Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg of Manhattan, New York, has petitioned to impose a gag order on former President Donald Trump.
Trump was indicted by Bragg on April 4, 2023, on 34 felony counts of allegedly falsifying business records related to his alleged payments of “hush money” to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, known by her stage name of “Stormy Daniels,” to conceal an alleged extramarital affair with her.
On Monday, following Trump’s frequent criticism of the case and of Bragg, personally, the New York County District Attorney’s Office filed a notice of intent to bring a motion to prohibit Trump from making “extrajudicial statements” regarding the case, commonly known as a “gag order.”
“To protect the integrity of this criminal proceeding and avoid prejudice to the jury, the People respectfully request that this Court issue a narrowly tailored order restricting certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements by defendant,” began Bragg’s memorandum in support of the order. “Defendant 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.”
The memorandum quoted several statements by Trump on social media calling Bragg a “Racist, George Soros-backed D.A.” and claiming that he was “a danger to our Country, and should be removed immediately.” It also quoted one posting where Trump warned of “potential death & destruction in such a false charge [that] could be catastrophic for our Country” before calling Bragg a “a degenerate psychopath that [truly] hates the USA!”
via joemiller