A gag order that had been imposed on the former president of the united States Donald Trump previously during his criminal trial convicting him of 34 counts was eased by a judge on Tuesday.
According to reports, Judge Juan Merchan initially imposed the limited gag order on Trump before the trial, restricting the former president from publicly commenting on jurors, witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff. This order was later expanded to include comments about his own family and the family of the prosecutor.
However, with the trial concluded and the jury discharged, Merchan announced that the circumstances had changed. “circumstances have now changed. The trial portion of these proceedings ended when the verdict was rendered, and the jury discharged,” he stated. Consequently, Trump can now publicly comment on witnesses who testified at his trial and discuss the jury and their verdict.
Despite this relaxation, measures barring the disclosure of jurors’ identities remain in effect. This decision aims to protect the privacy and safety of the jurors involved in the high-profile case.
On ten different occasions, Trump has been violating the gag order of the Manhattan court and slammed with a penalty of $10,000 during the trials. Many a times, he even had threatened to be jailed for flouting the ruling of the judges. Trump repeatedly attacked likely witnesses and prosecutors via posts on his social handles resulting to the imposition of the initial gag.
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On May 30, jurors found Trump, who is actively seeking to retake the presidency in the upcoming election, guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign. The conviction marks Trump as the first former US president to be convicted of a felony.
In the process of the ongoing trial, emphasized by Judge Merchan, it is important to protect the jurors’ identities. The next sentence for Trump is scheduled for July 11. The verdict is the outcome of the ongoing tensions and public interest in the case covered by media largely.
Trump is allowed free communication on the trial and its outcome while he prepares for his forthcoming sentence relaxing the gag order.
