New York’s highest court on Tuesday declined to hear former President Donald Trump’s appeal of the gag order that a judge imposed on him during his hush money trial.
In a brief order, the New York Court of Appeals said it dismissed the appeal “upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.”
Mr. Trump has 30 days to seek leave to appeal further, which is another avenue for the appeals courts to take up the matter again.
Mr. Trump says the gag order, which prevented him from commenting on jurors, witnesses or court staff, was a violation of his free speech rights. He said the order was particularly egregious because he is campaigning as the presumptive GOP nominee for president.
State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan fined Mr. Trump $10,000 for 10 violations of the gag order and, midway through the trial, threatened to jail Mr. Trump for future violations.
Prosecutors said the gag order was needed because Mr. Trump had a penchant for commenting and posting harsh things about people involved in his legal cases. They feared jurors, witnesses or others would be intimidated or face threats during the trial.
In recent days, Mr. Trump’s lawyers asked Judge Merchan to lift the gag order because the trial is over. A jury on May 30 found Mr. Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is urging Judge Merchan to leave the gag order in place at least through the July 11 sentencing.
Mr. Trump is free to criticize Mr. Bragg or Judge Merchan because the gag order does not apply to them.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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