Judge partially lifts gag order against Trump

A New York judge on Tuesday partially lifted a gag order on Donald Trumpfollowing the conviction of the Republican presidential candidate on criminal charges stemming from an attempt to influence the 2016 election by buying the silence of a porn actress.

The revised order now allows Trump to speak publicly about witnesses in the case, but maintains restrictions on his comments about individual prosecutors and others involved in the case.

Trump’s lawyers argued that the gag order was stifling their campaign speech and said it could limit their ability to respond to attacks from Democratic President Joe Biden during their upcoming debate on June 27.

Lawyers from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Alvin Bragg, said limits on Trump’s speech about trial witnesses were no longer necessary, but urged Judge Juan Merchan to maintain restrictions on his comments about jurors, court staff and individual prosecutors, citing risks to your safety.

Merchan imposed the gag order before the trial began in April, believing Trump’s history of threatening statements posed a risk of derailing the trial.

The judge fined Trump $10,000 for failing to comply with the order during the seven-week trial and warned him on May 6 that he would be imprisoned if he failed to comply again.

To argue that some restrictions are still necessary, prosecutors said Trump supporters had attempted to identify anonymous jurors and threatened violence against them.

“Therefore, there remains a critical need to protect jurors in this case from attacks by the defendant and those he inspires to action,” they wrote in a June 20 court filing.

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