NEW YORK, June 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Donald Trump has asked a judge to lift
the gag order imposed on him during his New York criminal trial, which saw
him become the first convicted former US president, according to a filing
released Tuesday.

Judge Juan Merchan imposed the limited gag order ahead of the trial,
restricting Trump from commenting publicly on jurors, witnesses, prosecutors
and court staff, later expanding it to include his own family and that of the
prosecutor.

Trump was fined $10,000 by the Manhattan court for breaking the order on 10
occasions -- and threatened with jail for openly flouting the judge's ruling.

Before the gag order was imposed ahead of Trump's trial, the ex-president
repeatedly attacked likely witnesses and the prosecutors via posts on his
Truth Social platform.

Jurors last week found Trump, who is seeking to retake the presidency in this
year's election, guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a sex
scandal in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign.

He will be sentenced on July 11.

A letter sent by Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche to the judge on Monday asked
that Merchan "terminate the gag order restricting president Trump's
extrajudicial statements."

"Now that the trial is concluded, the concerns articulated by the government
and the court do not justify continued restrictions on the First Amendment
rights of president Trump -- who remains the leading candidate in the 2024
presidential election," said Blanche.

Blanche cited comments by Trump's rival President Joe Biden following the
verdict as a reason to lift the gag order.

Biden blasted Trump on Monday saying that with a "convicted felon" seeking
the White House in November, "the campaign entered uncharted territory."