Donald Trump’s lawyers press judge to lift gag order in wake of ex-president’s felony conviction

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers are amplifying their calls to end the gag order that bars the former president from commenting about witnesses, jurors and others tied to the Manhattan criminal trial that ended in his conviction last month for falsifying records to cover up a potential sex scandal.

In a court filing made public Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers urged Judge Juan M. Merchan to end what they deemed an “extraordinary, unprecedented, and unwarranted restriction” on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s free speech rights.

The 23-page defense filing reiterated arguments Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove made days after Trump’s May 30 guilty verdict in a letter they sent to Merchan seeking to lift the gag order. They contend the restrictions should have been rescinded after the verdict.

Prosecutors have suggested keeping that the gag order in effect at least until Trump’s sentencing on July 11, saying it’s necessary “to protect the integrity of these proceedings and the fair administration of justice.”

Merchan issued the gag order on March 26, a few weeks before the start of the trial, after prosecutors raised concerns about Trump’s propensity to assail people involved in his cases. Merchan later expanded it to bar comments about his own family after Trump made social media posts attacking the judge’s daughter, a Democratic consultant.

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