Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks to speak to the media after being found guilty following his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 30, 2024.
Seth Wenig | Afp | Getty Images
A New York judge on Tuesday lifted parts of a gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump in his criminal hush money case, but kept some restrictions in place until Trump is sentenced.
The decision from Judge Juan Merchan came two days before Trump is set to face off against President Joe Biden in the first of two presidential debates.
Merchan struck parts of the gag order that barred Trump from making public statements about witnesses or jurors in the Manhattan Supreme Court trial, which ended on May 30 in Trump’s conviction on 34 criminal counts.
But Merchan ruled that Trump is still bound by the order’s restrictions on speaking about lawyers and staff for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and the court, plus any of their family members, if those statements could interfere with the case. Trump is allowed to speak about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The trial centered on accusations that Trump falsified business records as part of a scheme to cover up a hush money payment made shortly before the 2016 presidential election to porn star Stormy Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump years earlier.
Trump is set to be sentenced on July 11. Each of the felony counts against him carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison, though many experts expect Merchan will deliver a much lighter sentence that includes no time behind bars.
A Trump campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
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