Trump prosecutor asks court to tighten gag order, citing 'dangerous' social media posts

• The gag order on Donald Trump in his criminal hush money trial should be clarified or expanded to bar him from attacking the judge's family members, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
• The request came after Trump in numerous social media posts targeted New York Judge Juan Merchan's daughter.
• Trump's lawyers urged Merchan to reject that request, while noting that they will try once again to remove him from the case.

Donald Trump's "extreme and deliberate provocations" in his hush money trial are aimed to undermine the case, the Manhattan district attorney said Monday as he urged a judge to strengthen a gag order on the former president.

Trump'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," DA Alvin Bragg said in a blistering filing in New York Supreme Court.

Bragg's request came after Trump, in numerous social media posts, targeted Judge Juan Merchan's adult daughter over her work for a Democratic political firm. Bragg's indictment charges Trump with falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

"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," Bragg's filing said.

Trump "knows what he is doing, and everyone else does too," the DA wrote.

Merchan last week imposed a gag order that bars Trump from speaking about likely witnesses and other figures, but does not explicitly prohibit criticism of the judge or his family.

Bragg's office asked the judge on Thursday to