(DCNF)—A New York appeals court rejected on Thursday former President Donald Trump’s effort to lift the remainder of his gag order.
Trump sought to have the order lifted after he was convicted in May on 34 counts for falsifying business records. Judge Juan Merchan partially lifted the order in June but left in place key restrictions, including one that prevents Trump from criticizing prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
The court agreed that the end of the trial did not constitute “a change in circumstances” that warranted terminating the order, noting that the “fair administration of justice necessarily includes sentencing.”
“Contrary to petitioner’s contentions, the People’s evidentiary submissions in opposition to his motion in Supreme Court demonstrate that threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat,” the court held.
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled to take place on September 18. Merchan delayed the date, initially scheduled for July, in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling finding presidents immune from prosecution for “official acts” taken in office.
Trump’s attorneys tried this week to file papers with the court to immediately lift the order in light of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming a presidential candidate, the Associated Press reported.
“It is unconscionable that Harris can speak freely about this case, but President Trump cannot,” Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche wrote in the papers, according to the AP.