The First Judicial Department rejected Trump's attempt to put an end to a restraining order imposed March 26 and expanded April 1 by Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the historic criminal trial against the former president over payments made to buy Stormy Daniels' silence during the 2016 presidential campaign about an extramarital sexual encounter.

"Justice Merchan properly determined that petitioner's public statements posed a significant threat to the integrity of the testimony of witnesses and potential witnesses in this case as well," the appeals court said in its order.

Justice Merchan's gag orders specifically mention statements targeting Daniels, star prosecution witness and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, and Justice Merchan's daughter. They also broadly banned Trump from disparaging witnesses, prosecutors, jurors, court staff and family members of court staff.

Justice Merchan "properly weighed petitioner's First Amendment rights against the court's historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm," the appeals court said.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/trials/articles/1837127?nl_pk=a50a4fb7-729c-437f-a1f3-053d00caeb72&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=trials&utm_content=2024-05-15&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=2?copied=1

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5528802&forum_id=2#47663658)

(Alina Habba)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5528802&forum_id=2#47663679)