This marks the second instance where the Supreme Court has declined to step in and remove the gag order.
“The Supreme Court on Monday declined to lift a gag order restricting President-elect Donald Trump from making statements about jurors, court staff, and their families in his New York criminal case,” The Washington Examiner reported.
“Justice Samuel Alito handled the denial on behalf of the full court, marking the second time this year the justices have upheld the restrictions. There were no additional comments or notes from the justices, according to an orders list,” The Examiner reported.
Earlier this year, Judge Juan Merchan issued a gag order against Trump, prohibiting him from making public statements about witnesses and jurors involved in the Stormy Daniels case.
Judge Merchan later extended the gag order to include restrictions on Trump criticizing his family members.
The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, a political consultant with ties to the Biden-Harris campaign, has been a focus of media coverage. Some outlets have portrayed the 34-year-old Loren Merchan in a sympathetic light while framing criticism from Trump as an attack on free speech.
Loren Merchan’s company, Authentic Campaigns, Inc., has reportedly received significant funding from Democratic campaigns. According to The New York Post, she helped Democrats raise $93 million, partially leveraging her father’s involvement in Trump’s case.
In April, Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts stemming from allegations that he arranged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, through his former attorney Michael Cohen to suppress news of their alleged affair before it could be published by the National Enquirer.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of fraud, claiming the payment was falsely recorded as “legal fees.”
Late last month, Judge Juan Merchan indefinitely postponed Trump’s sentencing, originally scheduled for November 26, in Bragg’s ‘hush money’ case.
A few weeks ago, Trump’s legal team filed a motion to have the case dismissed.
