New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged Justice Juan Merchan not to approve Donald Trump's request to lift a limited gag order in his hush-money case.
After being convicted of 34 felony counts last week, Trump's attorneys argued that the gag order was no longer necessary. It prevents Trump from discussing witnesses, jurors, court staff, and their families.
"Now that the trial is concluded, the concerns articulated by the government and the Court do not justify continued restrictions on the First Amendment rights of President Trump — who remains the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election — and the American people," Trump's attorney Todd Blanche wrote.
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However, in a response on Wednesday, Bragg's team explained why the limited gag order should remain in place.
"Defendant's letter asserts that the stated bases for the Court's Orders no longer exist 'because the trial has concluded,'" prosecutors for the district attorney's office wrote. "The Court's Orders, however, were based not only on the need to avoid threats to the fairness of the trial itself... but also on the Court's broader 'obligation to prevent actual harm to the integrity of the proceedings'; to protect 'the orderly administration of this Court'; and to avoid 'risk[s] to the administration of justice.'"
"[T]hese interests have not abated, and the Court has an obligation to protect the integrity of these proceedings and the fair administration of justice at least through the sentencing hearing and the resolution of any post-trial," the letter to Merchan added.