Washington
CNN
—
Former President Donald Trump continues to make false claims about his New York trial.
Trump frequently speaks to media cameras before entering and after exiting the Manhattan courtroom where he is facing charges of falsifying business records.
He has peppered his hallway remarks with inaccurate assertions about a variety of subjects — most frequently about the trial itself.
Here’s a fact check of four false claims and one misleading claim he made about the trial in his courthouse comments last week. (And here’s a link to our fact check of his courthouse falsehoods from the week prior.)
Trump falsely claimed after leaving the courtroom Thursday afternoon that he is not allowed to testify in his own defense – then acknowledged Friday morning that he is indeed allowed to testify.
Trump told reporters Thursday, “I’m not allowed to testify. I’m under a gag order. I guess, right?” He added, “I’m not allowed to testify, because this judge, who’s totally conflicted, has me under an unconstitutional gag order.” He continued by complaining that he’s “not allowed to talk” even when others attack him, then said again, “So I’m not allowed to testify because of an unconstitutional gag order.”
Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. As he noted the next day, he is allowed to testify at the trial; the decision is entirely up to him. Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order, which narrowly restricts his out-of-court speech, does not in any way stop him from testifying. The gag order also does not broadly prevent Trump from talking. He is permitted to speak to the media, speak at campaign events, attack President Joe Biden and other political opponents, and even attack Merchan and the Manhattan district attorney behind the case.
On Friday morning, Trump told reporters as he entered the courtroom: “No, it won’t stop me from testifying. The gag order’s not for testify[ing]. The gag order stops me from talking about people, and responding, when they say things about me.” When court proceedings began shortly after, Merchan told Trump that he has the “absolute” right to testify and that the gag order “does not prohibit you from taking the stand and it does not limit or minimize what you can say.”
Rather, the gag order forbids Trump from three specific categories of speech:
1) Speaking publicly or directing others to speak publicly about known or foreseeable witnesses, specifically about their participation in the case;
2) Speaking publicly or directing others to speak publicly about prosecutors (other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg), members of the district attorney’s staff and the court staff, or family members of any of these people including Bragg, if those statements are made with the intent to interfere with the case;
3) Speaking publicly or directing others to speak publicly about jurors or prospective jurors.
Trump has repeatedly made the gag order sound far broader than it is. He claimed at a Wednesday campaign rally in Michigan that “I’m not even supposed to be, I would say, talking to you, because he gagged me” – though the gag order actually says nothing to prevent him from making a campaign speech.
Merchan wrote in the gag order: “Defendant has a constitutional right to speak to the American voters freely, and to defend…
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