Hours after Donald Trump's latest Truth Social rant attacking Judge Juan Merchan and his daughter, the judge overseeing his Manhattan hush money trial has slapped him with a gag order, reports MTN.
The order prevents Trump from publicly commenting on witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, their families, and jurors in the case.
In his Truth Social post, Trump wrote: "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. 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."
Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance tweeted, "Trump puts a target not only Judge Merchan in the criminal case in Manhattan but on his daughter. This is a rank effort at intimidating the judge by threatening his family. It merits a gag order but also serious pushback from GOP leadership—which we know won't come."
According to MTN, "In the event Trump violates this order, Judge Merchan will have the ability to hold Trump in contempt of court which could include punishment of fines or even jail time."
This isn't the first time Trump has faced gag orders. As Salon reports, "Trump was previously hit with a gag order in his New York fraud trial after targeting the judge's clerk in online attacks." The hush money case stems from payments Trump allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to conceal an affair. He faces 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. With the trial set for April 15, just before the 2024 election, Trump complained to reporters, "They decide to wait until now, just during the election, so that I won't be able to campaign."
As the legal walls close in, Trump's increasingly unhinged attacks on the judicial system only seem to be digging him in deeper. But with yet another gag order in place, he may finally be forced to put a sock in it. As Rolling Stone put it, "The gag orders have become a regular occurrence in Trump's legal proceedings, despite those in his orbit repeatedly asking him to keep his mouth shut."
