Manhattan DA slams Trump for repeatedly attacking the judge's daughter in the Stormy Daniels hush money trial and demands the gag order is expanded

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg asked a New York judge to expand his gag order of Donald Trump after the former president renewed attacks on the judge's daughter and posted an image on a pickup truck that showed President Biden bound and gagged.

'Defendant's dangerous, violent, and reprehensible rhetoric fundamentally threatens the integrity of these proceedings and is intended to intimidate witnesses and trial participants alike— including this Court,' wrote Bragg in a new filing Monday that made a reference to the attack on Judge Juan Merchan's daughter.

The 'supplemental filing' also asks Judge Merchan to warn Trump 'that his recent conduct is contumacious and direct that defendant immediately desist from attacks on family members.'

Former President Donald Trump  attacked the judge overseeing the Stormy Daniels case, while also going after his daughter. DA Alvin Bragg in a new filing seeks to expand the gag order on Trump and says he is 'incapable of self-regulating'

Bragg acknowledges that that existing order, which prohibits the former president from making statements about witnesses, prosecutors, or their family members if meant to interfere with the case, might not cover Trump's latest conduct.

'To the extent that the original March 26 Order did not already prohibit this behavior, this Court can and should clarify or extend the Order to protect family members of the Court on the record described below, and should warn defendant that any future disregard of the Order will result in sanctions under Judiciary Law,' he wrote.

That came after a former federal judge said Trump should be jailed for his violations, and called for him to 'bring his toothbrush.' 

Trump has repeatedly gone after Merchan's daughter and demanded Merchan recuse himself from the case, citing her work for a digital advocacy firm that does work for Democratic clients.

Trump railed against Judge Juan Merchan, while calling him 'distinguished looking'

DA Alvin Bragg wants to expand the judge's gag order on Trump and have the court tell Trump to 'immediately desist'

The clash comes weeks before the Stormy Daniels 'hush' money case is set to start

Trump kept up the attacks over the weekend, attacking Merchan's daughter by name and calling her a 'Rabid Trump Hater, who has admitted to having conversations with her father about me.'

The filing calls Trump 'totally incapable of self-regulating,' and cites past posts about 'death and destruction.'

Trump also posted a video image of a pickup truck that had a paint job of Biden gagged and hog-tied.

'That picture was on the back of a pickup truck that was traveling down the highway. Democrats and crazed lunatics have not only called for despicable violence against President Trump and his family, they are actually weaponizing the justice system against him,' said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.

Trump has blasted the gag order and says it violates his First Amendment rights, prompting Bragg to respond there is 'no constitutional right to target the family of this court.'

Bragg also criticises Trump for posting an image of Loren Merchan, and says attacks are based on 'transparent falsehoods.' It references Trump's claim that Merchan had posted an image of him behind bars, based on an X account with a small number of followers that is linked to her X account. Bragg calls it a 'fraudulent impersonation,' and cites and article about Trump spreading an 'apparent hoax.'

Trump shot back in his own filing. 'Contrary to the People’s argument, the gag order—which President Trump reserves all rights to appeal—plainly does not apply to “family members of the Court, [and] the District Attorney,” wrote lawyer Todd Blanche. 

Trump's filing calls the gag an 'unlawful prior restraint that improperly restricts campaign advocacy by the presumptive Republican nominee and leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election.'

It also argues that the Court 'violated Canon 3 by making public statements on the case,' and cites a quote by court staff debunking Trump's claim about the judge's daughter.

In one Twist, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche repeats the substance of the conflict of interest attacks regarding Blanche's daughter and says any gag would also apply to the court

'The gag order does not prohibit the public statements that are the basis for the Motion. The pertinent provision of the gag order, subparagraph b, is limited to “family members of any counsel or staff member,” Blanche writes. 

In one passage, Blanche manages to repeat the substance of Trump's conflict of interest attacks regarding Merchan's daughter, while also arguing any expanded gag would apply to the court itself. 

'President Trump’s comments concerning Your Honor’s daughter are, properly understood, a criticism of the Court’s prior decision not to recuse itself,' he writes, referencing last year's failure to get the judge to step back from the case.

'The People’s attempted distinction between criticisms of Your Honor—which are fully protected by the First and Sixth Amendments, as explained by the D.C. Circuit, and not covered by the gag order—and references to family members of the Court is thus illusory, because one legitimate and constitutionally protected criticism of the Court relates to the Court’s failure to recuse notwithstanding one member of the Court’s immediate family having a financial interest in all ongoing attacks on President Trump, including this case, by virtue of her senior role at Authentic. Thus, extending the gag order to the Court’s family would necessarily extend the gag order to cover the Court itself.'