The Daily Fuckup

Judge Juan Merchan on April 1, 2024, expanded the gag order in Donald Trump’s New York hush-money case to include family members of the court and the district attorney. The move came a day after Trump made new social media attacks aimed at Merchan’s daughter, according to the court’s written order. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/pdfs/2024/2024_31375.pdf))

The amendment did not rewrite the whole restriction from scratch. Merchan said the March 26 order already limited extrajudicial statements about witnesses, counsel, court staff, and the district attorney’s staff. The April 1 ruling added a new layer: Trump was now barred from making or directing public statements about family members of the court or the district attorney if the comments were intended to interfere with the case, or if that interference was likely to result. The order also warned that violations could bring sanctions. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/pdfs/2024/2024_31375.pdf))

In the decision, Merchan wrote that the March 26 order did not cover family members of the court or the district attorney, and he said Trump’s recent attacks made that omission a problem. He pointed to a pattern of attacks on family members of judges and lawyers involved in Trump’s cases and said those comments served no legitimate purpose. The judge also noted that the court had to protect the integrity of the proceeding and the safety of people called to take part in it. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/pdfs/2024/2024_31375.pdf))

The new order still left Trump room to respond to political attacks, and it did not bar him from speaking about the broader case. But it made clear that the court was drawing a tighter line around attacks on relatives of people connected to the trial. That is the legal boundary Trump crossed here, and it is the one the judge moved to reinforce. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/pdfs/2024/2024_31375.pdf))