[desertsolitaire]

Interesting question to all here legally minded. Does the outrageous Merchan gag order against President Trump end when the trial ends, or can Merchan order it to continue on into forever perpetuity? Or at least until all appeals are exhausted?

[mware]

Defense just ended their closing arguments.

[Sidebar Moderator]

It expires after the verdict by default.

[Sidebar Moderator]

The gag order itself is being appealed, but the cowardly appellate court is running out the clock, in hopes of declaring the appeal a moot point.

[Verginius Rufus]

We'll see what Merchan does about the gag order (assuming the verdict is not "not guilty" but there is probably only a 1% chance of that). Merchan is playing Calvinball--he makes up the rules as he goes along.

If there is a hung jury, Bragg will probably announce immediately that he will retry the case (and we will be told that 10 or 11 of the jurors believed that Trump was guilty).