Trump to face criminal charges March 2024 in NYC court, judge officially issues gag order

Justice Juan Merchan in Manhattan state court will reportedly place restrictions on Donald Trump relating to grand jury minutes, witness statements, and prosecutorial materials that will be given to Trump's defense team during the court hearing on Tuesday, during which Trump will be appearing remotely while his lawyers are present in the courtroom, Reuters reports.

Prosecutors requested the gag order to be placed on Trump due to his "history of attacks on social media" and don't want the former Republican President to "harass witnesses," according to the outlet.

On May 8, State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan ordered that anyone with access to evidence in the case cannot "copy, disseminate or disclose” the evidence to any third party, including social media, without court approval.

The judge said that Trump is only allowed to review "limited" materials "in the presence of defense counsel, but the defendant shall not be permitted to copy, photograph, transcribe or otherwise independently possess the evidence," according to Bloomberg.

The order also states that "any materials and information provided by the People to the Defense in accordance with their discovery obligations ... shall be used solely for the purposes of preparing a defense in this matter."

Additionally, Trump is also forbidden from publicly discussing witnesses or evidence in the case.

The gag order will largely prevent Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential election, from defending the allegations made against him, while his opponents are welcome to speak freely on Trump's criminal indictment.

Prosecutors have stated that they will provide Trump's lawyers with additional documents once the order is in place on Tuesday.

In March, Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. The former president pleaded not guilty to 34 charges and denied having an extramarital affair.