Trump invokes Harris in latest attacks over New York gag order

Former President Trump invoked Vice President Harris in his latest attack over the gag order in his hush-money case, alleging that her campaign is leveraging the order against him. 

“Can anybody believe that I am still under a harsh Gag Order, placed on me by a Highly Conflicted, Unelected, and Acting New York Judge,” he wrote on Truth Social Friday evening, “which makes it very difficult to Campaign, especially when Crazy Kamala Harris is using this Witch Hunt against me.”

On Thursday, a New York appeals court rejected a post-conviction challenge from Trump’s lawyers to remove the gag order. Judge Juan Merchan’s latest ruling loosened restrictions, allowing the former president to make public comments about witnesses and the juries, but still restricted him from attacking prosecutors in the case. He was convicted in May of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

Democrats have used the former president’s 34 felony convictions against him in campaign materials, yet the order itself does not prevent Trump, or the Republican party, from launching his own attacks in return.

While the gag order prevents him from making statements about the prosecutors and his family, he has been able to launch attacks against Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg throughout the trial. 

Still, Trump has repeatedly argued that the gag order violates his First Amendment rights, and also said that it has placed unfair restraints on his campaign. In his post to Truth Social, the former president claimed that the case was a “scam” and a “hoax.” 

“Story after story has been written that the Judge had no right to do what he did, that it was a political decision against the Opponent of Crooked Joe Biden and Crazy Kamala,” he wrote.

There is no evidence linking President Biden or Harris to Trump’s New York case.

Trump also proposed that the case should be “terminated” based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, which would grant criminal immunity for any official acts made by a president. The hush money payments were made during his 2016 presidential campaign before he assumed office.

“The Gag Order should be voided at once and, based on the Immunity Decision just handed down by the United States Supreme Court, and for many other reasons,” he concluded, “this case should be IMMEDIATELY terminated!”