Manhattan DA wants gag order for Trump, seeks to play 'Access Hollywood' tape at hush-money trial
Prosecutors in Donald Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s New York hush-money criminal case asked a judge Monday to impose a gag order on the former president ahead of next month's trial, citing what they called his 바카라 게임 웹사이트long history of making public and inflammatory remarks바카라 게임 웹사이트 about people involved in his legal cases.
The Manhattan district attorney's office is asking for what it described as a 바카라 게임 웹사이트narrowly tailored바카라 게임 웹사이트 order that would bar Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about potential witnesses and jurors, as well as statements meant to interfere with or harass the court바카라 게임 웹사이트s staff, prosecution team or their families.
Video above: Trump fined for violating gag order in his civil fraud trial for second time
The district attorney바카라 게임 웹사이트s office is also seeking approval to show jurors the infamous 바카라 게임 웹사이트Access Hollywood바카라 게임 웹사이트 video, made public in the final weeks of Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 2016 White House campaign, in which he bragged about grabbing women바카라 게임 웹사이트s genitals without asking for permission.
Prosecutors contend the release of the 2005 footage, followed by a flurry of women coming forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault, hastened his efforts to keep negative stories out of the press, leading to one of the hush-money arrangements at the heart of the case.
Trump's lawyers wrote in court papers Monday that the "Access Hollywood" video 바카라 게임 웹사이트contains inflammatory and unduly prejudicial evidence that has no place at this trial about documents and accounting practices.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The judge, Juan Manuel Merchan, didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t rule immediately on the requests. Jury selection is scheduled to start March 25. Barring a last-minute delay, it will be the first of Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s four criminal cases to go to trial.
Imposing a gag order on Trump would add to restrictions put in place after his arraignment last April that prohibit him from using evidence in the case to attack witnesses. Prosecutors are also proposing that the names of jurors be kept from the public to "minimize obstacles to jury selection, and protect juror safety."
Without limits, prosecutors said, Trump's rhetoric would 바카라 게임 웹사이트create a significant and imminent threat to the trial by distracting personnel, diverting government resources, and delaying the administration of justice.바카라 게임 웹사이트
A spokesperson for Trump's presidential campaign called the gag order request 바카라 게임 웹사이트election interference pure and simple바카라 게임 웹사이트 and called the hush-money case a 바카라 게임 웹사이트sham orchestrated by partisan Democrats desperately attempting to prevent바카라 게임 웹사이트 Trump from returning to the White House.
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles said the defense will respond in court papers later this week.
The Manhattan case centers on allegations that Trump falsified internal records kept by his company to hide the true nature of payments made to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. The lawyer paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 as part of an effort during Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 2016 presidential campaign to bury claims he바카라 게임 웹사이트d had extramarital sexual encounters.
Trump is , a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, though there is no guarantee that a conviction would result in jail time.
Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, has lashed out about the case repeatedly on social media, warning of 바카라 게임 웹사이트potential death & destruction바카라 게임 웹사이트 before his indictment last year, posting a photo on social media of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of District Attorney Alvin Bragg and complaining that the Judge Merchan is 바카라 게임 웹사이트a Trump-hating judge" with a family full of 바카라 게임 웹사이트Trump haters.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Trump is already under a similar gag order in his Washington, D.C., election interference criminal case and was fined $15,000 for twice violating a gag order imposed in his New York civil fraud trial after he made a disparaging social media post about the judge바카라 게임 웹사이트s chief law clerk. In January, a Manhattan federal judge threatened Trump with expulsion from court in a civil trial on writer E. Jean Carroll's defamation claims against him after he was heard saying 바카라 게임 웹사이트it is a witch hunt바카라 게임 웹사이트 and 바카라 게임 웹사이트it really is a con job.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트Self-regulation is not a viable alternative, as defendant바카라 게임 웹사이트s recent history makes plain,바카라 게임 웹사이트 prosecutors wrote in court papers. Trump, they said, 바카라 게임 웹사이트has a longstanding and perhaps singular history바카라 게임 웹사이트 of using social media, campaign speeches and other public statements to 바카라 게임 웹사이트attack judges, jurors, lawyers, witnesses and other individuals involved in legal proceedings against him."
In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said: 바카라 게임 웹사이트Today, the 2-tiered system of justice implemented against President Trump is on full display, with the request by another Deranged Democrat prosecutor seeking a restrictive gag order, which if granted, would impose an unconstitutional infringement on President Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s First Amendment rights, including his ability to defend himself, and the rights of all Americans to hear from President Trump."
The requested gag order would not bar Trump from commenting about Bragg, an elected Democrat.
Still, prosecutors contend that Trump's enmity for Bragg 바카라 게임 웹사이트 including Truth Social posts calling Manhattan바카라 게임 웹사이트s first Black D.A. a 바카라 게임 웹사이트degenerate psychopath바카라 게임 웹사이트 who 바카라 게임 웹사이트hates the USA" 바카라 게임 웹사이트 has led to a spike in threats against the prosecutor and the district attorney's office.
Last year, prosecutors said, police recorded 89 threats to Bragg, his family or staff, up from just a single threat in 2022, his first year in office. The wave of threats started March 18, according to an affidavit by the head of Bragg's police detail, the day Trump falsely posted online that he was about to be arrested and encouraged supporters to protest and 바카라 게임 웹사이트take our nation back!바카라 게임 웹사이트
A few days later, prosecutors noted, Bragg바카라 게임 웹사이트s office received a letter containing a small amount of white powder and a note stating, 바카라 게임 웹사이트Alvin: I바카라 게임 웹사이트m going to kill you.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Trump has referred to a key witness in the case, his former lawyer Cohen, as a 바카라 게임 웹사이트convicted felon, disbarred lawyer, with zero credibility" and has made posts mocking Daniels.
The gag order request Monday mirrored portions of an order imposed on Trump in October in his separate Washington federal case, where he is charged with scheming to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss to Democratic rival Joe Biden.
A federal appeals court panel in December largely upheld Judge Tanya Chutkan's gag order but narrowed it in an important way by freeing Trump to criticize special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the case. Manhattan prosecutors echoed that ruling by excluding Bragg from their proposed gag order.
Last May, Merchan issued what바카라 게임 웹사이트s known as a protective order, warning Trump and his lawyers they risked being held in contempt if they disseminated evidence from the hush-money case to third parties, used it to attack witnesses or posted sensitive material to social media.
Merchan, noting Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 바카라 게임 웹사이트special바카라 게임 웹사이트 status as a former president and current candidate, tried to make clear at the time that the protective order shouldn바카라 게임 웹사이트t be construed as a gag order, saying, 바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s certainly not my intention to in any way impede Mr. Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s ability to campaign for the presidency of the United States.바카라 게임 웹사이트
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Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.