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The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is asking New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to clarify if the gag order he placed on Donald Trump protects the judge’s own daughter, who Trump has repeatedly attacked this week. District Attorney Alvin Bragg says the gag order does cover the judge’s daughter, while Trump’s attorneys say not only does it not, but it should not.
“Following a request for clarification about the scope of Trump’s gag order from the Manhattan DA’s office, Trump’s lawyers now argue that not only is Judge Merchan’s daughter not covered by the gag order, but also that she should not be covered,” reports MSNBC executive producer Kyle Griffin.
Courthouse News’ Erik Uebelacker reports that District Attorney Alvin Bragg “believes Trump’s tirade against Judge Merchan’s daughter violates his gag order.”
He cites this line from Manhattan District Attorney’s Alvin Bragg’s pre-motion letter (below): “The People believe that the March 26 Order is properly read to protect family members of the court.”
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Uebelacker notes, “Trump’s lawyers say the order does ‘not apply in the manner claimed by the People.’”
He also points to the language in the gag order that bars Trump from: “Making or directing others to make public statements about (1) counsel in the case other than the District Attorney, (2) members of the court’s staff and the District Attorney’s staff, or (3) the family members of any counsel or staff member…”
To review, here are the terms of the gag order.
Prosecutors seem to be claiming that Merchan’s daughter falls into the “family members of any counsel or staff member. We’ll see if the judge agrees. pic.twitter.com/MSTZnP32Fe
— Erik Uebelacker (@Uebey) March 29, 2024
Katie Phang, MSNBC host and legal contributor, posted the pre-motion letter:
JUST IN: The Manhattan DA’s Office files this pre-motion letter with Judge Juan Merchan seeking clarity that his gag order entered on March 26th against Donald Trump “protects family members of the Court, the District Attorney, & all other individuals mentioned in the Order.” pic.twitter.com/hwb8XEJaul
— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) March 29, 2024
MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin on-air reported Trump’s attorneys “say in the event that Judge Merchan is considering making his daughter subjected to this gag order a full briefing is necessary because the implications are over President Trump’s First Amendment rights, and then they take a swipe at Judge Merchan’s daughter.”
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Rubin continued, adding that Trump’s attorneys also “say because she [Merchan’s daughter] is engaged and providing support to the enemies of former President Trump it’s totally appropriate for him to talk about her.”
Earlier Friday, Rubin noted, “Trump’s attack on Judge Merchan’s daughter last night represents the fourth time in three days that he has singled her out—and exposed her to potential harm. And she’s sadly not alone.”
“Last year, during the New York Attorney General’s civil fraud trial, Trump similarly went after the wife of Judge Arthur Engoron, who publicly said her purported social media account was not, in fact, her own,” Rubin noted.
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