Trump Can Now Criticize Witnesses Who Testified Against Him, Judge Rules

A judge on Tuesday loosened a gag order on Donald J. Trump in his Manhattan criminal case, allowing the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee to criticize witnesses who took the stand against him as well as others involved in the trial that ended last month with his conviction.

The judge, Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Mr. Trump’s trial in April and May, ruled that Mr. Trump is now free to complain about the prosecution’s witnesses, including his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen. Once Mr. Trump is sentenced on July 11, the judge ruled, he can publicly assail others who are currently covered by the gag order, including prosecutors and their relatives.

Mr. Trump is still subject to a different order prohibiting him from releasing the identities of jurors, or publicly attacking them by name. But under Justice Merchan’s ruling, Mr. Trump can now complain broadly about the jury that convicted him.

Justice Merchan imposed the gag order before the trial began, as Mr. Trump berated Mr. Cohen, the prosecutors and the Manhattan jury pool, which leans heavily Democratic. During the trial, Mr. Trump violated the order 10 times, resulting in $10,000 in fines.

In late May, the jury convicted Mr. Trump on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his cover up a sex scandal during his 2016 presidential run.

At the core of the case was a hush-money payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels. Mr. Cohen paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 to silence her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, who then falsified the records to conceal his repayment of Mr. Cohen.

This is a developing story and will be updated.