The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office this week asked a judge presiding over the New York criminal case against Donald Trump to “clarify or confirm” that his earlier order restricting the former president’s public statements about the case and those involved applies to family members.
In a letter dated Thursday and acknowledged as received by the court on Friday, prosecutors asked that the court weigh in on whether a partial gag order issued by Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday “protects family members of the Court, the District Attorney, and all other individuals mentioned in the Order” and asked that the court “direct that defendant immediately desist from attacks on family members.”
Trump’s attorneys responded in opposition in their own letter on Friday, arguing that the “express terms of the gag order do not apply in the manner claimed” by prosecutors.
Trump has blasted Merchan as “biased and conflicted” while also taking aim at his daughter for a social media post that a court spokesperson said was wrongly attributed to her.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.