OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump has issued a major challenge to the judge presiding over his hush money trial following charges brought against him by George Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump stated on Saturday that he would view it as a “great honor” to be imprisoned if he were to violate a gag order, indicating an escalated level of criticism aimed at New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and other judicial figures involved in the trial, the Post Millennial reported.
On Monday, Merchan expanded his gag order against Trump to include not only the judge’s family but also the family of Bragg. The trial is set to begin on April 15.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform Saturday to challenge Merchan to jail him for violating the order many legal analysts have said is unfair and unprecedented:
“Now, we have Merchan, who is not allowing me to talk, thereby violating the Law and the Constitution, all at once. It is so bad what he is trying to get away with – How was he even chosen for this case??? I heard he fought like hell to get it, and all of the rest of them also! If this Partisan Hack wants to put me in the “clink” for speaking the open and obvious TRUTH, I will gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela – It will be my GREAT HONOR.
We have to Save our Country from these Political Operatives masquerading as Prosecutors and Judges, and I am willing to sacrifice my Freedom for that worthy cause. We are a Failing Nation, but on November 5th, we will become a Great Nation again. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
“The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is associated with left-leaning politics and has been involved in the Biden-Harris campaign. Her company, Authentic Campaigns, Inc., has received substantial funding from Democratic sources aiming to oppose Trump,” the PM reported.
The order imposed by Merchan is similar to a gag order in Trump’s criminal case about election interference in Washington, D.C.
“Given that the eve of trial is upon us, it is without question that the imminency of the risk of harm is now paramount,” Merchan wrote in a four-page decision granting the prosecution’s request for what it deemed a “narrowly tailored” gag order.
“The judge said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s statements have induced fear and necessitated added security measures to protect his targets and investigate threats. Trump’s lawyers fought a gag order, warning it would amount to an unconstitutional and unlawful prior restraint on his free speech rights. Merchan, who had long resisted imposing a gag order, said his obligation to ensure the integrity of the trial outweighed First Amendment concerns,” the Associated Press reported.
In a court filing, Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles said: “President Trump’s political opponents have, and will continue to, attack him based on this case. The voters have the right to listen to President Trump’s unfettered responses to those attacks — not just one side of that debate.”
The gag order forbids Trump from speaking publicly about potential witnesses and jurors in the hush-money case or from ordering others to do so.
It also forbids making any remarks intended to intimidate or cause distress to the prosecution team, court employees, or their families.
Trump might be imprisoned, fined, or even held in contempt of court for a violation.
The allegations at the heart of Trump’s hush-money case are that he misrepresented payments to former fixer and personal lawyer Michael Cohen as legal fees on the books of his business, even though they were actually for Cohen’s assistance in disguising unfavorable stories about him during the 2016 campaign.
Among them was the $130,000 he had given Daniels on Trump’s behalf to keep her quiet about her alleged previous sexual encounter with him.
