Donald Trump’s defense lawyers and his Manhattan hush-money prosecutors intensified their war over his gag order on Monday, with prosecutors calling the GOP frontrunner’s ongoing attacks on the judge’s daughter “reprehensible” and “dangerous.”
“Defendant’s dangerous, violent, and reprehensible rhetoric fundamentally threatens the integrity of these proceedings and is intended to intimidate witnesses and trial participants alike — including this Court,” prosecutors said in a fiery court filing.
Despite past warnings and last week’s gag order, Trump has “refused to refrain from his disruptive and terrifying speech,” prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg complained to the trial judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
Instead, Trump has launched attacks “not only on this Court but also on a member of the Court’s family — including by posting a photo of the family member,” prosecutors said.
They are asking the judge to “clarify” that last Tuesday’s gag order bars Trump from making public statements about the judge’s family members.
Trump’s Truth Social attacks on the judge’s progressive, political-consultant daughter, Loren Merchan, included false claims that her “X” account had a profile picture that depicted Trump behind bars, prosecutors said.
Loren Merchan helps run the Chicago-based, progressive political consulting firm Authentic Campaigns, which has worked on campaigns for key Trump rivals, including Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
“There is no constitutional right to target the family of this Court, let alone on the blatant falsehoods that have served as the flimsiest pretexts for defendant’s attacks,” said Monday’s filing, which was signed on Bragg’s behalf by Matthew Colangelo, an assistant district attorney.
“Defendant knows what he is doing, and everyone else does too,” the DA filing continued.
“He has said for decades that he attacks his perceived opponents ‘viciously’ and ‘violently’ both ‘because it is a good feeling and because other people will see you doing it.’
“And he promised very recently that ‘IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!'” the filing added. “He is carrying out that promise right now.”
Minutes after the DA filing was made public, the defense returned fire.
“Contrary to the People’s argument, the gag order — which President Trump reserves all right to appeal — plainly does not apply to ‘family members of the Court [and] the District Attorney,” the defense said in a filing signed by attorneys Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche.
Last week’s gag order bars Trump from making statements about “court staff” and the family members of court staff, but does not specifically bar Trump from statements about the judge himself or the judge’s family members.
In seeking to expand the gag order, prosecutors are trying “to further restrict President Trump’s constitutionally protected speech,” the defense wrote.
“Your Honor’s daughter and her company, Authentic Campaigns, Inc., profited from offering strategic advice; preparing text for emails and social media posts, as well as other consulting services regarding campaign advocacy; and fundraising for President Trump’s political rivals — including advertisements that specifically referenced, and solicited funds based on, this case,” the defense wrote.
Monday’s defense filing went on to suggest Trump’s team will continue to seek to remove the judge from the case, a request the judge declined in August.
Because of her consultancy job, the judge’s daughter had “a financial interest in all ongoing attacks on President Trump, including this case, by virtue of her senior role at Authentic,” the defense wrote.
“President Trump’s comments concerning Your Honor’s daughter are, properly understood, a criticism of the Court’s prior decision not to recuse itself,” the defense filing said.
Merchan has yet to say if he will weigh revising or clarifying the gag order. The judge’s daughter did not immediately return a request for comment.
