Trump's lawyers earlier this week asked Justice Juan Merchan to
lift the order restricting the Republican presidential
candidate's public statements about jurors, witnesses and others
involved in the case because the trial is over. Merchan imposed
the order before the trial began in April, finding that Trump's
history of threatening statements posed a risk of derailing the
proceedings.
A Manhattan jury on May 30 found Trump guilty on 34 counts of
falsifying business records to cover up his former lawyer
Michael Cohen's $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy
Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual
encounter she says she and Trump had. Trump denies the encounter
and has vowed to appeal his conviction.
In a letter to Merchan on Wednesday, prosecutors with Manhattan
District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said the court still had
an interest in protecting the remaining proceedings.
"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 motions," the prosecutors wrote.
Trump is expected to renew his request that the judge toss the
jury's verdict by mid-June, with prosecutors due to respond at
the end of the month. He faces up to four years in prison at his
sentencing hearing next month, though fines or probation are
more common punishments for those convicted of felony
falsification of business records.
Merchan fined Trump $10,000 for violations of the gag order
during the seven-week trial, and warned him on May 6 he would be
jailed if he ran afoul of the order again.
Trump has argued the gag order violates his right to free speech
as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. His
lawyers said lifting the gag order was particularly important
since his opponent in the Nov. 5 election, Democratic President
Joe Biden, has commented on the verdict, and because the two are
set to debate on June 27.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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