The Daily Fuckup

Judge Juan Merchan partly lifted Donald Trump’s hush-money gag order on June 25, 2024, but he did not dissolve it. The order now allows Trump to speak about witnesses and jurors, while keeping in place a ban on comments aimed at prosecutors, court staff, and their family members until sentencing on July 11.

The ruling reflects a narrower case posture than the one that existed during trial. In the written order, Merchan said the trial had ended with the verdict and that the juror-protection provisions could be terminated. He also said the witness-related restriction no longer needed to remain in force. But he kept the remaining restraint tied to people still involved in the case, writing that the proceedings are not finished until sentence is imposed.

That makes the decision a partial release, not a free pass. Trump can now attack some of the people he could not previously target in public comments, but the court left standing the part of the order that still governs conduct before sentencing. Merchan also said the restrictions had been narrowly tailored and supported by the record, language that underscored why the court had imposed them in the first place even as it narrowed them after the verdict.

The practical effect is straightforward: Trump gained more room to talk, but not enough to claim the court stepped fully aside. The restrictions that remain still cover the prosecution team, court staff, and their families, and they will stay active until sentence is imposed. The order changes the boundaries of what Trump can say, but it does not end the court’s control over the case.