Judge cautions Trump regarding ‘inflammatory’ comments ahead of trial

“He is a criminal defendant. He is going to have restrictions like every single other defendant. The fact that the defendant is engaged in a political campaign is not going to allow him any greater or lesser latitude than any defendant in a criminal case.”

Judge Tanya Chuktan closed the hearing with a promise that the case would advance like any normal proceeding in the criminal justice system, but warned that the more “inflammatory” statements were made by a party, the quicker she would need to move toward a trial to preserve a fair jury.

“It is a bedrock principle of the judicial process in this country,” she said, while quoting precedent, “that legal trials are not like elections, to be won through the use of the meeting hall, the radio and the newspaper”, CNN reported.

“This case is no exception,” she said.

What Trump can reveal publicly is one of several battles being fought between his legal team and federal prosecutors, the BBC reported.