Former US President Donald Trump continues to be barred from discussing his criminal case in Manhattan following the jury’s verdict. The New York Court of Appeals upheld the gag order on Trump during his trial on 34 counts of “falsifying business records,” which District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed had somehow violated campaign finance laws and improperly influenced the 2016 election.
The jury found the former president guilty on all charges at the end of May. Trump’s legal team has protested the gag order from the beginning, arguing that it directly impacts his 2024 presidential campaign. The appeals court ruled that “no substantial constitutional question is directly involved,” allowing the order to remain in place.
The Gag Order wrongfully silences the leading candidate for President of the United States, President Trump, at the height of his campaign,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung stated on Tuesday. He added that the president’s attorneys will “continue to fight” against the “unconstitutional” measure.
According to the campaign, the gag order “violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and all American voters, who have a fundamental right to hear his message.” The First Amendment of the US Constitution prohibits the government from censoring speech and the press. Trump has called his prosecution politically motivated and a “witch hunt” by Biden and his administration.
Trump’s legal team has argued that the corrupt President Joe Biden is making Trump’s conviction a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign and will likely bring it up during the first presidential debate, scheduled for later this month – while his Republican rival won’t be able to respond.
As the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential ticket, Trump is expected to announce his candidacy at the national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin next month. However, Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled the sentencing hearing for July 11, just days before the convention is set to begin.