No gag order imposed in Trump case
Former President Trump and his legal team won’t be barred from publicly discussing the case in which he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
After much speculation about whether a gag order would be imposed on parties in the case, one was not requested during the Tuesday arraignment — and the judge presiding over the case said he wouldn’t have granted one if it had.
Legal observers had wondered ahead of the high-profile trial whether Judge Juan Merchan would impose the uncommon order, which would have blocked Trump and his team from talking publicly about the trial at the risk of potentially being found in contempt of court.
The former president has been vocal about the case on his social media, bashing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) and criticizing the case as a politically motivated "witch hunt" against him.
Trump has also knocked Merchan, referring to him in recent posts on his Truth Social platform as a “Trump Hating Judge," and said that he "hates me."
During the Tuesday afternoon arraignment, Merchan warned Trump and his team — as well as the opposing counsel — not to make social media posts that could incite violence.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts.