Following last week’s threat of legal action, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey today filed a lawsuit against New York state claiming a stay of the ban against 2024 election front-runner President Donald Trump. AG Bailey also called on the U.S. Supreme Court to invoke its original jurisdiction to hear the case.
AG Bailey says gag order ‘threats[s] Violating the rights of Missouri voters and electors. Specifically, New York’s gag order and impending sentencing are illegal :
- hinder[s] The ability of voters to carry out their federal functions.
- violation[s] this Purcell in principle.
- violation[s] The First Amendment gives Missouri citizens the right to listen to campaign speeches by specific individuals on specific topics.
Missouri asked the court to put a stay on any gag order or sentencing until after the presidential election.
In a press release on Wednesday, the attorney general wrote:
Today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a lawsuit against the state of New York, claiming it violated Missouri’s First Amendment right to hear presidential candidates speak during the 2024 presidential election. Bailey’s lawsuit alleges that New York’s unlawful prosecution, gag order and sentence against President Trump undermined his ability to run for president. This blatant interference in the presidential election undermines the ability of Missourians to be heard and fully informed to vote for president in the months leading up to the election.
Attorney General Bailey called on the U.S. Supreme Court to invoke its original jurisdiction under Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution to resolve the legal dispute between the two countries. His lawsuit asks the court to declare New York’s restrictions on Trump’s ability to run for president unlawfully interfered with the presidential election, lift any gag orders against the former president and put a stay on pending rulings until after the election.
“Right now, we have a huge problem between Missouri and New York. Instead of allowing presidential candidates to run on their own merits, radical progressives in New York are trying to manipulate the 2024 election by directly attacking our democratic process. Attorney General Bailey said. “I will not stand idly by while Soros-backed prosecutors hold Missouri voters hostage in this presidential election. I am filing this lawsuit to ensure that every Missourian can exercise their right to be heard and vote for them Like the right of the presidential candidate.
Bailey called the laws targeting President Trump “toxic to American democracy” and said the American people should be able to participate in elections without interference from New York state.
He then noted that New York Judge Juan Mercan “violated state judicial ethics by donating to the Biden campaign.” He also cited Judge Silk’s daughter’s financial interest in the outcome of those trials as chair of the Real campaign group, whose clients include Adam Schiff and the Senate Majority PAC. Both organizations raised funds for the trial. Schiff’s email began: “This is a sad moment and unprecedented for a former president to be indicted, but the crimes with which he is charged are also unprecedented.”
AG Bailey wrote that he believed it was “very likely” that President Trump would succeed in his appeal, but that the campaign would be harmed by then. He claimed that Missouri citizens should be able to hear President Trump’s campaign “without any gag order” or “interference from the state of New York.”
BREAKING NEWS: I have filed a lawsuit against the state of New York, accusing it of illegally conspiring to hijack the presidential election by imprisoning their presidential opponent, President Trump.
New York is waging war on American democracy, and Missouri will not let it continue.
Wire: pic.twitter.com/PYS2pAff8n
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) July 3, 2024
During last week’s CNN debate, President Trump’s opponents repeatedly mentioned the political laws against President Trump. It makes sense that Missouri felt it was inappropriate to restrict President Trump from mentioning Matthew Colangelo’s name. Fact-checkers also claimed there was no evidence Colangelo worked with the Justice Department or Joe Biden to do so. Colangelo served as acting assistant attorney general in the Justice Department before assuming the senior prosecutor’s position.
