New York Court Upholds Gag Order on Trump

New York's top court has upheld a gag order preventing former President Donald Trump from publicly speaking about his criminal case involving hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. Trump argued it violated his First Amendment rights, but the court dismissed the appeal. Trump faces multiple gag orders in other legal cases.

New York's top court has upheld a judge's gag order on Donald Trump in the criminal case concerning hush money payments to a porn star. Trump, aiming to secure the Republican nomination in the upcoming presidential election, argued that the order violated his First Amendment rights. However, the New York State Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal, indicating no significant constitutional question was at stake.

Steven Cheung, Trump's campaign spokesperson, asserted that the former president would persist in challenging what they term 'unconstitutional Witch Hunts and Gag Orders.' In addition to this case, Trump is under a gag order in a separate federal case in Washington, D.C., related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, faced mid-level state appeals rejection against the gag order, termed 'narrowly-tailored' by Justice Juan Merchan for potential threats arising from Trump's statements.

Initially, the gag order barred Trump from commenting on prosecutors, court staff, witnesses, and jurors, but Judge Merchan later lifted restrictions on witnesses and jurors post Trump's May 30 conviction on 34 felony counts. The jurors, who remained anonymous, found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up payments made by Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels, suppressing her claims of a decade-old affair with Trump. Trump is set for sentencing on Nov. 26.

(With inputs from agencies.)