On Tuesday, New York’s Court of Appeals made the decision to not hear Donald Trump’s gag order appeal in his hush-money case. The restrictions imposed during the trial will remain in place following his felony conviction last month.
While this decision presents another setback for the former President, it may be short-lived as trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, is expected to rule soon on a defense request to lift the gag order. The Trump camp has been openly resistant to the gag order, with campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung saying Trump’s legal team would “continue to fight against the unconstitutional Gag Order imposed by Justice Merchan.” During the hush money trial, Trump’s attorneys filed a notice of appeal with New York’s high court on May 15, arguing that it restricted Trump’s “core political speech on matters of central importance at the height of his Presidential campaign.” On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals rejected this idea, writing, “No substantial constitutional question is directly involved.” Trump’s team now has 30 days to file a motion for leave to appeal.
Merchan originally imposed the gag order on March 26, a few weeks before the start of the trial in response to concerns raised by prosecutors regarding Trump’s tendency to attack people involved in his cases. Trump was held in contempt of court and fined $10,000 for violating the gag order during the trial, ostensibly confirming the prosecutor’s worries. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has urged the Court of Appeals to reject the appeal but the order remains in place weeks after the conclusion of the trial. Prosecutors suggested that the gag order should be discussed as part of post-trial filings.
Trump’s lawyers wrote a letter to Merchan asking that the gag order be lifted just days after the trial ended. This was followed by a formal motion requesting the restrictions be lifted. Prosecutors have until Thursday, June 20, to respond, and Merchan is expected to rule soon after. Trump is scheduled to participate in a presidential debate with President Joe Biden on June 27, and it is possible that Merchan will rule before that date arrives.
Public discourse about the trial is still very much alive despite the assertion by the defense that the matter has been dealt with. Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records arising in an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The hush money was in exchange for her silence regarding a sexual encounter she had with him a decade earlier, with the payment being made shortly before the 2016 election.
Going into the presidential election in November, Trump wishes to address his conviction and publicly speak about the trial. The gag order stops him from doing so or talking about his former attorney, Michael Cohen and Daniels. “It’s a little bit of the theater of the absurd at this point, right? Michael Cohen is no longer a witness in this trial,” an attorney for Trump, Todd Blanche, told the Associated Press earlier this month. “The trial is over.”
