Trump's appeal to lift remaining parts of NY gag order denied
A New York appeals court on Thursday denied former President Trump’s request to lift the remaining portions of the gag order imposed upon him in New York v. Trump.
Trump was found guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The former president and Republican presidential nominee had pleaded not guilty. He is appealing the ruling and has asked Judge Juan Merchan to overturn the jury’s verdict.
In March, weeks before the trial began, Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump to limit his ability to make certain public statements about court staff, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s staff, and family members of the court and prosecutors. The order also prevented Trump from speaking about witnesses.
Trump had repeatedly appealed the gag order, urging for it to be overturned and arguing that it violated his First Amendment rights.
TRUMP REQUESTS NY JUDGE OVERTURN GUILTY VERDICT, INDICTMENT AFTER SCOTUS IMMUNITY RULING
With the most recent denial, the gag order remains in place.
Trump was set to be sentenced on July 11 — days before the Republican National Convention — but requested that it be delayed following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue of presidential immunity.
NEW YORK V. TRUMP: MERCHAN DELAYS SENTENCING HEARING UNTIL SEPTEMBER
The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office but not for unofficial acts. The high court said Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for "official acts" but left it to the lower court to determine exactly where the line between official and unofficial is.
"The President therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts," the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts states. "That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office, regardless of politics, policy, or party."
The question of presidential immunity stemmed from special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case against Trump. Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges. That trial was put on hold in a lower court pending the Supreme Court’s ruling, which wiped out any charges related to official presidential acts.
Judge Juan Merchan agreed to delay and said that a hearing on Trump’s potential sentencing would take place Sept. 18.
But days later, Trump's lawyers asked Merchan to overturn the former president’s guilty verdict in New York v. Trump.
Trump attorneys cited the Supreme Court ruling, saying the court should "dismiss the indictment and vacate the jury’s verdict based on violations of the Presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause." In the formal motion, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche pointed to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and argued that certain evidence of "official acts" should not have been admitted during the trial.
Specifically, Blanche argued that testimony from former White House officials and employees was inappropriately admitted during trial.
Blanche argued that Bragg "violated the Presidential immunity doctrine by using similar official-acts evidence in the grand jury proceedings that gave rise to the politically motivated charges in this case."
A ruling on the motion is pending.