The New York state court judge overseeing the hush-money case involving former President Trump issued a protective order restricting the former president’s social media usage Monday.
Judge Juan Merchan sided with Manhattan prosecutors with an order stating that material and information provided to the defense team for Trump is “solely for the purposes of preparing a defense in this matter,” NBC News reported.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records over his alleged role in a hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election. He pleaded not guilty.
NBC News also reported that the order said that anyone with access to the evidence handed over to Trump’s team “shall not copy, disseminate or disclose” the material, including on social media, without getting approval by the court.
The order reportedly said that Trump can view some sensitive information only in the presence of his lawyers, and “shall not be permitted to copy, photograph, transcribe, or otherwise independently possess the Limited Dissemination Materials.”
NBC News reported last month that the prosecutors asked Merchan to limit what evidence Trump can publicly use in the investigation, requesting “safeguards that will protect the integrity of the materials.” Trump’s legal team argued against it, saying that it would “infringe” on Trump’s First Amendment right, according to NBC.
The Hill has reached out to Trump’s legal team and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for comment.