Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Judge Juan Merchan is placing a gag order on former President Donald Trump in a criminal case centered on alleged hush money payments made to adult actress Stormy Daniels. The order comes one day after a trial start date of April 15 was set in the case.
What Happened: Merchan granted a gag order Tuesday that was requested by the Manhattan district attorney's office earlier this year.
Under the gag order, Trump will not be able to attack witnesses, prosecutors or jurors, according to the New York Times.
Trump is also not allowed to speak about the court staff, prosecutors or their families.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg previously said that Trump has a "longstanding history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and others involved in legal proceedings against him" when seeking the gag order.
Merchan included past comments from Trump in his ruling.
"His statements were threatening, inflammatory, denigrating," Merchan wrote.
Trump has in the past called former lawyer Michael Cohen a liar and a rat. Cohen is a key witness for the prosecution in the case.
The former president has received gag orders in past cases.
Related Link: Trump’s Bond Amount Cut To $175M, Court Extends Deadline: Details On Monday’s Financial Lifeline
Why It's Important: Set for trial April 15, the New York criminal case may be the only one among the criminal cases pending against Trump that goes to trial prior to the 2024 presidential election.
The former president faces federal charges in several cases and was also the subject of a recent civil suit that led to a significant financial penalty for overstating financials when seeking business loans.
It has been a busy week for the former president with the hush money case trial start date announced Monday in court; Trump receiving an extension and reduction for his appeals bond in a civil lawsuit; and the public stock debut Tuesday of his media company.
Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT) went public Tuesday after a long-delayed SPAC merger. Shares of the Trump media company hit 52-week highs of $79.38 Tuesday and are trading up 24% to $62.25 at the time of writing.
Read Next: EXCLUSIVE: Trump Media Company Goes Public, Financial Experts Say DJT A ‘Meme Stock’ — ‘This Is Going To Be A Way To Bet On Or Against Trump’
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