Merchan’s protective order bars Trump and his lawyers from disseminating evidence to third parties or posting it to social media, and it requires that certain, sensitive material shared by prosecutors be kept only by Trump’s lawyers, not Trump himself. He called Carroll a “whack job,” characterized her claims that he assaulted her in the 1990s as “playing hanky-panky in a dressing room” and denied the allegations as a “fake story, made up story.” He also criticized the judge in that case as a “horrible Clinton-appointed judge.” Jean Carroll, argued to CNN that “you can’t get a fair trial” in New York City. Trump, found liable in a $5 million civil court verdict Tuesday for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Merchan added Trump’s virtual hearing to the court calendar a day after Trump appeared on a CNN forum and offered up a barrage of falsehoods, excuses and insults on a variety of topics, including what he deemed the “fake charge” of his criminal case.

Prosecutors sought the order soon after Trump’s arrest, citing what they say is his history of making “harassing, embarrassing, and threatening statements” about people he’s tangled with in legal disputes. That kind of evidence sharing, called discovery, is routine in criminal cases, and is intended to help ensure a fair trial.

Merchan issued what’s known as a protective order on Monday, days after a hearing where he urged Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office to reach a compromise regarding the Republican’s access to and use of evidence turned over by prosecutors prior to trial. Trump to appear wherever he is at that time and we’ll do it here in the courtroom virtually,” Merchan said. Trump’s April 4 arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, attracted a crush of media and protesters, involved multiple street closures, extra security screenings and shut down non-Trump court business for an afternoon.

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