Gag order Judge relaxes moderation order against Trump

A judge has relaxed the moderation order issued against Donald Trump in the New York criminal trial over hush money payments to a porn actress. The former US president is now permitted to make public statements about witnesses and jurors in the case.

However, the 78-year-old should continue to exercise verbal restraint towards other people involved in the case - at least until the sentencing is announced on July 11. Trump was already found guilty of all 34 charges on May 30. He is the first ex-president of the USA to be found guilty of a crime.

The decision by Judge Juan M. Merchan - shortly before Trump's TV duel with President Joe Biden - clears the way for Trump to attack his former lawyer Michael Cohen, porn actress Stormy Daniels and other witnesses.

Muzzle partially lifted

Trump's lawyers had asked Merchan to lift the so-called gag order completely. They argued that there was no longer any reason to restrict the freedom of speech of their client, who is once again running for the highest office in the land, after the conclusion of the proceedings. Trump has stated that the moderation order prevented him from defending himself, while Daniels and Cohen continued to pillory him.

Prosecutors had asked Merchan to stick to the ban on comments about jurors until the verdict is announced. However, they agreed that the part of the order prohibiting Trump from verbally attacking trial witnesses could be lifted.

The trial is about money that Cohen paid to Daniels as Trump's lawyer. According to Cohen's account, it was hush money intended to prevent Daniels from publicly disclosing details of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump during the 2016 election campaign. Trump is said to have later reimbursed Cohen for the 130,000 dollars. The ex-president is accused of falsifying business documents in order to cover up the reason for this payment to Cohen. Trump denies ever having been intimate with Daniels and any other misconduct.