The gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump in his business records trial in Manhattan is "outrageous and unconstitutional," and with there still being no ruling issued about it, it continues to be a "complete violation" of his First Amendment rights, Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, said Wednesday on Newsmax.
"It's even more outrageous when you see witnesses who will be called to the stand in this case out there 24/7 talking about President Trump, slandering him, lying about him, yet the president is unable to defend himself," Leavitt said on "National Report." "The fact that this gag order was imposed just shows the disdain that this Democrat judge has for the president."
Judge Juan Merchan this week opted to reserve his decision on whether Trump had violated his gag order, while prosecutors in the courtroom Tuesday were arguing that Trump's posting of news articles and videos constituted further gag order violations, Leavitt said.
"So now in America, when you're running for president, you can't even repost and reshare what is being said on television about a case that you're being prosecuted in," she said. "It's totally outrageous. Unfortunately, I don't think the judge will rule in our favor because he's a Democrat. He donated money to Joe Biden's campaign, and this entire case is a sham and the gag order is outrageous."
Prosecutors have called for Trump to be fined $1,000 per gag order violation, and to threaten him with jail.
Leavitt said she doesn't think Trump will end up behind bars, but she said Democrats are trying to make it as difficult as possible for him to be a presidential candidate.
"That's what this entire case is about, confining him to the courtroom, stripping him of his First Amendment rights, keeping him off the campaign trail where he can bring his winning message that is resonating with Americans of all backgrounds," Leavitt said.
However, she said Trump will continue to campaign when he can, and that the "morale on our team is still high" because Trump "remains defiant" in the face of "these unprecedented witch hunts."
Leavitt also discussed the presidential race, including the primary in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where just over 100,000 voters still cast ballots for former candidate Nikki Haley, who has been out of the race for months.
"We are seeing a lot of these voters now come home," Leavitt said. "President Trump in many polls has has the major support of Republican voters. He's also leading with independents by double digits. We welcome all Americans, not just Republicans and independents, but also disillusioned Democrats who realize that we cannot have four more years of Joe Biden's chaos and destruction."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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