ANew York judge on Monday banned former President Donald Trump from sharing evidence related to his criminal hush money case on social media.
Judge Juan Merchan’s order, which sided heavily with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation, stated, “any materials and information provided by the People to the Defense in accordance with their discovery obligations … shall be used solely for the purposes of preparing a defense in this matter.”
The order also said that the ex-president may view “Limited Dissemination Materials” from prosecutors only while in the presence of his attorneys and “shall not be permitted to copy, photograph, transcribe, or otherwise independently possess the Limited Dissemination Materials.”
The order added that Trump is banned from reviewing “forensic images of witness cell phones,” though lawyers may show him “approved portions.”
NBC News reported that prosecutors in the criminal case have pushed for “safeguards that will protect the integrity of the materials,” arguing that the likelihood of Trump using the evidence “inappropriately is substantial.”
“About. Damn. Time.” tweeted MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner.
“This is more like it,” lawyer and political commentator Tristan Snell wrote on Twitter. “No special treatment. ANY defendant doing what Trump did would be treated this way.”
“(Contempt violation coming in 1 2 3…)” tweeted Jeffery Evan Gold, an attorney and legal analyst.
Last month, Trump targeted Merchan in a Truth Social rant after learning the judge would be presiding over the case, which involves his role in payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels leading up to the 2016 election. Trump cited right-wing reports that Merchan’s daughter worked for Kamala Harris’s campaign in 2019 before she dropped out of the presidential race.
“THE HIGHLY PARTISAN JUDGE & HIS FAMILY ARE WELL KNOWN TRUMP HATERS,” Trump claimed. “HE WAS AN UNFAIR DISASTER ON A PREVIOUS TRUMP RELATED CASE, WOULDN’T RECUSE, GAVE HORRIBLE JURY INSTRUCTIONS, & IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH DURING THE WITCH HUNT TRIAL. HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR “KAMALA” & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN. KANGAROO COURT!!!”
Trump has also lashed out at Bragg and other prosecutors investigating him.
“Trump continues to post things, false things, dangerous things about the prosecutors who are investigating his crimes, about the prosecutors who have indicted him, have charged him, and they’re actually in court, prosecuting his crimes,” Kirschner warned in a video on Sunday. “And these are posts that deploy lies and disinformation to poison the well of public opinion, to poison all future jury pools. And that put prosecutors and their family and their staff members at risk.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.