The United States Supreme Court has once again denied a plea to lift the gag order that prevents Donald Trump from making public statements about authorities involved in the New York criminal hush-money case that saw the president-elect convicted on dozens of felony counts.
In a Monday order, the high court declined an application that sought to appeal the gag order established by Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
“The application for stay addressed to Justice [Clarence] Thomas and referred to the Court is denied,” according to the order. The justices provided no additional comments or reasons.
Joseph Nierman, a podcaster known as “Good Lawgic,” filed the emergency application to lift Trump’s gag order pro se. Nierman initially filed the petition with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the circuit justice who hears requests from New York. In October, Sotomayor rejected the request without comment.
Nierman then re-filed the application with Thomas, who referred it to the full court on November 26, according to records. The court then declined to hear the case.
The pro-Trump podcaster filed a petition under his company name, Good Lawgic, LLC, requesting that the Supreme Court lift the president-elect’s gag order. Sotomayor denied the petition, Justice Samuel Alito refiled it, and the court ultimately rejected it.
Merchan, the presiding judge in Trump’s criminal trial, barred the former president from speaking about witnesses, prosecutors, jurors, court staffers, and their families.
On March 27, 2024, the day after Merchan issued the order, Trump took to Truth Social to criticize the judge, his daughter, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. On March 28, the 45th president delivered several more similar rhetorical jabs.
On March 29, 2024, Bragg’s office filed a letter labeling the defendant’s posts about the judge’s daughter as “contumacious” and requesting that Merchan “clarify or confirm that the order protects family members of the court.”
Todd Blanche, Trump’s defense attorney, responded quickly, claiming the state was attempting to “expand” the order and that “there was nothing ‘contumacious'” about the social media posts.
In response to Trump’s criticism of Merchan’s daughter for her political consulting work for the Democratic Party, the court expanded the gag order to include family members of all participants in the proceedings by early April.
On May 30, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
In June, the New York Court of Appeals first denied Trump’s request to lift the gag order in his hush-money case. The defense responded by filing yet another appeal, this time with the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, First Department, regarding their complaints against Merchan.
In August, the court unanimously denied Merchan’s “narrowly tailored protections,” concluding that the judge “did not act in excess of jurisdiction” when he ordered Trump to “refrain” from “making or directing others to make public statements” about “family members of any counsel, staff member, the Court, or the District Attorney, if those statements are made with the intent to materially interfere with, or cause others to materially interfere” with
Despite acknowledging the evidence of ongoing threats to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s staff, the appellate court labeled Trump’s position as “unavailing,” citing the courts’ “empowerment to protect against the ‘unfair administration of justice'” until sentencing or “some other final disposition”.
“Contrary to petitioner’s contentions, the People’s evidentiary submissions in opposition to his motion in Supreme Court demonstrate that threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat,” according to the appellate division.
The New York Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s appeal again in September, with little explanation other than a line stating that his petition raised “no substantial constitutional question” directly.
Trump and his allies have long argued, without success, that the gag order violates the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court previously denied a challenge to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s gag order.
Despite Trump’s conviction for felony conduct, Merchan has postponed his sentencing hearing in anticipation of Trump winning the 2024 presidential election.
Trump has sought to have the case and his convictions dismissed. Bragg’s office has repeatedly pushed back, refusing to overturn Trump’s convictions or dismiss the indictment.
