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New York Judge Juan Merchan has partially struck parts of President Donald J. Trump’s gag order Tuesday from his trial against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, just days before the first presidential debate.
Merchan lifted part of Trump’s gag order involving parts that prohibited Trump from making public statements about witnesses or jurors within his trial from May, according to CNBC. While some parts have been struck, others, such as speaking about lawyers and staff, will remain in place until Trump’s sentencing on July 11, the outlet reported.
Trump was found guilty on May 30 to 34 felony counts alleging that he had falsified business records due to a nondisclosure payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Prior to the start of the trial, Merchan placed a gag order on Trump after he spoke about the connection between Merchan’s daughter and the Democrat Party.
Since the order, Merchan found Trump in violation of the gag 10 times, fining him $10,000 and threatening the 45th president at one point with jail time.
The new lift comes just two days before the first presidential debate between Trump and Joe Biden, which is set for Thursday at 9 p.m. EST.
Merchan stated within his filing that while he had a “strong preference” to still protect jurors, he legally cannot since the trial is over. However, the presiding judge did place restriction on preventing the disclosure of jurors’ personal information, including their identities, according to CBS News.
“[T]here is ample evidence to justify continued concern for the jurors,” Merchan wrote, according to CBS News.
Trump’s team, however, pushed back on the partial lift, calling the decision “blatantly un-American” and noting that Trump’s legal team will continue to challenge the gag order.
“This is another unlawful decision by a highly conflicted judge, which is blatantly un-American as it gags President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election during the upcoming Presidential Debate on Thursday,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, CBS News reported.
