Donald Trump talks after casting his vote in the Florida primary election in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee); Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan is photographed in his office in New York, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The judge in Donald Trump's hush-money trial extended a restriction on Monday after prosecutors stated that the former president's posts about the judge's daughter, including her name and picture, and political party membership, were excessive and intended to intimidate the court.
Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, following a request from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to clarify the extent of the current silence order, confirmed that the order did not initially 'restrict Defendant’s speech regarding the family members of the District Attorney or this Court.' That has now changed.
Merchan explained that while Trump does have a First Amendment right to “defend himself publicly,” targeting the family members of trial participants — whether his own or the family of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg (D) — “serves no legitimate purpose.”
“It simply instills fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings, that not only they, but their family members as well, are 'fair game' for Defendant’s vitriol,” Merchan wrote, and noted that the “traditional 'David vs. Goliath' roles” in a prosecution like this “are no longer in play as shown by the significant power Defendant’s words have on countless others.”
Describing the threat to the “integrity” of the trial as “very real” — and recognizing that warnings and expectations of more controlled Truth Social activity “are insufficient” — the judge broadened the silence order in several ways.
The judge directed Trump to “refrain” from “making or instructing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses,” jurors, court staff, and the DA’s staff in the case. He also instructed the former president not to attack the “family members of any counsel, staff member, the Court or the District Attorney, if those statements are made with the intent to materially interfere with, or cause others to materially interfere” with their work.
Asserting the need to “manage disruptive influences in the courtroom,” Merchan also approved prosecutors’ request to caution Trump that if he continues with “harassing or disruptive conduct” he will “lose any legal right he may have to access juror names.” Similarly, Trump was warned that violations of the silence order will result in penalties.
“The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant’s recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct assault on the Rule of Law itself,” Merchan wrote. “Again, all citizens, called upon to participate in these proceedings, whether as a juror, a witness, or in some other capacity, must now concern themselves not only with their own personal safety, but with the safety and the potential for personal attacks upon their loved ones. That reality cannot be overstated.”
The judge also criticized the justifications provided by Trump's lawyers for the posts about the judge's daughter, describing those explanations as "farcical" and "not rational."
“Defendant, in his opposition of April 1, 2024, desperately attempts to justify, and explain away his dangerous rhetoric by ‘turning the tables’ and blaming those he attacks. The arguments counsel makes are at best strained and at worst baseless misrepresentations which are uncorroborated and rely upon innuendo and exaggeration,” Merchan continued. “Put mildly, the assortment of allegations presented as ‘facts’ and cobbled together, result in accusations that are disingenuous and not rational. To argue that the most recent attacks, which included photographs, were ‘necessary and appropriate in the current environment,’ is farcical.”
Merchan ultimately agreed that prosecutors made “a plethora of compelling arguments” to support their allegations that Trump’s online “conduct is deliberate and intended to intimidate this Court and impede the orderly administration of this trial.”
The Trump team, for its part, unveiled plans to seek Merchan’s recusal for a second time when defending the former president’s posts.
“President Trump’s social media posts amplified defense arguments regarding the need for recusal that have been, and will continue to be, the subject of motion practice,” the defense said. “The posts also addressed specific political opponents who are clients of Authentic, where Your Honor’s daughter is a partner and executive, and responded to media reports regarding a social media account attributed to Your Honor’s daughter.”
The defense claimed the posts were “properly understood” as a criticism of Merchan’s refusal to recuse himself.
Read the judge’s latest order here.