Former President Donald Trump (left) and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Reuters
A New York appeals judge on Tuesday rejected another unlikely bid by Donald Trump to delay a criminal hush money trial, this time seeking a pause as he challenges a court-ordered gag order.
The swift rejection marked Trump’s second attempt in less than 24 hours to delay the Manhattan Supreme Court trial, which is scheduled to begin with jury selection in six days.
Appellate Judge Cynthia Cohen’s ruling came within an hour of a hearing Tuesday afternoon in which Trump’s lawyers and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg fought over restrictions on the former president’s speech, NBC News reported debate.
The gag order prohibits Trump from talking about potential witnesses in the case and from making certain statements to other people involved, including attorneys, court staff and their respective family members.Presiding Judge Juan Merchan last week expanded the gag order to prevent Trump from targeting the families of judges and district attorneys
Defense attorney Emile Bove argued during Tuesday’s hearing that Republican presidential candidate Trump was unfairly restricted from speaking about witnesses such as porn star Stormy Daniels and Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen.
According to NBC, Boff argued that these witnesses publicly attacked Trump and that he was unable to respond. He also believes Trump should be able to express concerns about Prague prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, who previously worked at the Justice Department.
Bragg’s spokesman, Steven Wu, urged Cohen to reject Trump’s offer to put the trial on hold. Wu argued that the gag order was narrow in scope and was not intended to prevent political speech but to prevent Trump from making personal attacks on those involved.
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