A Manhattan judge restricted former President Donald Trump from posting on social media Monday about the criminal investigation into whether alleged hush money payments were made via forged business records, according to CNN.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office asked the judge presiding over the case in late April to limit Trump’s ability to post information regarding the investigation into alleged hush money payments to former porn star actress Stormy Daniels, according to CNN. Judge Juan Merchan approved the order, restricting the former president from publishing evidence gathered through discovery on social media apps like Truth Social, Facebook, Twitter and several more.
Trump’s counsel pushed back against the proposed protective order last week, arguing that it infringed on the former president’s First Amendment rights, CNN reported. They also complained of the restrictive nature of the order regarding how much of the witnesses’ cellphone content Trump could review.
The protective order was proposed partly due to Trump’s repeated posts on social media app Truth Social criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the hush money case, according to CNN.
The former president’s attorney moved to put the case into the federal court on May 4, arguing that the allegations relate to his role as president, according to CNN. (RELATED: ‘Open Season On Any Politician’: Trump Indictment ‘Lowers The Bar’ For Other Prosecutions, Experts Say)
The Manhattan grand jury voted on March 30 to indict Trump, and he pleaded not guilty to 34 charges on April 4. The years-long investigation follows the $130,000 in alleged hush money payments, made by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen prior to his 2016 victory, to ensure Daniels would keep quiet about an alleged affair, and whether the former president paid Cohen back via forging business records.
Trump’s team did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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