In another legal setback for former President Donald Trump, New York’s highest court has refused to hear an appeal by the 45th president.
Trump wants the court to lift the strict gag order restricting the his ability to publicly discuss his recent criminal trial on the eve of his 2024 re-election campaign.
However, the battle over First Amendment implications is likely just beginning.
The New York Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected Trump’s bid for an expedited appeal to remove the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan. In its ruling, the court claimed that “no substantial constitutional question is directly involved” to warrant immediate intervention.
The order, enacted weeks before Trump’s trial began, barred him from making statements about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and others involved in the case, which Trump and his allies have claimed was politically motivated.
While the appeals court rejection keeps the gag order in place for now, it does not prevent Trump’s legal team from continuing to appeal the restrictions through regular judicial channels following his July 11 sentencing.
Trump’s attorneys have argued fervently that the gag order represents an unconstitutional violation of the former president’s First Amendment free speech rights, considering he is on a clear path to claim the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
“The gag order wrongfully silences the leading candidate for President of the United States, President Trump, at the height of his campaign,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung stated.
“It violates the rights of President Trump and all American voters, who have a fundamental right to hear his message.”
With the first presidential debate against incumbent Joe Biden scheduled for June 27, Trump’s team warned the gag order could obstruct his ability to engage in the critical political debate in front of a national audience.
Biden could attack Trump over some parts of the case, and Trump would be unable to legally respond.
Trump’s lawyers also cited the public commentary of prosecution witnesses like Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels as undercutting the rationale for the gag order now that Trump’s trial has concluded. The former president was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
During his trial, Merchan fined Trump $10,000 for gag order violations and even threatened potential jail time should the transgression continue, stating: “It is not allowed to continue.”
Trump’s lawyers have fired back that the gag order was never justified from the outset.
“The defense does not concede that there was ever a valid basis for the gag order and reserves the right to challenge the irreparable First Amendment harms caused by the order,” a legal filing stated.
With Trump’s sentencing imminent and the 2024 election cycle rapidly approaching, the gag order controversy appears poised to escalate into a landmark First Amendment court battle regardless of Trump’s temporary setback.