Former President Trump’s New York Trial Set to Spark Media Frenzy During 2024 Republican Primaries |

Judge Juan Merchan presided over a short hearing on Tuesday, outlining rules regarding Trump’s public commentary on the case and the evidence obtainable by his legal team. Trump interacted with the judge in an open court appearance through a remote video link.

Last month, former US President Donald Trump entered a plea of not guilty to 34 felony charges. These charges allege that he fabricated corporate documents to hide criminal activity related to his 2016 presidential campaign. The criminal charges come as a result of an investigation by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who looked into hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the campaign period. Daniels claimed to have had an affair with Trump, which he denies. To cover it up, payments were allegedly made.

During the session, Trump could be seen chatting and pointing to his lawyer, Todd Blanche, who was seated next to him. While he occasionally reclined and crossed his arms, his voice was not heard. Trump only spoke once to reaffirm that he had a copy of the relevant protection order. He simply said, “Yes, I do.”

According to Trump’s lawyers, the former president remains concerned that the injunction infringes upon his First Amendment rights.

Merchan further affirmed that there is no gag order in place, enabling Trump to speak out in his defence concerning the allegations made in the case.

Earlier this month, Merchan approved a protective order that prevents case information, provided by prosecutors to Trump’s defense team, from being shared or posted on news or social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. The injunction also stops Trump from copying, photographing, or independently possessing evidence designated by the prosecution as “limited dissemination materials”. These materials can be viewed only by Trump and his counsel.

On Tuesday, during the hearing, prosecutors furnished discovery materials to Trump’s attorneys. To allow sufficient time to examine the materials, scheduling deadlines have been postponed.

Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, the prosecution refused to hand over documents to the defence. Instead, they asked the court to instruct the former president on how to handle case materials. Defence motions are due by August 29th, with prosecution responses due by October 10th. The next hearing is scheduled for January 4th, 2024.

The district attorney, potential trial witnesses, and the judge have all been unfavorably criticized by the former president in numerous public statements and social media posts. In their motion for a protective order, the prosecution cited some of Trump’s tweets on Truth Social.

Trump’s legal team submitted a request for the criminal case to be transferred to federal court in Manhattan. They argued that since the alleged crimes relate to Trump’s responsibilities as president, federal court was the appropriate venue. However, the defense’s motion to transfer the case did not stop the state court proceedings.

A hearing in federal court to discuss the transfer was scheduled for next month.