In a significant development, Manhattan district attorney's request for a limited gag order on former President Donald Trump has been granted by state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan. The order restricts Trump from publicly attacking individuals involved in the upcoming hush money trial, including Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.

The judge deemed Trump's caustic diatribes against his enemies to go "far beyond defending himself" and cited his lengthy history of verbal onslaughts, some of which had violent undertones. Prosecutors highlighted a Truth Social post depicting Trump wielding a baseball bat at the back of the district attorney's head as evidence of the concerning nature of his statements.

Justice Merchan's order prohibits Trump from making comments or directing others to make comments about known or potential witnesses, prosecutors involved in the case, as well as the DA and court staff and their families. The judge emphasized that Trump's statements were threatening, inflammatory, and denigrating to various individuals, including officials, court staff, and private citizens.

The consequences of Trump's statements extended beyond fear for those targeted, as they led to increased security measures and resources being allocated to investigate and protect individuals and their families. Refuting Trump's assertion that the recent remarks about line prosecutors were made a year ago, Merchan pointed to the ex-president's press conference on Monday where he disparaged one of them as a "radical left" prosecutor handpicked by President Biden.

Additionally, the order prevents Trump from commenting on jurors or prospective jurors, whose identities have been ruled to remain anonymous to the public. Merchan's decision to proceed with jury selection on April 15 further rejected Trump's attempt to delay the trial.

Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, and a spokeswoman for the district attorney declined to comment on the gag order. Notably, the order does not prevent Trump from publicly speaking about Judge Merchan or his relatives, whom he has targeted online before, including comments made on Tuesday morning.

The judge made it clear that such attacks were on his radar, as he referenced Trump's comments about him "and a family member thereof." It is worth mentioning that Trump is already under a gag order in his D.C. election subversion case and has previously violated a gag order in his civil fraud trial, resulting in fines of $15,000.

Facing multiple criminal matters, the 77-year-old Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in his Manhattan case. The charges allege that he concealed checks to Michael Cohen as reimbursement for paying off Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter during his presidential campaign in 2016.

In response to the gag order, Michael Cohen, a former loyalist turned witness against Trump, welcomed the ruling, emphasizing the relentless assault he has faced from Trump's MAGA supporters. Cohen predicted that Trump would likely attempt to defy the gag order by enlisting others within his circle to carry out his bidding, regardless of the consequences.

With preparations for the hush money trial underway and the imposition of the gag order, the legal battle between Trump and his accusers is expected to intensify, setting the stage for a closely watched courtroom showdown in the coming weeks.