Former President Trump criticizes the judge for the order barring him from talking about the trial against him

2024-03-28 19:40:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Former President Trump criticizes the judge for the order barring him from

New York - Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the New York judge who barred him from speaking publicly about a criminal case against him that is expected to begin on April 15, making a false claim about his daughter as well and asking to be removed. of the judge from the case.

In a social media post, Mr. Trump claimed without evidence that Judge Juan M. Merchan was pandering to the interests of his daughter, who is a Democratic political consultant. He also claimed that she had posted on social media a photo showing Mr. Trump behind bars. This claim was dismissed by court officials as untrue.

Mr. Trump, the front-runner in the Republican presidential race, complained on his social media platform Truth Social that the order barring him from speaking publicly about the case was "unlawful, un-American, and unconstitutional." He said Judge Merchan, an experienced New York jurist, is "unfairly trying to deprive him of his First Amendment right to speak out against the abuse of law enforcement" by Democratic rivals.

Mr. Trump claimed that Judge Merchan's daughter, Loren Merchan, whose office has been involved in President Joe Biden's campaign and the campaigns of other Democratic candidates, recently posted a photo on social media that showed the "clear intent" of her to see him in prison.

A spokesperson for the New York state judicial system said in a statement that this allegation is false and that the social media profile Mr. Trump referred to no longer belongs to Ms. Loren Merchan. The profile appears to have been taken over by someone else after she closed it a year ago, court spokesman Al Baker said.

According to spokesperson Baker, the account on the X social platform, "is not associated with her email address and she has not posted under that name since she closed the account."

Reporters are scrambling to get a response from Ms. Loren Merchan and Mr. Trump's campaign team.

The gag order, which prosecutors sought, bars Mr. Trump from speaking about witnesses, prosecutors and their families, court personnel and jurors. The case concerns the payment to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged extramarital affair with Mr. Trump.

The order does not stop comments against Judge Merchan and his family and does not stop criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, whose office brought the charges against Mr. Trump.

"Let me be clear," Mr. Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform, "the judge's daughter is allowed to post pictures of her 'dream' of putting me in jail...but I am not allowed to talk about the attacks against me and to the lunatics who want to destroy my life and stop me from winning the 2024 presidential election that I am dominating?”

Mr. Bragg's office declined to comment