The New York state judge presiding over the criminal hush money case against Donald Trump issued an order Monday restricting the former president from posting about some evidence in the case on social media.
In his order, Judge Juan Merchan largely sided with the Manhattan district attorney by limiting what Trump can publicly disclose about new evidence from the prosecution before the case goes to trial.
Merchan’s order said that anyone with access to the evidence being turned over to Trump’s team from state prosecutors “shall not copy, disseminate or disclose” the material to third parties, including social media platforms, “without prior approval from the court.”
It also singles out Trump, saying he is allowed to review sensitive “Limited Dissemination Materials” from prosecutors only in the presence of his lawyers, and “shall not be permitted to copy, photograph, transcribe, or otherwise independently possess the Limited Dissemination Materials.”
The ruling largely tracks a request for a protective order from the Manhattan district attorney’s office that Trump’s attorneys had complained was “extremely restrictive.”
Trump’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records last month and has pleaded not guilty.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
