Donald Trump once again called Judge Juan Merchan, who will preside over his criminal trial starting April 15 in New York, “corrupt” on Tuesday, after the magistrate extended the former President of the United States’ speech restrictions for avoid attacks on one’s own family.
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“I just learned that another corrupt New York judge, Juan Merchan, GAGGED me so that I could not talk about corruption and conflicts (of interest) in the courtroom,” he said. writes the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election on his Truth Social network.
The day before, the judge extended the ban already placed on Donald Trump from publicly attacking witnesses, jurors or court staff, specifying that members of his own family or that of Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg should also be protected from attacks.
This new restriction followed attacks by Donald Trump against the magistrate’s own daughter, a political consultant who worked for Democratic candidates.
In his ruling, the judge found that “the defendant has a constitutionally protected right to speak freely to American voters and to defend himself publicly,” but that “attacking family members » of judicial personnel “assigned to its cases serves no legitimate purpose” and poses “a sufficient risk to the administration of justice”.
“This only inspires fear among those participating in the proceedings that not only they, but also their family members, are exposed to vitriolic attacks from the defendant,” adds Juan Merchan.
The judge himself and prosecutor Bragg are not concerned by the speech limitations imposed on Donald Trump. During the trial, which begins on April 15 and will shake up his electoral campaign, Donald Trump will be judged guilty or not guilty by a jury of citizens.
The former president of the United States will appear in a case involving hidden payments to avoid embarrassing revelations during the 2016 presidential election, including $130,000 to buy the silence of a former porn star about an alleged relationship he denies.
Donald Trump theoretically faces up to a prison sentence if convicted, an unprecedented scenario for a US presidential candidate.
