New York Court of Appeals rejects Trump's request to lift gag order in his case

The New York Court of Appeals refused Thursday to lift the gag order in Donald Trump's case regarding irregular payments to actress Stormy Daniels. This order prevents the former Republican president from speaking publicly about any details of the judicial process that ended with him being found guilty of 34 counts of first-degree document falsification.

The New York court assured that "no substantial constitutional question is directly involved" in Donald Trump's petition on the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan. Even if the trial is over, neither Trump nor his legal team can talk about the witnesses the prosecution presented in the case. The Republican has decided to appeal the verdict.

Trump's defense accuses Judge Merchan of making an order that goes against the First Amendment, as this case is one with considerable relevance to the public and that it is going on in the middle of the presidential campaign, with Trump being the main Republican candidate a few weeks before the Republican National Convention is held.

Trump's campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement reported by Fox News that "President Trump and his legal team will continue to fight against the unconstitutional Gag Order imposed by Justice Merchan."

"The Gag Order wrongfully silences the leading candidate for President of the United States, President Trump, at the height of his campaign. The Gag Order applies only to President Trump and not to any of his political opponents, critics, or even Crooked Joe Biden," said Cheung.

"The Election Interfering Gag Order violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and all American voters, who have a fundamental right to hear his message," he added.