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NEW YORK (Reuters) -Prosecutors have requested a choose for a gag order to limit Donald Trump from making public feedback about witnesses or exposing the identities of jurors within the former president’s New York trial involving hush cash paid to a porn star, court docket filings made public on Monday confirmed.
The requests by the workplace of Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg famous Trump’s “longstanding historical past of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, judges and others concerned in authorized proceedings towards him.”
Trump, looking for to regain the presidency within the Nov. 5 U.S. election, is scheduled to go on trial in state court docket in Manhattan beginning on March 25, one among 4 legal circumstances towards him. He has pleaded not responsible.
He’s accused of falsifying enterprise information to cowl up the hush cash paid to Stormy Daniels shortly earlier than the 2016 election to maintain her silent a few sexual encounter she mentioned she had with him a decade earlier. He has denied any such relationship.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s marketing campaign, mentioned a gag order within the case would infringe on Trump’s proper to free speech, if carried out.
“That is election interference pure and easy,” Cheung mentioned in a press release.
Judges might impose gag orders – which prohibit defendants or others concerned in court docket circumstances from talking publicly about sure facets of authorized proceedings – to attempt to forestall intimidation of witnesses or jurors, or to guard court docket employees from threats.
If accepted on this case by Justice Juan Merchan, the gag order would bar Trump from “making or directing others to make” statements about witnesses regarding their function within the case.
The district legal professional’s workplace additionally requested that Trump be barred from commenting on prosecutors on the case – aside from Bragg himself – in addition to court docket employees members. Trump beforehand has referred to as Bragg, who’s a Democrat, an “animal” and a “degenerate psychopath.”
Trump has argued that the case ought to be dismissed as a result of it was introduced for partisan functions and since state legal guidelines don’t apply to federal elections. Merchan on Feb. 15 denied Trump’s request to dismiss the costs on these grounds.
Trump has gained the primary 5 nominating contests for the Republican nomination to problem Democratic President Joe Biden within the common election.
The measures Bragg requested are much like restrictions a federal choose in Washington imposed final 12 months in Trump’s legal case on fees involving his efforts to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 election, which he misplaced to Biden.
In a civil fraud case, a New York state choose fined Trump a complete of $15,000 for twice violating a gag order barring him from publicly speaking about court docket employees. Trump is interesting a $454 million judgment towards him in that case.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Further reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Enhancing by Will Dunham and Caitlin Webber)
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