In a not terribly surprising turn of events, New York's highest court (the Court of Appeals, because New York dares to be different) has dismissed former President Donald Trump's appeal of the gag order in place on him in relation to the Manhattan criminal trial over falsified business records. 

Judge Juan Merchan entered the order ahead of the trial (which ended in May), revised the order post-trial, but has left the remainder of it, prohibiting Trump from commenting publicly regarding the prosecutors, court staff, or their families (aside from District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Merchan himself), in place pending sentencing, which is now set in November. 

BREAKING: Judge Merchan Partially Lifts Gag Order on Donald Trump

New York Appeals Court Upholds Gag Order in Trump Business Records Case

Trump appealed Merchan's ruling keeping the pared-down gag order in effect. The appellate court denied that appeal in early August, and Trump appealed then to the Court of Appeals, which has now said: No.

New York’s high court tossed out former President Trump’s appeal of the gag order in his hush money criminal case Thursday. 

The gag order, which remains in partial effect ahead of Trump’s sentencing, bars the former president from making public remarks about prosecutors involved in the case or their families. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) and Judge Juan Merchan remain fair game. 

In a brief order, the court said “no substantial constitutional question is directly involved” and that it would dismiss Trump’s appeal. 

The order is, indeed, very brief. It can be found on page 12 at this link and reads: 

Appeal dismissed without costs, by the Court sua sponte, upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved. Chief Judge Wilson and Judge Halligan took no part.

Trump maintains that the gag order, while minimized at this point, violates his First Amendment rights. His campaign spokesman indicates they plan to continue challenging the order, which presumably means an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. 

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called the gag order unconstitutional and said Trump would “continue to fight against” it. 

“The Democrats are trying to unlawfully gag President Trump, the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, because they know that he is dominating this election, will win on November 5th, and will Make America Great Again!” Cheung said.