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Donald Trump went back to attacking the judge in the Stormy Daniels case as well as his daughter, a day after Judge Juan Merchan issued a gag order barring him from directing comments at court staff or family members.
Trump brought back his demand that Judge Merchan, who also oversaw a Trump Organization tax fraud case, recuse from the matter, accusing him from suffering from ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome.’
Trump called the gag ‘un-American’ and a violation of his First Amendment rights, and brought up his daughter’s work as a political consultant for a digital firm with a roster of Democratic clients.
That came hours after Merchan issued his order barring Trump from making statements about a ‘reasonably foreseeable witness’ as well as making comments about counsel, court staff, or ‘the family members of any counsel or staff member.’
Former President Donald Trump attacked the judge overseeing the Stormy Daniels case, while also going after his daughter. Judge Juan Merchan then slapped a gag order on him
‘Judge Juan Merchan, who is suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (whose daughter represents Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, and other Radical Liberals, has just posted a picture of me behind bars, her obvious goal, and makes it completely impossible for me to get a fair trial) has now issued another illegal, un-American, unConstitutional “order,” as he continues to try and take away my Rights,’ Trump began.
He was referencing an online post by journalist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who wrote that an X account belonging to Loren Merchan had as its profile picture an image of Trump behind bars.
The account she linked was created in 2013 and had only four posts, and could not immediately be independently confirmed to be hers. The account’s posts are protected, and it has 63 followers.
By late Wednesday morning, the image had changed from one of Trump to a childhood image of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump also blasted Merchan.
‘This Judge, by issuing a vicious “Gag Order,” is wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement, including the fact that Crooked Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and their Hacks and Thugs are tracking and following me all across the Country, obsessively trying to persecute me, while everyone knows I have done nothing wrong!’ he wrote.
Trump claimed Merchan’s daughter posted an image of him behind bars, but the recent account had only 63 followers and its profile picture soon changed to a young Kamala Harris
After Trump accused the judge’s daughter of posting an image of him behind bars, an account opened last year switched its profile picture to a young Kamala Harris
Trump’s lawyers last year tried to force Merchan to recuse from the case, but a state ethics panel issued an opinion that he could remain, and Merchan himself determined his recusal ‘would not be in the public interest,’ after he was revealed to have contributed $15 to Joe Biden’s campaign.
Trump’s lawyers cited Loren Merchan’s advocacy work at that time.
Merchan slapped a gag order on Trump Tuesday after he used his social media platform to tear into prosecutors in the Stormy Daniels case as well as the judge and his daughter.
The gag prohibits the former president from making statements about witnesses, prosecutors, or their family members if meant to interfere with the case.
It comes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg sought the order Feb. 22 by invoking Trump’s ‘longstanding history’ of going after witnesses, prosecutors, and judges.
Merchan is taking a page from New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who slapped a series of gag orders on Trump following attacks on himself, state AG Letitia James, and the judge’s chief clerk.
‘The uncontested record reflecting the Defendant’s prior extrajudicial statements establishes a sufficient risk to the administration of justice,’ he wrote.
‘His statements were threatening, inflammatory, denigrating,’ wrote Merchan, who has a reputation for not allowing disruptions in his courtroom. His four-page order references attacks on ‘a family member.’
Trump has found ways to make hay out of the gags, as he has with his four criminal trials – blasting efforts to muzzle him as a form of censorship.
The latest order prevents Trump from commenting on witnesses, lawyers and other court personnel, the judge, or family members, although it does allow him to keep bashing DA Alvin Bragg.
In his order, Merchan notes that ‘the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment and the State’s interest in the fair administration of justice’ are implicated in the remedy prosecutors sought.
It applies Trump from both making or ‘directing others’ to make public statements about ‘known or foreseable witnesses’ in the case, which would apply to former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, whom Trump has called a rat.
Restricts extrajudicial statements about cousnel for the DA, court staff, family members of counsel or staff with the ‘intent to materially interfere with’ work on the case. It also applies to statements about any prospective juror or juror in the proceeding.
It all came after Trump railed at the man overseeing the Stormy Daniels trial a day after Judge Juan Merchan set an April trial date despite a push by Trump’s lawyers to dismiss the case.
Trump was inside a Manhattan courtroom with Merchan on Monday as lawyers argued about the start of his first criminal trial, now set for April 15. On Tuesday, he launched multiple online attacks on judges and prosecutors, even while calling Merchan a ‘distinguished looking man.’
He targeted Merchan’s daughter and bemoaned the treatment of former Trump Organization exec Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty this month to lying under oath without agreeing to cooperate. It comes after his repeated attacks in his separate New York fraud trial prompted Judge Arthur Engoron to impose a ‘gag’ order prohibiting him from attacking his chief clerk.
‘Judge Juan Merchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,’ Trump wrote.
‘In other words, he hates me! His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for Adam “Shifty” Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden,’ Trump wrote.
Trump’s lawyers last year tried to force Merchan off the case by citing his daughter’s work for Authentic Campaigns, a digital advocacy firm, but were denied.
Then Trump went after Merchan for his role overseeing the Weisselberg case. (He also oversaw former Trump campaing chair Steve Bannon’s criminal fraud case).
Merchan showed some of his tough side when Weisselberg was sentenced, telling him that if he hadn’t already pledged a five-month sentence he would have gone for something ‘much greater.’
Trump railed against Judge Juan Merchan, while calling him ‘distinguished looking’
Trump teed off after a crunch hearing in his hush money case with his lawyers demanding that it be delayed for months
Trump, 77, complained about the case without saying directly he was referencing the longtime Trump exec first brought on by his father, Fred Trump, calling the 76-year-old Weisselberg ‘elderly and not in good health.’
‘He was recently the judge on an unrelated trial of a long term employee, elderly and not in good health. This judge treated him viciously, telling him either you cooperate or I’m putting you in jail for 15 years. He pled, and went to jail for very minor offenses, highly unusual, served 4 months in Rikers, and now they are after him again, this time for allegedly lying (doesn’t look like a lie to me!), and they threatened him again with 15 years if he doesn’t say something bad about “TRUMP.” He is devastated and scared! These COUNTRY DESTROYING SCOUNDRELS & THUGS HAVE NO CASE AGAINST ME. WITCH HUNT!’
Trump was in Merchan’s courtroom as his team sought to dismiss or delay the trial over charges of falsifying business records relating to the $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Trump. They said they needed more time after prosecutors released more than 100,000 pages of evidence.
But Merchan rejected the plea after a tense hearing where he sparred with Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche.
Prosecutors ‘went so far above and beyond what they were required to do that really it’s odd that we’re even here taking this time,’ the judge said.
Merchan last year considered Trump’s motion to have him recuse from the case, addressing the arguments about his daughter, including the claim that she ‘stands to financially benefit’ from decisions of the court.
‘Defendant has failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required on these grounds. The speculative and hypothetical scenarios offered by defendant fall well short of the legal standard,’ Merchan wrote.
