crime
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Thursday denied Donald Trump's request to lift a news blackout in his hush-money criminal case, rejecting the previous Republican president's argument that his conviction in May represented “a change of circumstances” that justified lifting the restrictions.
A five-judge panel of the state's appeals court ruled that trial judge Juan M. Merchan acted accurately in extending parts of the news blackout until Trump is convicted, writing that “the fair administration of justice necessarily includes the promulgation of a verdict.”
The ruling got here a day after Trump's lawyers tried to file papers with the appeals court asking for the news blackout to be lifted immediately. Shortly before the decision was announced, the court denied the request, calling the blackout an “unconstitutional, election-influencing” restriction on Trump's free speech as he tries to return to the White House.
In a duplicate of the motion obtained by the Associated Press, Trump's lawyers wrote that Vice President Kamala Harris' entry into the presidential campaign on the Democratic side gives the matter recent urgency because she portrays herself as a former prosecutor taking up a “convicted felon.”
“It is unethical that Harris can speak freely about this case but President Trump cannot,” wrote Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche.
Blanche declined to comment on Thursday's ruling.
Trump's lawyers have tried multiple times to get the news ban lifted. Their most up-to-date fight resulted in the state's appeals court – the Appellate Division, one step above Merchan's trial court – after they failed within the state's highest court. The appeals court last month refused to listen to Donald Trump's challenge to the news ban, saying it didn’t raise “substantial” constitutional issues that may warrant immediate motion.
Merchan imposed the news blackout in March, weeks before the trial was set to start, after prosecutors raised concerns about Trump's habit of attacking people involved in his cases. During the trial, he accused Trump of contempt of court and fined him $10,000 for violations, threatening him with jail if he did it again.
In June, the judge lifted some restrictions: Trump was now allowed to talk to witnesses and jurors, but prosecutors, court staff and their families – including the judge's daughter – weren’t allowed to talk until the decision was announced.
Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, but Merchan postponed sentencing until September 18 as a final resort while he considers a motion by his defense to overturn his conviction under the Supreme Court's immunity ruling.
A Manhattan jury convicted Trump on May 30 of falsifying records to cover up a possible sex scandal, making him the primary former president to be convicted of a criminal offense.
Trump's 34-count conviction was based on an try to cover up a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. She claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump ten years earlier, which he denies.
Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump. Prosecutors said Cohen concealed the reimbursements with Trump's knowledge by submitting monthly invoices for retainer payments as his personal attorney. Trump's company recorded the payments to Cohen as legal expenses.
Prosecutors said the payment to Daniels was a part of a broader plot to purchase the silence of people that could have gone public with embarrassing stories accusing Trump of extramarital sex through the 2016 campaign.
Trump has announced that he’ll appeal the conviction, but he is not going to have the ability to accomplish that until the decision is final.
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