(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to slam a recent hearing in the New York County Supreme Court. In a fired-up post, Trump accused the court of violating his First Amendment rights during the contentious proceeding.
According to Trump’s Wednesday post, the court imposed a trial date that could disrupt his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. The trial, scheduled for March 25, coincides with the primary race in 25 states, as reported by NBC News on Monday. Trump torched the chosen date as “very unfair” and accused the “Radical Left Democrats” of plotting what he referred to as “ELECTION INTERFERENCE.” He also warned that such a situation had never occurred in the United States.
The virtual hearing marked Trump’s first appearance since pleading not guilty in April to 34 felony criminal charges brought by the Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg. The District Attorney’s Office accused Trump of violating state law when he falsified business records related to hush payments.
Trump was accompanied by his attorney, Todd Blanche, who told Judge Juan Merchan that the former president’s free speech was being violated by the court’s order that said documents must be kept private.
Merchan, a Democrat who has previously made donations to radical leftist political campaigns, responded by saying that the court order was not “a gag order” and clarified that Trump was “free to campaign and do anything that does not violate the order.”
The virtual hearing was recommended by anti-Trump prosecutors to review court terms and maintain the confidentiality of court documents.
Bragg’s prosecutors argued that if Trump were to speak about the case in violation of the court’s protective order, they could pursue charges of “Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree.” Trump’s attorneys raised concerns about the filing being “extremely restrictive,” but Merchan dismissed those concerns.
The former president has repeatedly accused the Manhattan District Attorney’s office of plotting a witch hunt against him. For instance, in 2021, when Bragg was running for district attorney, he said that “convicting Trump” was the “number one issue.”
