Judge Lays Down the Law for Trump in Hush Money Case
As the Manhattan District Attorney prepares to hand over huge tranches of evidence to Donald Trump, a New York state judge on Tuesday gently warned the petulant former American president against continuing his incendiary campaign against law enforcement and the courts.
“It's certainly not a gag order. It’s certainly not my intention in any way to impede Mr. Trump's ability to campaign… he's certainly free to deny the charges… he's free to do just about anything that doesn't violate the specific terms of this protective order,” Justice Juan Merchan said from the bench in front of a packed courtroom of attorneys and journalists, as Trump tuned in via videofeed from Mar-a-Lago.
Merchan was referring to a protective order he signed two weeks ago that guards sensitive documents prosecutors are turning over to Trump and his legal team. Defense lawyers need the evidence in those records to fight back against the 34-count grand jury indictment that accuses Trump of faking business records in order to hide his hush money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, a scheme that saved his first successful presidential campaign from potentially dire embarrassment.