a filing. said. “President Trump's political opponents have and will continue to attack him based on this incident. Voters have the right to hear Trump's free response to these attacks. .It’s not just one side of the argument.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told Judge Marchand last week that President Trump has not made any public comments about prosecutors other than Bragg, as well as potential witnesses, judicial officials and jurors in the case. requested that restrictions be placed on doing so.
“The defendant has a long history of making inflammatory statements in public about participants in various judicial proceedings against him, including jurors, witnesses, attorneys, and court personnel,” prosecutors wrote in a filing last week. It was written on the document. “Those statements, and the inevitable reactions they provoke, [the] Defendant's supporters and allies pose a serious and imminent threat to the orderly conduct of this criminal proceeding and are reasonably likely to cause serious prejudice. ”
In response, lawyers said the gag order was a “heckler's veto” that could not identify or demonstrate which third party might threaten or harass the person.
Trump also insisted that he had complied with past gag orders and the protection order imposed by Marchand in this case. Trump was fined $15,000 in a recent New York civil fraud trial for two counts of violating a limited gag order.
“The First Amendment under the state and federal constitutions requires that President Trump's ability to continue his leadership campaign for president be afforded the highest level of constitutional protection,” the filing states. is written.
Other courts, including the New York Court of Appeals and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, have upheld gag orders in other Trump cases, but Trump's lawyers say those other instances are not relevant to the current gag order request. He claimed it was unrelated.
“The purpose of the prior restraint sought by the public is that courts in separate cases, with different facts, with different witnesses, and at different times, have issued other gag orders that violate President Trump's constitutional rights, which are challenged in the appellate process. ” they wrote.
The defense also argued that while prosecutors argued that Trump has a “long history of making inflammatory statements in public” to witnesses and jurors, prosecutors have argued that Trump's recent He argued that he could not prove how his comments caused the witnesses to feel threatened or harassed.
“The failure of the public to point to actual prejudice from previous statements, including the failure to provide evidence that the witnesses in this case felt harassed or threatened, significantly undermines the application. ”, the application states.
President Trump was indicted in April on charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels by his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, days before the 2016 presidential election.34 He pleaded not guilty to the indictment. The former president has denied all wrongdoing.
Trump's lawyers explicitly referenced recent public comments by Daniels and Cohen in Monday's filing, saying the former president should respond to public attacks from witnesses in the case. insisted.
“Based on Cohen's past record, there is good reason to believe that he will continue to comment on this case on his podcast and on social media during his trial.” It's the same as the comments I made.” said the filing. “President Trump has the right to respond to these types of attacks, and the proposed gag order would unacceptably limit that ability.”
Trump's lawyers wrote that he should be afforded the “highest level of constitutional protection” as he campaigns for president. They claimed that his speech on the criminal case was “inextricably intertwined with his campaign.”
“President Trump has the right to criticize these public figures, and voters have the right to hear President Trump's criticism of them, especially as the presidential campaign progresses,” the filing states. .
The trial is scheduled to begin on March 25th.