Judge issues gag order on Trump in DA Bragg case

New York Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday imposed a gag order on former President Donald Trump as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against him for allegedly falsifying business records.

Under the order, Trump may not make public statements about jurors, court staff, participating lawyers, or their families, though he may criticize Bragg himself, CNN reported.

Bragg has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 payment his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty and contends that the case is part of a broader political witch hunt designed to derail his 2024 bid to return to the White House.

The case, which is the first criminal prosecution of a former president in U.S. history, is set to go to trial on April 15.

The trial is expected to feature testimony from Cohen, whom Trump unsuccessfully sought to keep from testifying. His credibility as a witness, however, is likely to come under intense scrutiny amid claims he perjured himself. A federal judge last week denied Cohen's bid for early release from probation, highlighting his prior testimony in a civil fraud case in which he admitted to lying to a judge when making a guilty plea.

"Cohen repeatedly and unambiguously testified at the state court trial that he was not guilty of tax evasion and that he had lied under oath," said Federal Judge Jesse M. Furman. That testimony "gives rise to two possibilities: one, Cohen committed perjury when he pleaded guilty before Judge Pauley or, two, Cohen committed perjury in his October 2023 testimony." 

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.