In the hush-money case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in which the former president was found guilty and could face punishment later this year, Donald Trump’s appeal of a gag order was denied by a New York appellate court on Thursday.
According to a decision, a panel of the mid-level state Appellate Division rejected Trump’s argument that the trial’s outcome constituted a “change in circumstances” that called for lifting the gag order in its entirety.
After the verdict in late May, Judge Juan Merchan did lift restrictions on what Trump might say about the jury and the trial witnesses, but he maintained restrictions on remarks about the DA’s office, the court personnel, and the families of the prosecutors and court officials.
Before the decision, Trump was threatened with jail time and thousands of dollars in fines for daring to challenge the gag order, which he said violated his First Amendment rights.
A jury found that Trump had fabricated financial records in order to conceal an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels as part of a “catch-and-kill” plot to sway the 2016 presidential election.
Trump entered a not guilty plea to the allegations and denied having had an affair.
Merchan first scheduled the sentencing in the case for July 11, but he later agreed to postpone it until at least mid-September as he investigates whether the Supreme Court’s decision to grant immunity could impact the case. That ruling is anticipated on September 6.
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