Donald Trump’s lawyers fight DA’s request for a gag order in his hush-money criminal case

By MICHAEL R. SISAK
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers are warning that a gag order sought by New York prosecutors ahead of his March 25 hush-money criminal trial would amount to unconstitutional and unlawful prior restraint on the former president’s free speech rights. Trump’s lawyers urged Judge Juan Manuel Merchan on Monday to reject the request. Prosecutors said it was prompted by Trump’s “long history of making public and inflammatory remarks” about people in his legal cases and a spike in threats tied to his rhetoric. They sought last week to bar Trump from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and others involved in the case. Trump’s lawyers say such an order would hinder his ability to “respond to public attacks.”