Former President Donald Trump can no longer speak publicly about the daughter of a judge overseeing his hush money case in New York, according to a newly expanded gag order.
Judge Juan Merchan issued the revised gag order on Monday night following days of Trump lobbing public attacks at Merchan’s daughter Loren Merchan, who runs a Democratic marketing firm.
Juan Merchan’s order came at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is leading the prosecution against Trump. Bragg had asked that Juan Merchan “clarify” his initial gag order, which the judge issued last week.
The original order spurred confusion as it prohibited Trump from speaking publicly about court staff and prosecutors involved in the case, as well as their family members, but it did not expressly prohibit Trump from speaking about the judge’s daughter.
When Juan Merchan issued the order, Trump tested the limits of it almost immediately.
Within one day of the order’s issuance, the former president posted a string of scathing statements on his social media account Truth Social blasting Loren Merchan as a “Rabid Trump Hater” whose “dream” is to put Trump “in jail.” Trump also shared a photo of the younger Merchan featured in an article that highlighted the lucrative business her marketing firm has garnered from high-profile Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“To clarify, the Order did not proscribe Defendant’s speech as it relates to the family members of the District Attorney or this Court,” Juan Merchan wrote. “The Court now amends the March 26, 2024, Order to include the family members of this Court and of the District Attorney of New York County.”
The judge also added to the new order the stipulation that if Trump’s conduct continued to be “harassing or disruptive,” Trump would forfeit his right to access names of jurors in the case, a possible penalty that comes two weeks before jury selection is set to begin on April 15.
Trump’s attorneys had argued that the former president, who is also the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, had a First Amendment right to voice concerns about Loren Merchan, who, the attorneys noted, recently “profited from offering strategic advice” to Trump’s political rivals.
Juan Merchan alluded to Trump’s references to his daughter in his new order, saying that Trump has made “baseless misrepresentations” about those he has attacked. The judge suggested that Trump’s argument that he has a right to post a photo of his daughter is “farcical.”
“The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant’s recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well,” Juan Merchan wrote.
The judge said that while it was imperative he balance a gag order with Trump’s right to free speech, the expanded order was “narrowly tailored” enough that it was constitutionally sound.
Trump’s attorneys indicated in a court filing on Monday, before Juan Merchan issued the new gag order, that they planned to seek permission to file a revised request for the judge to recuse himself from the hush money case “based on changed circumstances and newly discovered evidence” related to Loren Merchan.
Trump asked Juan Merchan to recuse himself from the case last year in part because of his daughter’s affiliation with Democratic politicians, but the judge denied the request, saying that a judicial ethics panel found Loren Merchan presented no conflict of interest.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche declined to comment on Juan Merchan’s new gag order.
Read a copy of the full order here.
