Internet unsurprised as Donald Trump's appeal to lift hush money trial gag order gets denied

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Donald Trump's recent request to lift a gag order imposed during his hush money trial has been denied by a New York appeals court on Tuesday, May 14.

“We find that Justice Merchan properly weighed petitioner’s First Amendment Rights against the court’s historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm,” read the order, according to CNN.

Inside Donald Trump's hush money trial gag order

Judge Juan Merchan initially set the gag order during the hush money trial to prevent the former president from speaking about two key witnesses in the criminal case, his former lawyer Michael Cohen, and adult film star Stormy Daniels.

For his previous violations of the gag order, Trump was fined and the judge even threatened him with jail time.

Donald Trump challenged the hush money gag order

Previously, the 77-year-old politician challenged the gag order with Judge Merchan. However, his attempts were unsuccessful in getting the order overturned or to amend the terms.

Trump's legal team has argued that the ex-president deserved the opportunity to address and respond in public to the claims by Cohen and Daniels during their testimony at the hush money trial.

"The Federal Restraining Order Decision properly found that the order was necessary under the circumstances, holding that 'Trump’s documented pattern of speech and its demonstrated real-time, real-world consequences pose a significant and imminent threat to the functioning of the criminal trial process,' read the high court's statement.

Netizens weighed in on denial of Donald Trump's gag order appeal

Reacting to Trump's gag order appeal being denied, one user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, "And you just lost your appeal. So much losing!"

"Will be interesting to see how this legal battle unfolds and what implications it may have for Trump’s ability to speak publicly about the ongoing legal proceedings," a netizen commented.

One user wrote, "Never had such corruption in an ex president either. Thats the unprecedented part. Now we get to the no one is above the law part."

"How long is he gonna cry??" a user wrote while another user tweeted, "Of course they denied it....this is no surprise."

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