Former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman on Wednesday called the gag order against former President Donald Trump in his New York criminal case "so unusual."
"This never happens," Akerman said while appearing on CNN, speaking about the gag order against Trump issued by New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
"In over 50 years of law practice, both as a prosecutor [and] a defense lawyer, it's not done. And the reason it's not done is because once you start disparaging the judge, disparaging people in the courtroom, you're putting yourself in harm's way because that's the judge who's gonna sentence you. It's the judge who can send you to jail or give you probation," Akerman said.
"Donald Trump is the only one I've ever seen do this and do it in such an outrageous way."
Akerman said that Trump is forcing the courts to "deal with where does the First Amendment stop and where do we need a gag order in order to protect the judicial system."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
The context:
On Tuesday, Justice Merchan issued a gag order against Trump in his criminal trial involving alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
The gag order bars Trump from making or directing statements to many involved in the case, including possible witnesses and any possible jurors.
Just prior to the gag order, Trump attacked Merchan and his daughter on Truth Social, saying, "Judge Juan Merchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome...
"His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for Adam "Shifty" Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden."
What we know:
Bragg's office filed a lawsuit against Trump last April alleging that the former president "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."
Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing in the case and said on Tuesday that he "would have no problem testifying."
Views:
Responding to the gag order on social media, former assistant U.S. attorney Glenn Kirschner, a frequent Trump critic, said, "First of all, I applaud any gag order that is put in place that is designed to shut Donald Trump up, specifically to stop him from endangering everybody who is involved in the endeavor of trying to hold Donald Trump accountable for his crimes."
"Donald Trump is endlessly endangering witnesses and their family members, jurors, prosecutors and their family members, members of the court and the court staff. And it is beyond me why we continue to sacrifice the safety of everybody involved in trying to hold Donald Trump accountable for his crimes instead of holding Donald Trump accountable for his endlessly dangerous, violence-inspiring rhetoric," Kirschner said.
What's next:
Earlier this month, Judge Merchan set a trial date for April 15 in the New York criminal case. Trump has said that he plans to appeal the date and questioned if there will be any trial as he continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Update 3/27/24, 10:11 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 3/27/24, 10:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Correction 3/27/24, 2:14 p.m. ET: This story has been corrected to clarify that the gag order does not prevent Trump from talking about Alvin Bragg.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
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