Gregg Jarrett slams partial lifting of Donald Trump's hush money gag order as 'warped and senseless'
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Legal analyst Gregg Jarrett joined 'Fox & Friends' co-host Steve Doocy to discuss the partial lifting of the gag order in Donald Trump's hush money trial on Wednesday, June 26.
On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan rolled back parts of the gag order he had initially placed on the former president before his trial began.
Trump was unanimously found guilty in the trial by a 12-member Manhattan jury and is currently awaiting his sentencing, which is scheduled for July 11.
Donald Trump can now speak about witnesses and the jury involved in his hush money trial
Judge Merchan's decision to lift parts of Trump's gag order means that the presumptive GOP nominee can now speak about witnesses and the jury involved in the hush money trial, as long as he does not reveal the identity of the jurors, as per CBS News.
He is still restricted from making disparaging comments about prosecutors, court staff, as well as their families.
Since Merchan issued the gag order on March 26, Trump violated it 10 times, leading the judge to impose a fine of $9,000.
On Tuesday, Judge Merchan shared his "strong preference" to protect jurors from further public comment by Trump but claimed he can no longer prevent him from talking about them generally as the trial is over.
He claimed that there "is ample evidence to justify continued concern for the jurors," while leaving a provision preventing disclosure of personal information about them, including their identities.
Gregg Jarrett's take on the partial lifting of Donald Trump's gag order
The legal analyst argued on Wednesday that the gag order should have been completely lifted after the conclusion of the trial and that silencing a presidential candidate violates the free speech rights of Trump and the American public.
"It's another warped and senseless ruling by Judge Merchan," told Jarrett to Doocy, adding, "This gag order was already an unconstitutional prior restraint of speech. It should have been lifted weeks ago when the trial ended, the jurors were dismissed. The fact that it wasn't underscores, I think, the unfair treatment of Donald Trump. Nothing magically changed yesterday to lift part of the gag order."
The legal analyst further mentioned, "And equally baffling, I think, is the fact that the New York appellate court seemed utterly unbothered, stating, oh, there's no substantial constitutional question."
"Are you kidding me? Other than that pesky little document called the First Amendment. Silencing a presidential candidate not only violates his free speech rights but the rights of listeners, the American public. They have a protected right to hear political speech," fumed Jarrett.
