Notably, attorney Susan Necheles is absent from Trump’s latest lawsuit, raising speculation that she may no longer be part of the former president’s legal team.
Necheles made headlines at Trump’s secret trial for his complicated interrogation of adult film star Stormy Daniels.
His call is not based on a Tuesday court request to lift the silence imposed on Trump through Judge Juan Merchan. The petition is signed by Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, Trump’s other two lawyers in the financial silence case.
Newsweek reached out to Necheles and Blanche’s email for comment Wednesday.
Merchan had barred Trump from commenting on jurors or witnesses in the trial. The ruling ruled that Trump had violated the gag order 10 times during the trial and fined him $1,000 for each offense. He also warned him that he could jail him if he broke the gag order once again.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has been tried in New York on 34 counts of falsifying records of secret invoices made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. On May 30, a jury found him guilty of all 34 counts.
Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor who has written two books about Trump’s investigations, wrote Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, that the signature of one of Trump’s lawyers is not listed on the gag request.
“Trump is going to have New York’s gag order lifted. One of his lawyers does NOT point it out,” he said, without directly naming Necheles.
Ron Filipkowski, editor of the liberal newspaper MeidasTouch, speculated in X that Necheles may have left Trump’s legal team, joking that he couldn’t stand the “smell. “
MeidasTouch also published an article on its website speculating about Necheles’ conceivable departure from Team Trump.
“The conspicuous absence of a Trump lawyer’s signature raises questions about the internal dynamics within Trump’s legal team as he attempts to break the silence,” the article said.
“Your omission in this letter may simply show that you disagree with Trump’s new legal maneuver, or it may simply mean that you are absolutely excluded from the team, voluntarily or unintentionally,” the text adds.
Johnathan Ford, co-host of the political news podcast Ford News, also noted that Necheles did not point out the request to impose silence. Evie CG, a user, posted that Necheles “is fed up” with Trump “ending his credibility and his career. “
“Too late, Susan. Too late,” he added.
In their written request, Bove and Blanche told Judge Merchan that the gag order was no longer mandatory now that the trial is over. They wrote that there was no other justification for denying Trump First Amendment rights.
Merchan will first seek a reaction from prosecutors before making a decision, but prosecutors will most likely ask that the gag order remain in effect until Trump is sentenced on July 11.
Nechels passionately questioned Stormy Daniels during the trial, as Trump’s team felt it was more productive for a woman to question Daniels.
During cross-examination, Necheles claimed Daniels had fabricated an allegation that a Trump supporter had threatened her in a parking lot to gain publicity.
“Did this guy exist?” Necheles told Daniels.
“He existed,” Daniels replied.
“The total story made up?” said Necheles.
“None of this was made up,” Daniels responded.
He also said Daniels had made up his claim that he had sex with Trump to make money. Daniels replied that she made money from it, but she also charged him money.
Sean O’Driscoll is a senior crime and court reporter for Ireland-based Newsweek. Its objective is to inform about U. S. legislation. He has covered human rights and extremism extensively. Sean joined Newsweek in 2023 and has worked for The Guardian in the past. The New York Times, BBC, Vice and others from the Middle East. He specialized in human rights issues in the Persian Gulf and conducted a three-month investigation into labor rights violations for the New York Times. In the past it was founded in New York City for 10 years. He is a graduate of Dublin City University and is a qualified New York lawyer and Irish notary.
You can reach Sean by emailing s. odriscoll@newsweek. com. Languages: English and French.
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