Former President Donald Trump was hit with a new gag order this week in the New York City case involving adult film star Stormy Daniels, due to go to trial in April.
Trump has been accused of allegedly falsifying business records relating to hush-money payments to Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign in a case brought on by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has said the case is politically motivated against him. Daniels alleged that she had sex with Trump in 2006, which he has denied.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the criminal trial, imposed a gag order on Trump on Tuesday, barring him from making public statements about those involved in the case, excluding Merchan and Bragg. Daniels and Trump’s former lawyer Micheal Cohen are protected under the order.
However, a recent post on social media has claimed that Trump named Merchan’s daughter in a Truth Social post after the gag was imposed.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
The Claim
A TikTok by user chasingoz, posted on March 27, 2024, viewed 84,000 times, claimed that Trump had named Judge Merchan’s daughters name in full on Truth Social.
“So in the wee hours of the overnight, the former president of the United States got on Truth Social and decided to put up a post threatening and naming the judge’s daughter in his criminal trial that starts on April 15th,” chasingoz said.
“So he woke up or probably was still awake from yesterday… and he put the judge’s daughter’s whole name, where she works, what she does out there for the world to see. So by early this afternoon, criminal defendant Donald Trump was slapped with a gag order in the same trial. Judge Merchan put some stipulations in place for the former president, who is again, a criminal defendant.
“The parties that are off limits to speak about intimidate, harass, or order somebody else in his sphere to intimidate include, you cannot attack any of the witnesses, you cannot attack any of the prosecutors, court staff, jurors, or their families. It would seem as though the judge’s daughter falls into that category. He’s also banned from posting online about all of the same people.”
The Facts
While Trump, only shortly after the new gag order was imposed, did make comments about Judge Merchan’s daughter, he did not name her.
Among a series of posts on March 27, 2024, Trump referred to Merchan’s daughter as a “senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden.”
He also said that Merchan’s daughter had been “allowed to post pictures of her ‘dream’ of putting me in jail.”
While other Trump allies such as far-right activist Laura Loomer did name the judge’s daughter, none of Trump’s posts have. At best, his posts allowed others to jigsaw-identify her.
The TikTok post also incorrectly claims that the newest gag order prohibits Trump from making comments about Judge Merchan’s family. The gag order does not mention these restrictions.
The Ruling
False.
Donald Trump did not name Judge Merchan’s daughter. He did leave a post which could have, at best, led to jigsaw identification but he did not name her. Another claim in the TikTok video about Trump’s new gag order restricting him from making comments about the judge’s daughter was also incorrect.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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