On Monday (May 8), the New York state court judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s hush money case issued a protective order that restricts the former President’s use of social media.
Judge Juan Merchan sided with Manhattan prosecutors, ordering that the materials and information provided to Trump’s defense team were only meant to help the defense prepare.
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying company records in his alleged roles to hide hush money payments given to adult movie star Stormy Daniels in the fall of 2016 to ensure she didn’t publicize an alleged affair that occurred between the two decades earlier.
The payment was made by Trump’s then-attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
NBC News also reported that the order states that anyone with access to evidence against the Trump team would not be allowed to “copy, disseminate or disclose” the materials, including on social media, without court approval.
The order stated that Trump could only view certain sensitive information in the presence of his lawyers and that he was not allowed to copy, photograph, transcribe, or otherwise independently possess restricted materials.
According to a previous report by NBC News, last month, prosecutors had requested Merchan to limit the evidence Trump could use publicly in the investigation, asking for “safeguards” to protect the integrity of the materials.
Trump’s legal team opposed it, saying it would “infringe” on Trump’s First Amendment rights.
Trump is yet to make any comments about Merchan’s order.
