Donald Trump loses gag order appeal in hush money case

A New York appeals court on Thursday denied former President Donald Trump's effort to throw out the limited gag order in his New York criminal "hush money" case.

A panel of five judges from New York's mid-level appeals court rejected Trump's argument the gag order was no longer necessary since the former president's trial concluded, determining that the "fair administration of justice necessarily includes sentencing."

Trump's sentencing, originally scheduled for last month, was postponed until Sept. 18 in light of the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.

Judge Juan Merchan imposed the gag order in March, prohibiting Trump from making public comments about jurors, witnesses, court staff and individual prosecutors in the case other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Merchan held Trump in criminal contempt 10 times for violating the gag order, fined the former president $10,000, and threatened to imprison him if he violated the gag order again.

Merchan lifted some of the gag order in June related to jurors and witnesses, but left intact a portion of the gag order preventing statements about court staff, prosecutors and their families.

New York's Appellate Division found the remaining provisions of the gag order were justified in part due to the continued threats to Bragg and his staff.

"Contrary to petitioner's contentions, the People's evidentiary submissions in opposition to his motion in Supreme Court demonstrate that threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat," the ruling said.

In response to the ruling, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement, "President Trump continues to forcefully challenge Acting Justice Merchan's decision to leave in place portions of the unconstitutional Gag Order, which is meant to prevent President Trump from speaking freely about Judge Merchan's disqualifying conflicts and the overwhelming evidence further exposing the Harris-Biden Witch Hunt."

"The gag order is blatantly un-American as it continues to gag President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election," the statement said.

In a filing Thursday, Trump revived his longshot effort to have Merchan recused from the case because of an alleged conflict between the judge's daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.