New York's highest court has made a decision to reject former President Donald Trump's appeal on the gag order imposed in his hush money case, as stated in the court's decision list released on Tuesday. The order, issued by Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case against Trump, will therefore remain in effect.

In a separate development, Trump has requested Judge Merchan to lift the gag order prior to his scheduled sentencing in July. The former president was found guilty on 34 counts of business fraud related to hush money payments made to adult film star, Stormy Daniels.

Back in March, just before the trial commenced, Judge Merchan approved prosecutors' request for a gag order, which prohibited Trump from publicly discussing the case's witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or their family members. However, Trump was not restricted from commenting on the judge himself or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

For repeatedly violating the gag order in the early stages of the trial, Trump was slapped with a $10,000 fine and charged with criminal contempt by Judge Merchan. The judge even warned that continued violations could potentially lead to Trump's imprisonment.

Despite the court's ruling, Trump still has a 30-day window to file a motion for leave to appeal, which could potentially provide another opportunity for the case to be reviewed. Court spokesman Gary Spencer shared that the court would make a decision based on this motion.

In their appeal to the court, Trump's legal team argued that the case raised significant constitutional questions of utmost importance. They claimed that the gag order infringed upon Trump's core political speech during his presidential campaign, where he was the leading candidate, thereby violating the fundamental right of American voters to hear from the front-runner on crucial matters of public importance.

Trump's attorneys also highlighted that the case continued to present substantial constitutional questions despite the conclusion of the trial. They pointed out that the gag order did not contain a specific termination date. If the Court of Appeals were to deem the gag order unconstitutional, Trump's legal team stated that it would undermine the basis for the fines imposed on him for violating the order.

In response to Trump's appeal, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged the court to dismiss it, citing Trump's history of making threatening, inflammatory, and denigrating remarks against individuals involved in the trial.

As the legal battle over the gag order continues, the fate of Trump's ability to publicly discuss the hush money case remains uncertain.