Trump appeals gag order in Stormy Daniels hush money case

The order does not restrict Trump’s speech about Merchan or Bragg. Trump’s lawyers have said the gag order violates his right to free speech as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

Donald Trump on Tuesday appealed a gag order in his New York criminal case on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, ahead of the former U.S. president’s April 15 trial. "The first amendment harms arising from this gag order right now are irreparable," Trump's attorney Emil Bove said during a hearing.

The Republican presidential candidate’s lawyers said in a hearing at a mid-level appeals court known as the Appellate Division that Justice Juan Merchan’s order restricting his public comments on potential witnesses, court staff and individual lawyers should be overturned. Merchan imposed the order last month after finding Trump made statements in various legal cases that the judge called "threatening, inflammatory" and "denigrating."

The judge expanded the order to cover his relatives and those of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after Trump disparaged Merchan’s daughter online. The order does not restrict Trump’s speech about Merchan or Bragg.

Trump’s lawyers have said the gag order violates his right to free speech as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.