Trump team argues against gag order in Alvin Bragg case

Former President Donald Trump's attorneys on Monday argued against a proposed gag order from New York prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against him.

Bragg has charged Trump over a 2016 payment his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels and last week requested a gag order against Trump. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts and insists the case is part of political witch hunt designed to upend his 2024 presidential bid.

Last week, Bragg's team asked that Judge Juan Merchan bar Trump from making comments "with the intent to materially interfere" in the case. Trump's attorneys, in response, argued that it "would be unconstitutional and unlawful to impose a prior restraint on President Trump’s First Amendment speech," according to The Hill. They further highlighted the timing of the issue ahead of Super Tuesday and the State of the Union address.

Trump has previously been the subject of gag order disputes in both New York Attorney General Letitia James's civil fraud case and special counsel Jack Smith's D.C. election case.

Bragg's team argued that Trump "has a long history of making public and inflammatory remarks about the participants in various judicial proceedings against him, including jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and court staff."

"Those remarks, as well as the inevitable reactions they incite from defendant’s followers and allies, pose a significant and imminent threat to the orderly administration of this criminal proceeding and a substantial likelihood of causing material prejudice," they added.

The trial is scheduled for March 25.

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