The New York Court of Appeals will not hear former President Donald Trump’s gag order appeal.
In a very short opinion from the court, they said,
“Appeal dismissed without costs, by the Court sua sponte, upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.”
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Trump, who was convicted last month by a Manhattan jury on 34 felony counts, has been under a gag order since late March. The gag order prohibits Trump from speaking about the jurors, witnesses, court staff, the prosecution team (other than prosecutor Alvin Bragg), or their family members if the statements will potentially interfere with or influence the case.
During the trial, Judge Juan Merchan (not covered in the gag order) fined Trump several times and threatened him with jail time when he said he violated the gag order.
Trump and his lawyers have called the gag order an attack on free speech and an attempt to silence him from defending himself in public. In particular, those defending Trump say the gag order has prevented him from public attacks by witnesses like Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.
Cohen, one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, criticized Trump online and on national TV during the trial and has praised the court previously for leaving the gag order in effect.
In a statement about the gag order, Trump’s attorneys said,
“Trump’s opponents and adversaries are using the Gag Order as a political sword to attack President Trump with reference to this case, on the understanding that his ability to mount a detailed response is severely restricted by the Gag Order.”
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Trump’s team has not released a statement yet on whether he will appeal to a higher court against the gag order.
