A gag order against President Trump ignites debate over First Amendment rights, integrity of court proceedings, and claims of election interference.
His constant verbal jousting and social media rants spark cries of “I wish he’d shut his mouth!” from detractors and even from some of his own supporters.
But now a court has ordered former President Donald Trump to remain silent about most people involved in the criminal trial that began on April 15 in New York. Some lawyers call the order an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.
An appeal filed by President Trump’s lawyers is pending, and an independent New York attorney filed a challenge to the order on constitutional grounds.
But Judge Juan Merchan, acting justice of the New York Supreme Court, stands by his order. He heard allegations that President Trump violated the order during a hearing on April 23, and is set to issue a decision.
The gag order applies to a so-called “hush-money case” to muzzle one of the most outspoken public figures of the modern era, a man who founded his own social media platform so he could express himself freely.
Although Judge Merchan’s order targets President Trump, it triggers implications that are “so much bigger than Trump,” said legal scholar Mike Davis, who heads the Article III Project.
Mr. Davis sees a pattern of government officials infringing on the Constitutional rights of President Trump and other citizens, particularly conservatives or non-Democrats. “These are Republic-ending tactics” that could culminate in a courtroom-based “civil war,” Mr. Davis said, with Republicans and Democrats constantly waging a legal tit-for-tat.
In the dispute over President Trump’s gag order, free-speech rights are colliding with an election campaign and a criminal proceeding.
Legal analyst Mike Allen, an Ohio lawyer who has served as a prosecutor and judge, said, “The judge in this case is in a tough spot … He has to balance Trump’s First Amendment rights versus protecting the integrity of the criminal process.
“It’s compounded by the fact that you’ve got a former and perhaps future president of the United States,” Mr. Allen told The Epoch Times. “And these facts are smack-dab in the middle of a campaign.”
By Janice Hisle
