By MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press)
NEW YORK (AP) — Officials in Manhattan are saying that Donald Trump violated a gag order this week by going after the judge's daughter on social media in his criminal case about hush money.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has asked Judge Juan M. Merchan to clarify the gag order, which was issued on Tuesday, and to tell the former president to stop attacking family members right away.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass argued in a letter to Merchan that Trump should be punished for breaking the gag order, which bans statements that interfere with or harass the court’s staff or their families, including the judge’s daughter.
Trump’s lawyers say the DA’s office is misunderstanding the order and that it doesn’t prevent him from talking about Loren Merchan, a political consultant whose firm has worked on campaigns for Trump's rivals.
Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles wrote in response, “The Court cannot ‘direct’ President Trump to do something that the gag order does not require. To ‘clarify or confirm’ the meaning of the gag order in the way the People suggest would be to expand it.”
The trial, which involves allegations that Trump falsified payment records to cover up negative stories during his 2016 presidential campaign, is scheduled to begin April 15. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
In his posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump incorrectly accused Loren Merchan of posting a photo showing him behind bars and claimed that she worked against him. However, a spokesperson for New York’s state court system said Trump’s claim was false and that the social media account Trump was referencing no longer belonged to Loren Merchan.
The spokesperson said, “The account on X, formerly known as Twitter, “is not linked to her email address, nor has she posted under that screenname since she deleted the account. Rather, it represents the reconstitution, last April, and manipulation of an account she long ago abandoned.”
In the same Truth Social posts, Trump complained that his gag order was “illegal, un-American, unConstitutional.” He claimed that Judge Merchan was “wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement” by Democratic rivals.
The gag order bars Trump from making or directing other people to make public statements about jurors or potential witnesses in the hush-money trial, and also prohibits any statements that interfere with or harass the court’s staff, prosecution team, or their families.
The order also permits Trump to criticize Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg but prohibits him from targeting the DA's family as well.
The order, similar to one in Trump’s Washington, D.C., election interference criminal case, also prohibits any statements meant to interfere with or harass the court’s staff, prosecution team, or their families.
Steinglass wrote a letter asking the judge to clearly explain to Trump that the gag order protects his family, Bragg’s family, and family members of others under the order. He also advised Merchan to tell Trump to stop his recent disobedient behavior immediately.
Breaking the gag order could lead to Trump being found in contempt of court, fined, or imprisoned.
Trump’s lawyers opposed giving any warnings, expressing concerns about limiting Trump’s speech while he’s campaigning for president and facing criminal charges.
