What a judge's gag order on Trump means in his hush money case

NEW YORK -- Virtually each time of his hush wealth transgression trial, erstwhile President Donald Trump talks astir however helium can’t speech astir the case.

A gag bid bars Trump from commenting publically connected witnesses, jurors and immoderate others connected to the matter. The New York justice already has recovered that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly violated the order, fined him $9,000 and informing that jailhouse could travel if helium doesn't comply.

But the bid doesn't halt Trump from talking astir the allegations against him oregon commenting connected the justice oregon the elected apical prosecutor. And contempt a caller Trump remark, it doesn't halt him from testifying successful tribunal if helium chooses.

As helium fights the felony charges against him portion moving for president, Trump has astatine times stirred disorder astir what helium tin and can't bash successful the case. He has pleaded not guilty.

So what does the bid do, what doesn't it and wherever did it travel from?

Generally speaking, a gag bid is simply a judge's directive prohibiting idiosyncratic oregon radical progressive successful a tribunal lawsuit from publically commenting astir immoderate oregon each aspects of it. In Trump’s case, it’s titled an “Order Restricting Extrajudicial Statements,” with “extrajudicial” meaning extracurricular of court.

Gag orders, peculiarly successful high-profile cases, are intended to forestall accusation presented extracurricular a courtroom from affecting what happens inside.

Trump besides is taxable to a gag bid successful his national transgression predetermination interference lawsuit successful Washington. That bid limits what helium tin accidental astir witnesses, lawyers successful the lawsuit and tribunal staff, though an appeals tribunal freed him to talk astir peculiar counsel Jack Smith, who brought the case.

In his caller New York civilian fraud trial, Trump was fined a full of $15,000 for comments helium made astir that judge’s instrumentality clerk aft a gag bid barred participants successful the proceedings from “posting, emailing oregon speaking publicly” astir the court's staff.

The U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged that gag orders tin pit just proceedings rights against escaped code rights. The tribunal has struck down immoderate orders that barred the property from reporting connected definite cases oregon tribunal proceedings and rejected arsenic excessively vague a Nevada tribunal regularisation that constricted what each lawyers could accidental retired of court.

Yes. Before the trial, helium asked a authorities appeals tribunal to postpone the proceedings portion helium appeals the gag order, but the tribunal refused. His entreaty of the bid itself is ongoing.

Initially imposed March 26, the gag bid bars Trump from making oregon directing others to marque nationalist statements astir immoderate juror and astir immoderate “reasonably foreseeable" witness' information successful the probe oregon the trial.

It besides bars immoderate statements astir lawyers successful the case, tribunal staffers, prosecution aides and relatives of each of the above, to the grade that the statements are intended to “materially interfere with, oregon to origin others to materially interfere with” their enactment connected the lawsuit “or with the cognition that specified interference is apt to result.”

The bid doesn’t use to Judge Juan M. Merchan oregon to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose bureau is bringing the case. It does use to comments astir their household members, however. Merchan added that proviso connected April 1 aft Trump lashed retired connected societal media astatine the judge’s daughter, a Democratic governmental consultant, and made a assertion astir her that was aboriginal repudiated by tribunal officials.

Trump is besides allowed to speech astir his governmental opponents, arsenic Merchan made wide connected Thursday.

The bid besides doesn't barroom witnesses from commenting connected Trump. Michael Cohen, Trump's ex-lawyer and an expected witness, has routinely attacked his erstwhile boss, starring Trump to kick astir not being capable to respond successful kind.

Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that transgression defendants person a law close to instrumentality the basal successful their ain defence — oregon not to.

There was immoderate disorder aft Trump said Thursday that due to the fact that of the gag order, helium was “not allowed to testify.” In context, it appeared helium was really referring to his quality to respond to a reporter's court-hallway question astir a witness' grounds that afternoon.

Trump clarified to reporters Friday that helium understood the bid wasn't a barroom connected testifying. Merchan emphasized the aforesaid successful court.

“I privation to stress, Mr. Trump, you person an implicit close to attest astatine trial, if that’s what you determine to bash aft consultation with your attorneys,” Merchan said.

Merchan recovered that Trump violated the gag bid with societal media posts that laid into Cohen. Among the offending posts: 1 that asked whether “disgraced lawyer and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING," a repost of a New York Post nonfiction that described Cohen arsenic a “serial perjurer,” and a Trump station referring to Fox News big Jesse Watters’ assertion that wide activists were lying to infiltrate the jury.

Merchan noted that Trump's remark connected the Watters conception misstated what the big had really said, making the remark “the words of Defendant himself.”

On the different hand, Merchan declined to authorisation Trump for an April 10 station that referred to Cohen and Stormy Daniels, the porn performer who got a $130,000 hush wealth outgo that's astatine the bosom of the case, arsenic “sleaze bags.”

Trump contended that helium was responding to erstwhile comments by Cohen, and the justice said the back-and-forth gave him intermission arsenic to whether that station met the barroom for a violation.

When Merchan fined Trump $1,000 apiece for 9 violations — the maximum good allowed by instrumentality — helium wrote that “jail whitethorn beryllium a indispensable punishment” for immoderate affluent defendants who won't beryllium deterred by specified a sum.

Merchan added that helium “will not tolerate continued willful violations” of the gag bid and that, if “necessary and appropriate,” helium “will enforce an incarceratory punishment,” meaning jail.

It's unclear what would emergence to the level of “necessary and appropriate."

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche indicated successful tribunal Friday that helium plans to entreaty the judge’s uncovering this past week that Trump violated the gag order.

Prosecutors person asked Merchan to clasp Trump successful contempt again and good him $1,000 for each of 4 alleged violations from April 22-25. But the prosecution isn't asking for the erstwhile president to beryllium locked up implicit those comments due to the fact that they happened earlier Merchan's jailhouse informing and due to the fact that “we’d similar to minimize disruption to this proceeding," authoritative Christopher Conroy said.