A judge in New York issued a gag order on Tuesday prohibiting former President Donald Trump from making public comments about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors, prior to the trial against him for payments allegedly intended to buy the silence of the porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Judge Juan M. Merchan cited Trump's previous comments about him and others involved in the case, as well as the impending trial start date — April 15 — to grant the prosecution's request for a gag order.
Prosecutors sought such an order citing Trump's "long history of making public and inflammatory comments" about people involved in his legal cases.
Daniels denounced in a documentary released this week that he has faced increasingly violent threats after last year's indictment against the former president.
The adult film star said in
Stormy
that
Her life was transformed in 2018, when she publicly claimed that she had had sexual relations with Trump more than a decade ago.
His statements gained
momentum
again in March 2023, he said, when the former president was accused of falsifying business records, in relation to payments he made to the actress in 2016.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied having sexual relations with Daniels.
Daniels is expected to testify at Trump's trial in New York.
A judge recently rejected the former president's efforts to prevent her from taking the stand.
Trump faces criminal charges in three other cases, none of which have trial start dates.
With information from
The Associated Press
and
NBC News
.