The judge overseeing the federal case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Wednesday issued a gag order to prevent lawyers, defendants, and witnesses from making public statements that could prejudice the jury.
“In order to safeguard defendants’ rights to a fair trial, and to ensure that the court has the ability to seat a jury that has not been tainted by pretrial publicity, all interested participants in the matter, including the parties, any potential witnesses, and counsel for the parties and the witnesses, are hereby ordered to refrain from making statements to the media or in public settings that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case,” Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote.
Since the trial began last week, Jackson has taken repeated steps to prevent either party from whipping the high-profile trial into a media event, last week criticizing one of Manafort’s lawyers for telling the press that the charges against his client, which include conspiracy against the United States, money laundering, and failing to register as a foreign agent, were “ridiculous.”
“This is a criminal trial, and it’s not a public relations campaign,” she said.
The gag order does not prevent parties to the trial from making any public statements, just anything that could be deemed prejudicial, and former prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg told Politico it’s unlikely to have much impact.
“It doesn’t apply to the president, and he’s the one who’s going to be shooting off his mouth on this more than anyone else,” he said.
