NY Appellate Court denies Trump's latest request to have gag order overturned, lifted

The First Department, the intermediate appellate court overseeing the Trump case on Tuesday denied former President Trump's request to have his gag order overturned. 

The order was originally imposed by Judge Juan Merchan during the so-called "hush money" trial and prevents Trump from speaking about two witnesses in the case, his former fixer Michael Cohen and adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump was fined and received threats of jail time for previous violations of this order. 

Trump previously challenged this order with Judge Merchan, but was unsuccessful in overturning it or amending the terms. 

Trump's legal team has argued that the former president deserves the opportunity to respond publicly to Americans in the face of the claims by Daniels and Cohen. 

"The Federal Restraining Order Decision properly found that the order was necessary under the circumstances, holding that 'Trump’s documented pattern of speech and its demonstrated real-time, real-world consequences pose a significant and imminent threat to the functioning of the criminal trial process,' the appellate court wrote. 

**Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to properly identify the First Department, which is an intermediate appellate court, not the "high court" which in New York is called the Court of Appeals.