Trump wants judge to lift gag order after verdict

Lawyers for former US President Donald Trump have asked the judge overseeing his hush-money case in New York to lift his gag order now that the trial has concluded.

In a letter sent to Justice Juan Merchan on Monday they argued that the court's concerns "do not justify continued restrictions" on Trump's free speech rights.

The prosecutor in the historic case - where Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records - is pressing the judge to keep the order in place, "at least through the sentencing hearing".

The gag order was issued on 26 March, banning Trump from speaking publicly about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff and their family members.

He is free to speak about Justice Merchan and District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in their letter that Trump should enjoy “unrestrained campaign advocacy”.

They said his case is "made even stronger" after his political opponent, US President Joe Biden, spoke publicly about the case.

They added that Trump is currently unable to defend himself against "continued public attacks" by witnesses for the prosecution, like his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen and adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.

The letter also cited Trump's participation in the first presidential debate against Mr Biden, scheduled for 27 June.

Trump will be sentenced by Judge Merchan on 11 July, four days before he is officially declared the Republican party's presidential nominee.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said in its letter that the gag order was not put in place only "to avoid threats to the fairness of the trial itself", but "to protect the integrity of the proceedings and the fair administration of justice". That would extend to sentencing as well as the "resolution of any post-trial motions".

It added that it will submit a longer written response once Trump files a formal motion to lift the gag order.

Trump's team made repeated requests to lift it throughout the trial, but those were denied by the judge.

During the trial Judge Merchan fined Trump $10,000 (£7,800) for violating the gag order, and threatened to jail him if he continued.

"The last thing I want to consider is jail," Judge Merchan told him in court. "You are [the] former president and possibly the next president."

"Your continued willful violation of the court’s order…constitutes a direct attack…and will not be allowed to continue," he said.

The order still permits Trump to criticise District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case against Trump, and Judge Merchan.

Prosecutors had argued that the gag order was needed to “protect the integrity of this criminal proceeding and avoid prejudice to the jury".

On Friday, Trump told reporters that he believed the gag order should have expired at the conclusion of the trial, and that his lawyers were seeking clarity from Judge Merchan.

"I'm under a gag order, nasty gag order," he said at Trump Tower after the verdict.

Referring to Cohen, a star witness for the prosecution, he said: "I'm not allowed to use his name because of the gag order."

Also on Friday, Mr Biden referred to Trump as a "convicted felon", telling reporters at the White House, "it's literally driving him crazy".