Donald Trump Gag Order Leaves Republicans Outraged: 'Insanity'

Republican commentators have reacted in disgust to reports that a gagging order may be placed on Donald Trump to prevent him from commenting on his indictment, describing it as "insanity" and "despicable."

Legal experts have said it is "extremely likely" that such an order will be placed on the former president once he is arraigned. Trump is expected to surrender to law enforcement on Tuesday.

Asked to comment on the talk of a gagging order, a spokesperson for the New York Supreme Court told Newsweek the indictment was a pending criminal matter, and so did not wish to comment "on wild speculation and unsubstantiated claims."

Trump was indicted on Thursday night, following a vote by a grand jury, which had heard testimony about alleged hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Though the charges against him have yet to be made public, two anonymous sources with knowledge of the case told the Associated Press that he is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony.

The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, had been investigating Trump over his alleged involvement in a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by his then-lawyer Michael Cohen ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was allegedly paid $130,000 by Cohen to stay quiet about her alleged affair in 2006 with Trump. Cohen has previously said he was reimbursed by Trump.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and has repeatedly claimed the investigation into him was politically motivated, noting Bragg's affiliation to the Democratic Party. The ex-president, who also denies having an affair with Daniels, has described the case as a "witch-hunt" and a "fake case."

Trump is expected to deliver some remarks to supporters on Tuesday in Florida, after returning from New York City, his campaign told AP on Sunday, in a bid to project a sense of strength in the face of the charges as he continues to run in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

However, he may not be able to tell them much. Duncan Levin, a criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, told Insider on Friday that it was "extremely likely that there will be a gag order in the case."

"Gag orders are very common in criminal cases, particularly in cases where there is an enormous amount of pretrial publicity like this one," he added.

The person expected to be responsible for deciding the conditions of Trump's release is Juan Merchan, a New York State Supreme Court justice, who the former president said "hates me" and was "hand picked" by the prosecutors. Others noted that attacking the judge was not the "smartest move," and suggested it would make a gag order more likely.

On Sunday, the Daily Mail reported that Trump's legal team was preparing for a gag order, with a source telling the newspaper that they were "considering added a First Amendment lawyer to the effort to combat this and will fight it all the way."

A gag order is issued by a court to restrict information being made public about the case it is overseeing, usually designed to prevent the release of information that might alter the outcome of the case or parties from commenting on the case. Under New York law, breaching such an order could be ruled contempt, which is punishable by a fine up to $1,000, 30 days in prison, or both at the court's discretion.

While a gag order would look to limit the public discourse about the case—which is already in unprecedented territory, with Trump being the first former president to face a criminal indictment—Republicans and Trump allies have joined in his claims that the case is politically motivated, and argued that such an order would deny the former president his right to free speech.

Laura Loomer, a conservative activist and former Republican congressional candidate, described reports of a gag order as "INSANITY", adding in a tweet: "This is exactly what they did to Roger Stone! Free speech is dead!"

Stone was Trump's long-term informal adviser who faced a gagging order during a separate criminal case in 2019 over allegations of misdirecting an investigation into claims of Russian election manipulation. Stone was convicted of seven felony offenses but his sentence was commuted by Trump in 2020.

Stone wrote on Sunday that a gag order on Trump "would be unconstitutional and clear election interference," in an apparent reference to his own trial.

"It is never a good idea to suspend the Constitution in order to get your political enemies," Richard Grenell, a political commentator and former acting director of national intelligence under Trump, said. "The ruling party is OUT OF CONTROL."

Meanwhile, Jenna Ellis, a conservative lawyer who has previously worked for Trump, said "sick leftists" did not want Trump to speak, which she added was "despicable."

Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for the Manhattan D.A.'s office via direct message on Monday.

Trump previously appeared to suggest in social media posts that supporters should protest his arrest, raising security concerns around the Manhattan district attorney's office. So far, any protests have yet to materialize.

Bragg told DA staff in March to ignore the public commentary about the case and calls for protests. In an email, he said he would "not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law" and that "we will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly."

Despite the chance that Trump will not be allowed to publicly discuss the case, early polling suggests he has seen a rise in support among Republican voters in the 2024 presidential primaries since being charged, and his campaign said on Friday it had raised $4 million in the 24 hours since the indictment was announced.