Aiexpress – Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked a judge on Monday to impose a limited gag order on former President Donald Trump, who is facing charges in New York for falsifying company documents connected to hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
In their request, prosecutors cited what they termed Trump’s “longstanding and perhaps singular history” of targeting those he considers adversaries, including those involved in his prior criminal and civil cases.
The trial for Trump’s hush money case is set to begin on March 25th.
Trump is currently subject to a limited gag order in his federal election interference case in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, prosecutors in Manhattan are pursuing a similar order that would restrict specific prejudicial extrajudicial statements made by the defendant.
NYPD Sgt. Nicholas Pistilli, head of security for Alvin Bragg, the District Attorney, has submitted an affidavit supporting the motion for a limited gag order on Trump’s public statements. Sgt. Pistilli observed a significant increase in threats against Bragg following Trump’s attacks on him via social media.
According to the filing, the NYPD Threat Assessment and Protection Unit recorded 89 threats against the district attorney, his family, or his office employees in 2023. The first threat was reported on the same day that Trump posted on social media, urging people to “protest and take our nation back!” In contrast, the unit only recorded one threat against Bragg in the entire year of 2022.
In March 2023, police received and reviewed around 600 phone calls and emails, as stated in the filing.
The filing also contained images and screenshots of threatening messages, weapons, and scribbled threats, which prosecutors claimed demonstrated the impact of Trump’s social media remarks and behavior.
In a statement to ABC News, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung pushed back on the requested limited gag order, claiming that if granted, it would “impose an unconstitutional infringement on President Trump’s First Amendment rights, including his ability to defend himself and the rights of all Americans to hear from President Trump.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office also requested that the judge allow the now-infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape to be played for the jury. Prosecutors said that the tape is “highly relevant” to Trump’s motivation for making the hush payment to Daniels to quiet her claims of a long-denied romance.
“The release of the tape and the accompanying concerns about its possible impact on the election are thus directly related to the Stormy Daniels payoff, which was executed just a few weeks later,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo wrote.
Trump’s attorneys argued in their own motions against the presentation of the “Access Hollywood” footage and other defense requests.
“Given the Access Hollywood recording’s inherent prejudice and extremely limited probative value, the Court should preclude evidence regarding the recording at trial,” argued the defense filing, which said playing the tape would be “inflammatory;” that it would offer limited value for the jurors; and that it “has no place at this trial about documents and accounting practices.”
Trump has maintained his innocence in the hush money case, pleading not guilty to all 34 counts. Throughout the trial, he has been vocal in his criticism of Bragg, Judge Juan Merchan, and the witnesses, including his former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen.
According to prosecutors, Donald Trump has a well-documented track record of publicly expressing inflammatory remarks about individuals involved in legal cases against him. This includes jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and court personnel. Prosecutors argue that Trump’s comments pose a serious and immediate risk to the smooth operation of this criminal proceeding.
Prosecutors filed a series of motions on Monday, seeking to prevent the defense from presenting any evidence or arguments regarding Cohen’s credibility. Cohen himself faced accusations of perjury when he testified during Trump’s civil fraud trial in October.
The defense vehemently refuted the accusations, labeling Michael Cohen as a dishonest individual. In their filing, they boldly stated, “Michael Cohen is a liar.” Furthermore, they accused him of committing perjury during a civil trial involving President Trump, both on the stand and under oath. Based on his public statements, the defense speculated that Cohen intends to repeat this behavior during the ongoing criminal trial.
In Trump’s civil fraud trial, the judge has placed a restricted gag order on him, preventing the former president from making any comments about the court staff.
The Manhattan DA’s office is urging the judge to prevent Trump from publicly discussing witnesses, jurors, court staff, and prosecutors involved in the hush money case, with the exception of Bragg.
Prosecutors argue that the defendant’s previous actions and the potential risk of prejudice to the ongoing trial justify the need for reasonable precautionary measures. They assert that the requested relief is specifically designed to safeguard the integrity of the upcoming proceedings, while still allowing the defendant sufficient freedom to express their thoughts, including those related to the case.
Defense attorneys have filed a request with Judge Merchan, urging him to prevent Daniels from being called as a witness. They argue that her testimony would contribute little relevance to the trial, while unnecessarily introducing salaciousness.
Defense lawyers argue that, like Cohen, the accuser is attempting to narrate fabricated tales with scandalous particulars about events that allegedly took place almost two decades ago. According to them, such stories have no relevance in a trial involving the specific charges being addressed.
The defense team also aimed to restrict the admission of Trump’s previous statements, including those from his books, as evidence. They contended that these statements would be of limited relevance and could potentially cause confusion.
The lawyers argue that President Trump’s business style should not be used as evidence of how he would have conducted himself as the President of the United States of America.
Prosecutors are currently seeking a protective order that would restrict the sharing of juror names to only Trump and his attorneys.
In April of last year, Trump entered a plea of not guilty to a 34-count indictment. The charges against him included allegations of falsifying business records in relation to a hush money payment that was made to Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
The former president has firmly denied any wrongdoing.
